Exclusive | Peter Bolesza of NNG all set to navigate in India

Today roads in India are generally not well planned and Google maps too have not been of much help in locating marks and pointers on the Indian roads correctly. Now this responsibility of making navigation easier on Indian roads has been taken up by NNG and Ayana. Recently NNG associated with Ayana Navigation Solutions (ANS) to introduce their new Personal Navigation Device (PND) especially designed for Indian roads. It is the high-quality and powerful ANS Navigator.

Software is the heart of a device. Now iGO primo, the flagship in the iGO Navigation range, comes with a number of innovative features and the latest India maps. By taking the Indian road and traffic situation into consideration, it enables drivers to take the most convenient route and reliably find their destination – in the busy Indian cities as well as in rural areas. Initially, iGO primo enables quick destination entry with the Integrated Quick Search feature, allowing the user to search across all available databases by entering just a few letters.

On the road, Driver Alerts and Lane Guidance ensure safety. Live Traffic avoids frustration behind the wheel by warning the driver of blocked road sections. Intuitive features anticipate the driver’s next move if he runs into traffic or leaves his planned route by making quick and meaningful suggestions. The software is able show alternative route options any time, allowing the driver to choose from fast, easy-to-follow, green and short routes.

Moreover users can update the maps and content of their software on NNG’s update portal Naviextras.com. As a result, changes in streets, roundabouts or newly built areas will not cause confusion along their route, even during the course of 6 months or one year.

Adgully caught up with Peter Bolesza, Vice President of Eastern Europe and Emerging Markets, NNG LLC, to understand their view point of the Indian market and to talk about the new device.

Speaking about the association, Bolesza said, "NNG is the maker of the iGO Navigation software range. This means we cooperate with hardware partners around the world to bring complete navigation and consumer electronics devices installed with iGO Navigation to the market. By now NNG offers navigation software for over 130 countries." 

ANS is NNG’s strategic partner in India. ANS provides them with 15+ years of local industry experience and high-quality hardware that complements the iGO Navigation brand and allows them to serve India with unique and reliable navigation solutions. "In the past few weeks we have further enhanced this partnership, and now ANS provides all necessary local support elements that are required on this market. This includes field testing to make sure our product is of the best possible quality, warranty services and even after sales support for the iGO Navigation end users with a 24x7 hotline and service centres in over 100 cities in India," he added.

Speaking about the size of the Indian market for navigation products, Bolesza said, "For any company that deals with location-based systems, India is a promising market. Such a quickly developing road system with constantly growing vehicle numbers demands relief in dealing with the increasingly challenging road situation. Navigation helps drivers find the optimal route, avoid traffic, save petrol and overall take the stress out of driving."

The Indian navigation market is yet to kick off. Elaborating further on this point he said, "We expect big volumes to ship from 2014 and all navigation segments to grow rapidly, from built-in multi-media units in the car dashboard, to Personal Navigation Devices and smartphones. However, the forecasts vary and most of the numbers are still unreliable.”

“NNG has invested a lot of resources into optimizing its navigation software for India. We’re ready to see the Indian navigation market grow, and take the leading role in developing and shaping it," he further added.

We have some navigation apps presently in India too so when asked about the USP of their product as compared to other navigation solutions, Bolezsa said, "iGO Navigation stands for proven and experienced software that has amazed over 20 million users in many other countries. iGO primo is easy to use, there is no need for studying a thick user guide and yet comes with all necessary features to provide an outstanding driving experience on the Indian roads. In addition, map and content updates from Naviextras.com guarantee continued up-to-date software and content to enable the user to keep up with the changes on the road."

On a global scale NNG focuses on the automotive line-fit market: navigation that is factory-fit in the multimedia unit of the car. They have supplier agreements with more than 30 car brands. So far over 2 million cars have shipped with iGO Navigation solutions on board. “In India we divide our focus across all GPS markets including PNDs, smartphones and automotive projects,” said Bolesza.

In terms of envisaging the navigation technology in the next five years, he opined that they are going to see a much closer connection between the navigation user, his smartphone, and his vehicle. According to him, personalised content will play a big role, and will allow access to all relevant information and search mechanisms while on the move. Interfaces and functions of different applications will merge and become even more intuitive. This has the advantage of the user learning and getting used to only one interface, not needing to rethink every time he switches from, let’s say, the navigation app to the weather app.

Business partners like ANS, Blaupunkt and Caska appreciate NNG’s fast reaction to the ever-changing market situation. Their trust in NNG is constantly helping in growing software orders since their innovative products give them the competitive edge they need to succeed in the market.

With their office in Gurgaon they have established a permanent presence in India. “Not only can we support our partners much better with quality localized software, but our day-to-day experience with the Indian traffic, end-users and their surrounding helps us understand what is crucial for successful navigation software. We’re able to research much faster, develop and test products and therefore bring a relevant navigation product to the end-user quicker,” concludes Bolesza.