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Digital Map Products Will Use Investment to Expand Out of State

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 12--Digital Map Products, a software company in Costa Mesa, said Monday that it received $3 million to expand its smart-mapping business.

The company is part of a side business of the booming real estate industry.

Builders and developers are relying on digital maps to figure out where to build -- or not build. DMP's service shows a location through street, aerial photos, spatial geography and other maps. The maps can then be combined with other data, such as zoning maps. Such smart maps are called GIS, short for geographic information system.

"A residential real estate agent now understands where a (house) is in context to a neighborhood. Does it back up on a busy street? ... How much of the lot does the actual building take up? Or where are nearby parks and schools?" said Steve Stautzenbach, Digital Map's vice president of sales and marketing.

The latest investment came from Titan Investment Partners LLC, a San Diego venture capital firm. DMP has received $8.5 million in private funding since its launch in 2000, Stautzenbach said.

Titan was attracted to the 45-person company because of DMP's efficient use of software as a service, earning money from subscriptions and not one-time licensing fees, said Steve Hamerslag, Titan's managing director.

"We also like the company's situation because they have a leadership position in a niche that hasn't been fully exploited. The vast majority of their revenue has come from Southern California," he said.

DMP, whose 120 customers include San Clemente and Southern California MLS, plans to use the funds to expand to other states, with Texas next on the map. It employs 41 at its headquarters and recently added offices in Florida, Phoenix and Seattle. It expects revenues from subscriptions to reach $6 million to $7 million this year.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Orange County Register, Calif.

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Source: The Orange County Register

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