Finding FindME

Chief operating officer Ruel Kapunan describes FindME as a "typical dot-com" operation. Operating in a spare apartment in the family compound, FindME has about 20 employees, including Kapunan, his brother, Binky, the chief technology officer for software, and their brother-in-law, Bernie Abis, the chief executive officer. But unlike most dot-coms that have nothing but a website to offer, I found FindME to be a real, great find.

Last April, FindME became a member of the Lopez Group of Companies when location-based content provider BayanMAP Corp. bought majority shares. BayanMAP offers enhanced geographic information system (GIS) services using digitized maps and was, until the acquisition, a competitor of FindME for map services.

BayanMAP grew out of the consolidated requirements of Manila Electric Co., Maynilad Water Services Inc., Bayan Telecommunications Inc. and SKY Vision Corp. Its wealth of experience as a tool for, among other things, marketing and billing management and delinquency control, has allowed it to offer services to clients outside the Lopez Group.

TrackME, considered a core business of the new FindME-BayanMAP alliance, has had good demand from serious customers. TrackME uses global positioning system (GPS), global standard for mobile communications (GSM) and GIS technologies to record the movements of tracking devices in real-time. The records can be accessed at a later time to trace the historical route of the tracking device which can be installed, Abis says, in "any valuable transport unit, typically a car."

How it works

How does it work? The GPS antenna in the tracking device sends out a signal that can be picked up by satellite. The satellite then uses GSM to transmit the coordinates of the device’s location to a base station. The base station, loaded with GIS information from the FindME-BayanMAP database, can then give a textual description of the device’s location or route. The base station, which can be a laptop or a desktop computer, also records the vehicle’s speed, the length of time it takes to traverse a particular stretch of road, idle time and a host of other information the user may request.

FedEX Phils. has just signed up for TrackME. The pilot test on 10 trucks is ongoing, with rollout expected for all of FedEX’s 300-vehicle fleet over the next few months. TrackME was also tested on nine OB-vans and crew cabs of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. during the recent elections.

Any company that uses vehicles as part of its core operations should consider getting TrackME. For internal controls, TrackME’s ability to locate vehicles can help monitor unauthorized use and reduce operating costs by providing a reliable gauge of official gasoline expenses. For trucks or vans bearing sensitive equipment or valuables, TrackME can minimize hijackings because the vehicles can immediately be tracked down.

Companies with less than 10 vehicles may still avail themselves of TrackME but are not advised to buy a base station. Abis says FindME-BayanMAP offers such customers special access to FindME Web (www.findme.com.ph), a website that will allow them to see the routes of their vehicles on the Internet. Closer to home, parents who wish to monitor their children’s activities may avail themselves of the same package. They will be able to track in real-time or the historical route of the family car.

Specific uses

Bus companies may also rent tracking devices for specific purposes. Since safety is becoming a major concern, schools may occasionally require bus services to install tracking devices, for example, during field trips, says Abis. Day contracts may be signed in these instances. Anything requiring long travel by land certainly has risks that TrackME can help minimize.

The tracking device can also be imbedded in mobile phones. Hence, company executives who are sent out-of-town can easily be monitored for their own (or their spouse’s) safety and security through personalized tracking systems. Such mobile location services will also allow mobile phone users to find any object, building or location they wish to find. For example, they can key in "FindME nearest drugstore." Since the base station will know where they are, it can send information about drugstores within, for instance, a 100-meter radius.

At present, FindME-BayanMAP provides location-based content to Globe Telecom and Smart Communications via short messaging service (SMS) or texting. However, since none of the current phone models are GPS-enabled, customers still need to key in their location for reference to access FindME Wireless. FindME Web provides the information accessed through FindME Wireless and TrackME. It contains the maps of Metro Manila and key Philippine cities and through SMS, gives textual descriptions of every location queried.

FindME Wireless is also available via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and a requested map similar to the one seen on the website is scaled down to fit the mobile phone screen.

Kapunan says early talks with BayanMAP executives confirmed their common interest in offering location-based services such as the vehicle-tracking system, and the common vision of providing useful information "anytime, anywhere, through any gadget."

Finding FindME wasn’t just a stroke of luck for BayanMAP. Both were in search of a strategic partner, a perfect fit, indeed. BayanMAP maps – extremely accurate ones – must have led them to each other.