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Maps have been around for centuries, but their physical form naturally
restricts the amount of information that can be displayed. The
advent of the computer changed all that; the digital nature of
computers spawned a new industry within the mapping sector - Geographical
Information Systems (GIS).
With GIS, many different layers of information can be added and
shown in different combinations and orders. Using the power and
flexibility of the computer, different data layers can be switched
on and off at the click of a mouse, allowing many different views
to be created for the same location.
The GIS market was a fledgling industry when Overview first opened
for business in 1995. The company quickly established itself as
the clear market leader for territory mapping services, particularly
in the franchise industry.
It wasn’t long before we realised there was a gap in the
market for up-to-date, high quality digital maps and so rather
than use a third party’s product with all its inherent drawbacks,
we developed our own mapping engine and datasets.
By integrating data sets such as the Census, postcodes and UK
businesses it allowed us to not only create a raft of new products,
but also offer them to third party developers. With this foundation
the company soon established itself as a major force in the expanding
location based services market.
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