Billion-dollar businesses built on location intelligence

Billion-dollar businesses require something special, both to reach their size and to keep on growing.

Investigate some of the most famous examples, and you will find they all have one thing in common: location intelligence.

In this article, we will look at three examples.

3 billion-dollar businesses that owe their success to location intelligence

1) Google

With a value of $838 billion, Google’s parent company Alphabet could soon join Apple as a trillion-dollar business.

Google’s approach involves a host of integrated systems, but Google Maps is the central hub. Every property or business that features on Google Maps has a profile listing the address, and further details such as opening hours, services offered, and reviews.

In combination with GPS capabilities, this enables Google to:

  • Help the public find and navigate their way to businesses, calculate travel times, receive location-specific search listings/recommendations and much more
  • Help companies choose locations, by providing valuable business information about the surrounding area(s)

This is why Google is the ideal platform for advanced location intelligence services like Periscope® to build upon. We are one of a select group of Google partners, providing you with access to your own corporate, secure version of Google Maps.

2) Waze

In 2013, Waze co-founders sold its navigation system to Google for $1.15 billion.

This smart sat nav uses a host of location intelligence techniques to improve the customer experience.

The app calculates routes using data gathered:

  • Passively, simply from users driving while the app is switched on, enabling the collation of information on journey times, traffic/potential delays, alternative routes and road structure
  • Actively, when users submit simplified reports detailing traffic, road accidents, blocked roads (e.g. due to roadworks), police presence and many other factors

Waze then monetises this service by charging businesses (often pertrol stations and fast food vendors) to display their locations en route, or to trigger location-specific ads when users enter designated areas.

3) Uber

Peer-to-peer taxi and food delivery service Uber is thought to be valued at around $48 billion.

The company uses location intelligence to:

  • Give customers a choice of nearby drivers and check their ratings
  • Enable customers and drivers to locate each other
  • Generate optimised routes and track journey progress
  • Allow customers travelling the same route to share a ride
  • Help drivers find pick-up points and UberEATS parking spaces

Having previously relied on third-party platforms including Google Maps and Waze, Uber has now developed its own bespoke navigation system.

Through this new app, developers aim to optimise profitability by improving routing and enhancing the driver experience by avoiding unnecessary distractions.

As these all these examples and many more demonstrate, location intelligence is key to building a billion-dollar business.

Develop your business strategy using location intelligence; sign up for a 10-minute Periscope® demo today.