MapMechanics helps users bring map data to life with business intelligence tools

BRENTFORD, U.K. - Oct. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- Organisations sourcing their digital map data, business data and geodemographic data from MapMechanics, a leading specialist in all these products, can now visualise it using the increasingly popular Tableau range of business intelligence analytics software.

MapMechanics has also extended support for a range of Oracle products including Oracle Business Intelligence Edition (OBIEE) and Oracle Spatial and Graph by offering GfK Purchasing Power data and GfK Boundary and Map Packs, one of its most popular boundary product ranges, in Oracle format.

These products are all available direct from MapMechanics or through allmapdata.com (http://www.allmapdata.com), the company’s industry-leading transactional web site for digital mapping, geodemographic data and business data.

MapMechanics is making selected map data sets available in Tableau format, starting with its ForGIS and Geoplan data, both of which provide postcode boundary information at various degrees of detail.

By bringing useful boundary and postcode information to the Tableau suite of business intelligence analytics tools, these data sets allow even more detailed map-based analysis and location analytics. The data functions as it would in a GIS (geographic information system), giving users the power to visualise the data on screen; and Tableau software can display it in formats such as bar charts, graphs and thematic maps (in which coloured symbols provide additional information).

Tableau can also import population, census and demographic data, which is often used for analytical processes such as understanding customer penetration rates, or identifying an area to target in a marketing campaign by highlighting an apparent lack of sales or showing that the area has the appropriate potential market features. Because it is so quick and simple to set up, Tableau is gaining popularity as a presentational tool, displaying complex information in easily-understood form. It is therefore often used to complement more advanced analysis

There are several versions of Tableau, including a full desktop version, a server-based version for online analysis, and a free online version for presenting data from the public domain on web sites.

With MapMechanics’ launch of GfK Boundary and Map Packs in Oracle format, a range of detailed worldwide boundary information is now available to Oracle users. The data includes locally-defined boundaries such as federal states, mesoregions (mesorregiões, or groupings of Brazilian municipalities) and wilayats (an Arabic term for municipal regions), making it easy to compare and draw contrasts between areas.

Many of these data sets include roads, water features, airports and gazetteers, with towns and cities graded by the number of inhabitants, and are ideal for use in activities such as analysis and thematic mapping.

GfK Purchasing Power data provides information on a household’s purchasing power (total income) from various sources such as pensions or rental leases, and is often used to estimate demand or predict turnover in an area.

MapMechanics has been supporting Oracle users for many years, and is an Oracle Gold Partner and Oracle Silver Level member of the UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG). The company offers many data products in formats such as Oracle MapViewer and Oracle Spatial Geocoder .dmp format, as well as in Oracle Routing Engine format.

MapMechanics already offers users its Process Promise scheme, under which it will format data for specific software requirements. The launch of its Tableau support and the extension of its Oracle support underpin that philosophy by providing data sets pre-configured for popular user applications.