Google Maps Engine Pro Debuts SMB Service

With Maps Engine Pro, Google hopes you’ll kick your spreadsheets to the curb. This week, the search giant launched a new professional mapping tool aimed at helping small businesses organize location-related information. Product manager Heather Folsom says the tool is intended for any small business trying to figure out where clients and sales leads are, or where to locate new warehouses or storefronts. “You’re probably working with a spreadsheet, and it’s hard to get a sense of how things relate in a real world sense,” says Folsom. In a promotional video released by Google, the owners of small business Pure Fix Cycles share how migrating their spreadsheets to Google Maps Engine Pro allows them to better direct customers to nearby stores with a lot of inventory. Folsom says the tool also helps business owners planning trips, as the tool allows them to see accounts or contacts in nearby neighborhoods.   While a free version of the tool for individuals launched last spring, Folsom says the professional mapping service can handle more data for businesses. Maps Engine Pro costs $5 per month, per user.