The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) business had been around for more than 20 years. In this category of software solutions, there were two primary players - ESRI and Intergraph - each vying for a dominant provider position and the lion's share of the market. Around this same time, there were numerous smaller players, including one MapInfo Corporation.

When we encountered MapInfo, they were preparing to launch a new version of their software on the Windows platform when most of the world was selling DOS (Yes, there was such a time.). Management believed at under $1,000, 1/100th the cost of the leading solution with 80% of the functionality, that they could steal the market out from under these 800 pound gorillas. Seemed reasonable enough.

Fortunately for the company, they had a sizable installed base and so we set to the task of validating management's thinking. As we looked deeper and deeper into these customers we discovered something very unique about the use of MapInfo products.

Traditional use for GIS products was for the creation of maps, anything from highly detailed cartographic representations of the earth to the weather maps we all see on TV. More to the point, GIS was being used by highly educated engineers and cartographers, with a typical title of GIS Technician.

What we uncovered about MapInfo users was they weren't creating maps at all, but rather using maps to enhance their view of their businesses. They were engaged in demographic analysis, sales territory planning, site analysis, emergency response, locating dealerships and so on. These people were not scientists or technicians. They were fireman and policemen, sales managers and marketing people. All with a common need to visual their data with the help of geography.

Finding Our Own Ground
Armed with this information, we came back to management and presented the idea that, rather than compete against these Goliaths directly, we should sidestep them completely and begin a new category- - a category called Desktop Mapping. Desktop Mapping would stand for the use of maps to geographically analyze and visualize business data.

Time passed, and the company moved from 12,000 users to 150,000 users. The GIS marketplace had entered into a mature phase in its growth, while desktop mapping was still going strong. These large GIS players began to make moves away for their core markets into the business user marketplace.

It was then that we chose to position MapInfo as the dominant provider in the category of Desktop Mapping. We hired an objective third party and leading GIS analyst firm to perform the analysis - Daratech, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The objective of this exercise was to provide MapInfo with a significant competitive weapon, to prove once and for all that this small company had indeed accomplished gaining the lion's share of the business user market.

Since 65% of MapInfo's business came through the value-added reseller channel and the competition sold products and services almost exclusively through direct channels, the measure of success would come from total end user spending for each company. This is made up of product revenues and revenues from add-on data products, such as maps and demographics, custom development, ongoing support and maintenance, and training.

A New Giant Is Born
At the completion of this study, Daratech found the closest competitor to be at $102 million for total end user spending. What started out as tiny $3 million MapInfo, the company now exceeded total end user spending of $192 million. We had successfully re-positioned the company, created a viable new category in the industry, and completed an impressive end-run around competitors who were twenty-five times the size of the company.

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