Nestoria Interview - Josh Devins - Nokia
Fellow Nestorphiles,
I'm very pleased that today we kick off the 2010 Nestoria interview series by speaking with Josh Devins, Software Architect in Nokia's Map and Explore group, part of the team that is responsible for Ovi Maps. For those of you new to the blog, about once a month we try to put a few questions to a thought leader in the online geography or real estate space. Given the huge growth in mobile internet usage in the last year I'm particularly pleased that our first interview of the year is with someone from one of the biggest players in the "location" space.
Josh joined Nokia Berlin in 2008 from Vancouver, Canada where he worked at a number of internet companies. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. Nokia in Berlin is focused primarily on location-based services.
Josh, great that we get the chance to speak with you about the innovation happening at Nokia.
1. Over the last few years, Nokia has moved aggressively into the mapping space, acquiring Navteq, launching Ovi Maps, and basically redefining itself from the traditional role of handset manufacturer. Tell us a bit about the transition.
About two years ago, Nokia set about creating the Services unit, providing value-added services to consumers. Making the move from being the leading handset maker to a service provider is, of course, a big transition, however Nokia is a company that thrives on reinventing itself. Once upon a time, Nokia even made rubber boots, so it knows a thing or two about transition. The acquisition of Navteq and the push into mapping have been reactions to the role that mobile devices are starting to have in people's day-to-day lives. More and more, the device is becoming a gateway to a much broader world and we are pushing hard to be at the forefront of where the virtual world meets the physical world. Mapping and location in general are really the the ultimate realizations of a person in their world. It's about bringing devices, mobility, and relationships back into peoples' physical world.
2. We recently saw you speak at UK's first Scale Camp. You mentioned that one of the hardest parts of building Ovi Maps is not technical but rather the internal transition to a new way of working. Can you explain?
While there are definitely a lot of technical issues that are very non-trivial, one of the things that people notice about our group is that it is very atypical from what most people see as a device manufacturer. We try to run a very Agile shop with Scrum teams, a very flat hierarchy and openness with the rest of Nokia as well as the developer community as a whole. Being one of the newest "server side" groups in Nokia, we approach the situation by attempting to lead by example. Traditionally the device manufacturing process requires a high level of very strict control, process, planning, investment and foresight. On the services side, we need to live to the same exacting quality standards, but also live in the world of Internet-pace, frequent releases and delivery of functionality. This type of shift is something that happens organically from the inside out. However being who we are, we also have very urgent need to scale teams and functionality up and out fast. These sometimes opposing forces prove to be a huge challenge just to orchestrate and to find the right balance.
3. A few months ago Nokia acquired fellow London-based and geography focused start-up Dopplr, and some members of the team are now joining the Ovi Maps project. Can you give us any details?
What I can tell you is that we are really excited to have this talented team joining us! I've been working with some of them daily for the past couple of months and they're full of great ideas. Acquiring small companies like this with resourceful, inventive and outgoing people brings a very valuable, fresh look into what we do. We are obviously trying to leverage those talents as best we can. Luring them to Berlin was pretty easy too!
4. One thing we often mention here on the blog, yet are still continually amazed by, is the phenomenal pace of innovation in online cartography. Between Google Maps, Bing, Cloudmade, OpenStreetMap, and now Ovi more and more is being offered to users and developers. What do you think we'll see in the coming years?
I think we're just hitting the tip of the iceberg and there's two things that I see as leading the way forward. First, there is such a phenomenal amount of information out there that nobody has really figured out what to do with. From addresses, POI data, journey and routes to social context and community commentary. Some products take the grab-bag approach and throw everything at the user and let them figure it out. The acquisition of Navteq really shot us into the information race, allowing us to work very closely with a company that has people on the ground to verify POIs and provide very accurate data. When it comes to cartography and mapping on the device, simplicity and accuracy are paramount. If we can nail services that provide the consumer with the most accurate information then we become the go-to source on the device. With open APIs for devices and services we believe we can build and propagate the most usable location information anywhere and build a location-centric ecosystem around that. Second part I believe is discovery. We have pretty clear traditional ways to find places in the world -- addresses, geo-coordinates, regions, etc. -- but people need more. Whether it be "find me interesting new places that I might like" or location based games, we need to find a way to bring the fun and adventure back into place discovery. Services like Dopplr are really pushing people to get out there, share their lives and explore the world to discover new places. We're doing our best to continue and build on these ideas and give people something that is both valuable and fun.
Thanks Josh - great to see another big player innovating in the online cartography game. To learn more follow Josh on twitter @joshdevins.
past Nestoria interviews: Stoycho Vlaykov, Mark Keating, and Jason Trost
