SAP and Google plan 'big data' Maps

SAP has formed an alliance with Google to help companies get a grip on ‘big data.’

SAP’s analytics software will ride on top of Google Maps to give businesses “location-based intelligence capabilities.”

The companies want to incorporate business features in Google’s consumer-focused mapping services, including in Street View mode.

Products combining analytics with Google Maps are expected to appear in upcoming releases of various SAP enterprise products. This includes SAP BusinessObjects and the German firm's mobile apps.

“Today, more and more information is being geo-tagged and it is unlocking an entirely new dimension for enterprise data,” said Sanjay Poonen, president of global solutions at SAP.

“We aim to provide our customers the opportunity to tap into the power of business analytics combined with location intelligence through a geographic view and use rich, interactive analytics to respond to events as they unfold in real time.”

Dave Girouard, president for Google Enterprise, said the integration would allow customers “to more easily visualise geographic data and make better business decisions.”

Earlier this week, SAP reported some solid results, with decent software revenue.

See below for a video on the potential for Google Maps analytics: