A number of our users believe that MapPoint will fulfil a business function and they would like to purchase the system. However I'm not getting clear guidance on licensing or usage from our software vendor and would appreciate some feedback from this forum. The demo system has been downloaded and tested, just need to address a number of points before going ahead with the order :

What version of MapPoint UK can be used as multi-user application ?
How can the data be shared between the 5 users that may want to use the system ?
How can maps created by users be used collaboratively or simultaneously ?
How often is the UK demographic information updated and how is this achieved ?
What happens when a new release of MapPoint is launched, will existing licences be valid or is it a new purchase ?

Thanks in advance.

Hi and Welcome to MapForums!

Originally Posted by gridref

A number of our users believe that MapPoint will fulfil a business function and they would like to purchase the system. However I'm not getting clear guidance on licensing or usage from our software vendor and would appreciate some feedback from this forum. The demo system has been downloaded and tested, just need to address a number of points before going ahead with the order :

MapPoint licenses are fairly straightforward, one license per computer (+1 mobile device), and each version (e.g. MP 2011, MP2013) is a separate license. There is no upgrade pricing.

Originally Posted by gridref

What version of MapPoint UK can be used as multi-user application ? <<

None that I'm aware of... if you have Terminal Server, you still need a license per user.

Originally Posted by gridref

How can the data be shared between the 5 users that may want to use the system ? <<

Users can share PTM files. Only one person can have a read/write access to a PTM file at a time.

Originally Posted by gridref

How can maps created by users be used collaboratively or simultaneously ? <<

There's no "server" version of MapPoint although you could create a backend database and add-ins for clients. Richard Marsden and I published an article on using MapPoint with SQL Server, this might be a good place to start --
SQL Server and MapPoint - Making MapPoint 2010 and SQL Server Spatial Work Together

Originally Posted by gridref

How often is the UK demographic information updated and how is this achieved ?<<

I'm not familiar with the UK demo data, but keep in mind the North American version still has 2007 demographics. This has not been updated for several releases (2010, 2011, 2013 all have the same demographic data as MapPoint 2009). If you need updated demographics you would need to source the data and get it into MapPoint yourself.

Originally Posted by gridref

What happens when a new release of MapPoint is launched, will existing licences be valid or is it a new purchase ?<<

Existing licenses are still valid for the existing version you have i.e. if purchased a license for MapPoint 2011, you can continue using MapPoint 2011 indefinitely, even after MapPoint 2013 and future versions are released. Upgrading to MapPoint 2013 and later versions requires you to purchase a new full license.

Hope this helps to clarify things!

Eric

Eric

Many thanks for the responses, I'll go back to the business with the information and see how they want to proceed.

I've also taken a look at the SQL link, if this becomes necessary I'll pass it over to our development people !

Regards