Nokia Outfitting Oracle with Map Technology

Nokia and Oracle have struck a mapping deal that will give Oracle customers access to the Finnish phone maker's location platform, the companies announced Monday.

As part of the agreement, Nokia's Location Platform will be integrated into Oracle Fusion Middleware Map Viewer, described as "a J2EE service for rendering maps and creating mashups using spatial data." The integration will allow Oracle customers to easily include Nokia's maps data into their own Oracle-based business applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Oracle customers will now be able to license the Nokia Location Platform, which provides maps for nearly 200 countries, for use in their applications. Oracle customers worldwide have access to this new capability beginning today, the companies said.

"Few data providers have the ability to provide map data for analytics and integrated platform services for the creation of mapping applications in one solution," Jim Steiner, vice president of product management for Oracle server technologies, said in a statement. "Nokia is the only provider of both map data and online mapping services that are integrated with Oracle products."

Roy Kolstad, Nokia's vice president for enterprise Americas, location and commerce, called the deal "an important proof point of our leadership in providing the best, enterprise-class map in the market."

"[Nokia's Location Platform] is an advanced location platform with a unique global footprint based on industry-leading technology and more than 30 years expertise in mapping," he added. "It will help businesses save time, money and resources while allowing them to gain a geographic perspective on their business, enabling better decisions."

Mapping technologies have been in the news lately, following the release of . When it comes to maps, Nokia does have some bragging rights. The company's location and mapping technology is being used by Yahoo and Amazon, and will also power the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem.