A new survey highlights the growth of digital mapping as a business tool among South African businesses. According to the survey, 76 percent of South African corporations and 38 percent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) spend more than 2 percent of their IT budgets on mapping services, My Broadband reported. The survey, conducted through Worldwide Worx and mapIT, interviewed 111 IT and logistics decision-makers at corporations and 400 business decision-makers at SMEs, across South Africa.
The survey results show that companies are spending more on digital mapping, with 38 percent of SMEs spending more than ZAR 50,000 a year and 22 percent of corporates spending more than ZAR 500,000. Two-thirds of large corporations and SMEs alike – 69 percent and 66 percent respectively – intend to increase their spending on digital mapping services in 2013.
According to World Wide Worx, the primary uses of mapping services revolved around asset tracking services, such as fleet management, vehicle tracking and recovery and navigation. However, marketing was beginning to play an increasing role. A third of SMEs use digital mapping for location-based marketing, while a further 19 percent plan to do so in 2013.
Source :telecompaper.com
