MaptitudeReviews of caliper.com

Online mapping has come a long way, but most serious geospatial analysis projects require the power and flexibility of a desktop application. I started using desktop GIS around 1991 when Atlas GIS and MapInfo were battling for the commercial market and only MapInfo ran on Windows. When Maptitude was released in 1995 ($395 with tons of data), I immediately started using it and began developing applications for site selection that became the corporate standard for companies such as The Limited, Dunkin Donuts, and RadioShack. Although Caliper is a very small company, they have continued to innovate and increase the value of Maptitude by adding features from their transportation planning product (TransCAD,priced from $4,000 to $12,000 per seat), while the price has only increased to $695. The current release (Maptitude 2014) offers more features and data than ever, and it continues to be the best value in desktop GIS. One of my recent consulting projects illustrates the power and usability of Maptitude. A company was considering the purchase of development rights for an entire state for franchise restaurants (a multimillion dollar investment). The franchisor provided them with a set of target locations in order to substantiate their estimate of the number of units that could be developed. They needed to quickly assess the quality of these locations to determine whether the opportunity was fairly priced. Using Maptitude, I plotted the locations, computed drive time trade areas and demographic profiles, benchmarked them against the franchisor's existing units, and computed the distance to key competitors. A set of maps showing target locations, key competitors, and trade areas was created for printing on 2X3 foot maps (laminated and foamcore mounted for $52 each). The high resolution (300 dpi) maps were unbelievably beautiful and readable because of Maptitude's advanced labeling features that control overlapping labels but allow "smart alignment." The investors had a meeting to review the opportunity and were able to very quickly assess the risks and settle on a number of units that could be developed. Maptitude is truly a complete product at $695, including an accurate but not super fast) geocoder, extensive cartography (Navteq streets), and demographic estimates and projections at the census tract level. Optional data sets are very reasonably priced and include further geographic detail and versions for 20 different countries. For those who have been using ESRI or MapInfo products, .shp and .tab files can be used natively or imported, along with many other mapping and database formats such as excel, .csv, and a variety of graphics formats. Google Earth integration makes it possible to display Maptitude maps in Google Earth on the fly as well as pull imagery from Google Earth into Maptitude maps. There are many more features that I could describe, but visit their website or call their excellent support line for further info about how Maptitude might help you with your projects.

I have worked with Caliper products for 10 years as a transportation/urban planner and they have always fulfilled my needs. Maptitude/TransCAD software are easy to use, organized and robust: able to cope with large datasets without any problems. The user interface is very clear and easy to understand. The exchange of data and databases across several formats is also very simple and functional. The two-way direct link with Google Earth makes my projects look really interesting. I have adopted Maptitude in my GIS classes and it has been a great success with the students. They get excited in learning the geoprocessing techniques with such a technology that Maptitude provides.

I am an epidemiologist interested in the geography of disease. Location, location, location is a big part of disease incidence and outcome along with age, gender, ethnicity, income level, etc. Where you live and work, that is, the spots on the ground are a big deal for your health. GIS is the go-to tool for spatial analysis of most anything. The problem with GIS for those who have a lot more to do than work with GIS is the steep learning curve, access to data, and the expense. I have used Maptitude for several years as well as significant periods using other GIS software when consulting with investigators who had a GIS setup already in place, and found that Maptitude is relatively easy to learn (follow the one minute exercises in the excellent documentation), Caliper Corp floods you with data to get started with, and the cost is less than half of the other major vendors. Of course none of that matters much if it does not do what one needs to do. In over 20 years of using GIS for disease studies I have never thought up some idea that I could not implement - usually easily - in Maptitude. I still have several of those ideas which cannot be easily implemented in other GIS software. I have taught other GISs as often other software is already in place, and always I have to drop some of the exercises because they cannot be done in the other GIS. All this said, Maptitude is easier to learn than other software but you will have to spend time in getting up to speed to work at full capacity. The effort is not trivial, after all you are learning to make maps and carry out analyses with maps using a computer. Inherently non-simple. But the documentation that comes with it is excellent. Also Caliper Corp has several excellent videos. And finally, I have found that the technical support is very good. They don't just brush you off like so many other tech supports do but take an interest in your problem and try very had to find a solution and set you straight.

Maptitude is most user friendly (but still powerful) spatial analysis / GIS software on the market. It is also the best value spatial analysis software at a bargain price of us$695 (INCLUDING GIS and Demographic data for your country). I have used Maptitude for over 15 years in both private property / real estate consulting practice and as a University Lecturer. My clients are always impressed with the analysis and the professional presentations. My uni students are impressed how quickly they learn Maptitude and can make quality maps of their analysis in just a few short sessions. I have my post graduate students completing Huff's Probability Retail Gravity Models in just their 4th lesson (can see my video on Youtube). Hands down, it is the best spatial analysis software for those without degrees in GIS / Computers.

As a user of Maptitute for the past 5 years, I can say that I am continually impressed at the improvements that have been made with each iteration of the software. I use the software primarily for business/retail applications, institutional research, and in transportation geography (logistics) analyses. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to install Maptitute 2016 (64 bit architecture). Previous installations of Maptitude on my computer have used the 32 bit architecture. While the software loads even faster, my initial observation is in the icons and toolbar interfaces on the Maptitude desktop. While the icons are slightly different than in the 32 bit architecture; however, they are intuitive and relatively easy to discern. The most noticeable improvement is the on-screen regeneration speed, which is now super-fast. This is critical, especially when you have many layers on, or are labeling features. The faster speed means better productivity by the end user. Another improvement is in the area of CPU and memory intensive operations such as drive-time rings. Now, one can do drive-time rings out beyond the 240 minute (4 hour) threshold that existed in previous versions. I did an 8-hour drive-time (without running an overlay or report) using the street layer and it only took a minute to run the process and create the rings. The new territory tool looks promising as well, even though I have not had a chance to work with that as of yet. For the price, Maptitude 2016, is hands down the best desktop GIS software on the market.