MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: In-Tech, The Star (page 33)

K.C Chong, marketing and sales director at Tan & Tan Developments Bhd, said that with digital maps, the information that was previously obtainable elsewhere, was now at his fingertips.

"Digital maps help make good decision-making. For instance, if we want to look at developing a certain area, we can find out via the maps if there are any other developers already there. Without the maps, we'd be scurrying about trying to get information at places like the Land Office to get that info," he said.

Chong added that these maps helped trimmed operational costs. "It's difficult to put a figure to it, but information always helps," he said.

Muhammad Nizar Arshad, development property manager of the property development division of town planner, Negara Properties (M) Bhd, concurred.

"There's a lot of detail in the maps, which beats paying a consultant RM50,000 to survey a single area," he said.

"Developers don't have the time to update the maps, that is not their core competency. These maps are constantly updated. Even the police force and the fire department could use them for reference," added Peter Kam of ACAD Systems Sdn Bhd.

Tan Keng Heng, valuation surveyor of Right Angle Property Consultant, said that these digital maps were providing information that was normally available only to the "big boys."

"Digital maps are breaking up monopolies. Now smaller companies can also access the same information," he said.

Digital maps are not exclusively for property developers. Ho Chin Soon, managing director of Ho Chin Soon Sdn Bhd (www.hochinsoon.com), said that there was an increasing number of companies outside the real-estate industry using the maps.

"They account for about 30% of our clients, and include IT and logistics companies," he said. Ho's digital maps are created in layers, which means customers can tailor them to their specific needs.

Mohamad Azahar Hashim, systems analyst for Permanis Sdn Bhd, said that digital maps has helped tighten Pepsi's distribution channels.

"We can put our customers on the maps and represent them visually rather than in text-form. This helps us determine how many of our salespeople are needed for specific areas.

If there are 20 shops in a certain area, we'll know if one salesperson can handle it."

Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd's clients include Gamuda Bhd, IOI Properties Bhd and Arab Malaysian Development Bhd.

The company has digital maps of the Federal Territory, Petaling Jaya, Gombak, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Langat, Sepang and Kuala Langat.

The maps are available for sale on CD-ROM and are in CorelDraw, .TIFF and .JPG formats.