06 July,2021 06:07 PM IST | Mumbai | BrandMedia
Pradeep Agarwal
With the advent of apps which integrated maps within their function, the services of companies across sectors became shockingly efficient and fast-tracked. Pradeep Agarwal is one of the people whose efforts behind the scenes built this ecosystem that has made our lives better.
Maps are extremely crucial in the matters of mapping of geographical terrains, borders, topographical features of an area that are used by governments for security. For the common usage, cities and towns are planned with deep precision to best utilize the space for housing, commercial markets, traffic systems, and other services. In our daily lives, maps have revolutionized the space of logistics and delivery, be it food, taxi, movers, or travel through the web-mapping industry.
The growth of the web-mapping industry is the hard work and innovation of many illustrious figures over the years. Among them, Pradeep Agarwal shines as an important contributor to the industry in its growth and expansion in India as well as abroad. He helped drive the web mapping industry at a crucial stage of its growth and guided it back on track.
In 2013, he was recruited by Nokia to be a part of their Indian team working on Here Maps. His task involved carrying out an in-depth assessment of their business in India, strategizing the plan of action, and chartering out a realistic path for the company and the users. During his tenure as Country Head & Head of Business Development, he restructured the business and achieved a revenue of $17m USD ACV for the company.
In the world dominated by smartphones, the most useful technology from the perspective of businesses and consumers is web-mapping. Pradeep Agarwal, who has worked closely with Here Maps of Nokia, breaks down the technical functioning: "Web-based mapping or web mapping operates by utilizing the maps provided by geographic information systems (GIS) on the Internet. A geographic information system (GIS) is a conceptualized framework that captures and analyzes spatial and geographic data and lets applications use it in their API."
There are innumerable apps which use web mapping to better provide services to the consumers and larger public. Some of the apps which rely heavily on this technology are also some of the biggest companies in their respective sectors - Zomato, Uber, Ola, Swiggy. They let us choose the precise location of the address and eliminate the need of asking directions over call or from bystanders on the street.
Moreover, the web mapping apps capture location content such as road networks, buildings, parks and traffic patterns. In addition, Pradeep Agarwal also emphasizes on the usage of this technology in the development of self-driving cars. They provide live traffic information and aid authorities to avoid congestion and road accidents.
Maps have been in use since the days of the adventurous souls who set off to explore the unmarked world beyond the seas and the lands. The sailors crossed the oceans and the seas without a fret because they relied on maps. Today, we use the Maps application in our phones for daily use and travel during vacation. From the times of inks on paper to now fitting inside our phones, maps in general have come a long way in their creation and application.
