X
Innovation

Apple Maps service provider in China stores core businesses in Alibaba-owned cloud

A leading Chinese mapping company uses cloud and big data to improve service quality fivefold.
Written by Liu Jiayi, Contributor

AutoNavi Software Co., Ltd, a Beijing-based mapping company which provides data to Apple Maps in mainland China, is reported to have put its core business system in the cloud owned by technology giant Alibaba.

According to industry website Lieyunwang.com, AutoNavi, a company worth dozens of billions of yuan with more than 400 million users, will use Alibaba's cloud computing technology and increase its service usability fivefold.

Meanwhile, by utilising cloud computing and big data technology, AutoNavi is now digging real-time data at various dimensions and providing Elastic Compute Service to be able to host a huge number of users and handle exploding visits within a short period of time.

Established in 2002, American-listed AutoNavi has been issuing analytical reports on major Chinese cities during the past two years. It also publishes monthly, weekly, and daily traffic estimates for 45 cities across the country while providing real-time traffic information for more than 364 cities via its mobile application AMAP.

The report also said that, according to third party data, monthly active users and daily active users of AMAP increased by 130 percent and 174.5 percent respectively in 2015.

Apple chose AutoNavi as the mapping service provider for iPhones and iPads sold in the Chinese markets, as 36kr.com reported in July 2012. Less than two years later, ecommerce giant Alibaba purchased AutoNavi for $1.5 billion, according to Chinese-language website 163.com.

Editorial standards