Sogou map recently officially went offline and closed related services. Together with IE browser, iPod touch and Xici Hutong, Sogou map has become another “it memory” buried in history during the year.
As one of the first Internet map service websites in China, Sogou map can find its shadow in many A-share companies. Taking Navinfo Co.Ltd(002405) as an example, Xinzeng has gathered thousands of website maps and mobile map brands such as Tencent map, Sogou map and here platform. In addition, whether it is 360 Security Technology Inc(601360) , which backdoor Jiangnan Jiajie, or Zhengyuan Geomatics Group Co.Ltd(688509) , which completed its IPO last year, it has clearly listed Sogou or Sohu, which includes Sogou map business, as a comparable company, and dismantled the competition pattern of advertising, surveying and mapping and other industries. At present, the retirement of Sogou map has not had an important impact on these companies.
The reason why Sogou map, which has been operating for more than 20 years, went offline is related to the coincidence of Tencent map business. Last year, Sogou announced the completion of privatization and delisting and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent. Since then, it has faced the challenge of horizontal competition with Tencent products. However, from a deeper reason, the change of the competition pattern of the map navigation track is the lower logic of Sogou map’s exit.
In recent years, China’s map navigation industry has maintained a relatively stable pattern of “three pillars” of Gaode map, baidu map and Tencent map. These three head map products belong to bat. From the perspective of publicly disclosed development scale, R & D team and technology, there are great differences, but there are obvious differentiated positioning between them.
Gaode map has been committed to the functional implementation of C-end scenarios for a considerable period of time. In recent years, it has increased its operational weight in the field of travel and local life services, with a view to becoming a comprehensive travel service platform backed by Ali. Baidu’s own AI technology application and b-end business expansion have become the core personality of Baidu map. On the one hand, with the acceleration of Baidu’s layout in the meta universe, more pioneer functions such as AR step guide and AR tour guide have also become new market expectations; On the other hand, with Baidu’s rapid promotion in intelligent driving and car making, baidu map may win more landing space.
In comparison, Tencent map ranks among the forefront of the industry with Tencent’s rich network and technical resources, but there is a certain gap from the public monthly live data. Based on this, the market is more willing to regard the map navigation market as a “duopoly pattern”. For Tencent, rational choice is by no means a separate battle for vulnerable products in the system, but requires new competitive tactics.
From the perspective of meso industry, at least three changes are emerging. First of all, with the development of online car Hailing market and the iteration of automatic driving technology, high-precision map has become a new traction for market development. In the process of leading to Gaojing, on the one hand, Baidu and Gaode are seizing a higher and higher market share; On the other hand, new players including didi and Huawei are also joining the battle. Technology iteration also means a large amount of capital and human investment for a longer time. When the performance growth of the Internet platform slows down or even the profit declines, the “money burning mode” is difficult to adapt.
Secondly, the map industry involves information security. Therefore, prudent development and regulatory norms have always been hanging over the top of map merchants.
In addition, the simple map business will face the profit dilemma, and a more advanced business model is needed to pave the way for the sustainable operation of the platform. Baidu map announced the free mode in 2013, and Alibaba also quickly followed up after acquiring Gaode map in 2014. After the payment mode is blocked, how to realize the realization of traffic has become a new challenge for graphic merchants.
These new changes show that high-precision maps have entered a new ecology of giant wrestling. For “small factories” lacking qualification, capital and resource support, it is a more rational business choice to take and give up as soon as possible.
If we consider from a broader perspective and from the products or services that have successively announced their withdrawal this year, the three giants of Tencent, Microsoft and apple stand behind Sogou map, IE browser and iPod touch respectively. Their resignation not only means the disappearance of a generation’s youth memory, but also reflects that the Internet and traffic have entered the stock competition. Even the businesses in the giant territory have to be matched with the forward posture of “no advance or retreat”.
