Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola Cabs, has caused controversy lately when he revealed the company was leaving Google Maps. This planned action was taken at the same time as Aggarwal’s AI business, Krutrim, supported the launch of Ola Maps, a domestic mapping solution. This has started multiple speculation about ola maps vs google maps, which one is better?
Ola is generously offering a year of free access to Ola Maps on Krutrim Cloud, a bundle at over Rs 100 crore, to sweeten the deal. According to Aggarwal, Western maps do a poor job of depicting India’s particular geographic difficulties, such as irregular street names, quickly changing cities, complicated traffic patterns, and nonstandard road networks. He says Ola Maps uses AI-powered algorithms designed especially for India to get beyond these obstacles.
The OSM Connection
Ola advertises about how good it is at mapping, but a closer look tells a different story. It turns out that OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the main source of data used by Ola Maps. OSM is a well-known mapping tool that is open-source, free, and depends on global volunteer contributions. It’s interesting to note that OSM has its origins in the UK rather than India. The company’s AI-driven improvements may be adding value, but the source of the basic map data is a worldwide community effort.
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Given the significant cost savings from switching to OSM, many argue that Ola should give back to the platform. Sharing updated map data could be a valuable contribution. Even individual users have stepped up to improve OSM through volunteer efforts. It remains to be seen if Ola will follow suit and demonstrate its commitment to the open-source community.
Next Step in Ola Maps Vs Google Maps
Ola is clearly taking an ambitious approach to mapping creating a big chaos over which is better in Ola maps vs google maps. It remains to be seen if Ola Maps can effectively take on the world-renowned Google Maps and establish itself as a trustworthy and accurate substitute for Indian customers. The company’s choice to use OSM is a calculated risk, but it also emphasizes how difficult it is to create a mapping solution that is genuinely independent. It would be interesting to see how Ola Maps develops as the competition heats up and whether it can actually deliver on its promise of a superior mapping experience that is focused on India.
