Virtual Earth Case Studies

For anyone who wants to know more about the benefits of integrating Microsoft Virtual Earth into your application, we now have a number of case studies exploring the benefits some of our customers have received from integrating the platform into their solutions.  This first set focus on one of the more prominent verticals to have adopted VE thus far, real estate, but the lessons learned will apply to any number of different application types as the case studies reflect a wide variety of architectures and target audiences for the the applications.

You can find the new real estate case studies here:

http://www.microsoft.com/virtualearth/customerevidence/ce_realestate.mspx 

 

John L. Scott – Real Estate Firm Launches 3-D Visual Online Property Search Tools

Company: John L. Scott
Industry: Real Estate
Products: Virtual Earth Platform

Overview:
As a leading residential real estate company in the Pacific Northwest, John L. Scott is well known for its commitment to technology to optimize online listing features on its Web site. The company strives to continually provide a better online experience through detailed, robust property information. When managers saw the Microsoft® Virtual Earthâ„¢ platform, they immediately decided to integrate the immersive, visual, three-dimensional aerial views and interactive mapping technology into the site. In under a month of development time, John L. Scott launched High-Definition Home Searchâ„¢. This experiential way to see homes from a bird’s eye view boosted online visits to their highest levels ever, increased return visits by 47 percent, and provided viewers with a 300 percent performance improvement over the previous property search tool.

 

LoopNet – Online Real Estate Marketplace Offers Members Latest Visual Property Search Tools

Company: LoopNet
Industry: Real Estate
Products: Virtual Earth Platform

Overview:
LoopNet is a leading online commercial real estate marketplace with some of the industry’s highest numbers for property listings, Web site traffic, members, and market coverage. LoopNet managers wanted to add dynamic mapping and immersive visualization capabilities to the company’s powerful suite of property search tools to add competitive advantage. LoopNet chose the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform for high resolution satellite and aerial imagery, bird’s-eye views of buildings from 45-degree angles, and interactive mapping. LoopNet cut 30 percent in development time building its mapping solution with Virtual Earth. It reports an estimated 33 percent increase in the number of properties viewed per day using these tools. This helps commercial real estate brokers close more deals, proving the benefits of purchasing a Premium Membership—which in turn drives revenue for LoopNet.

 

Sperry Van Ness – Real Estate Firm Uses Exciting Property Views, Interactive Maps to Win Listings

Company: Sperry Van Ness
Industry: Real Estate
Products: Virtual Earth Platform

Overview:
Sperry Van Ness, one of the fastest growing commercial real estate firms in the United States, uses the latest technology to create tools for its advisors (brokers). IT decision makers chose the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform when the California-based company’s 700 advisors asked for a more powerful mapping tool to search for and showcase properties. IT staff integrated the interactive mapping solution into the advisors’ online tracking system (OTS) so they can search for properties more quickly. It also incorporated the platform into an automated publishing solution that saves Sperry Van Ness’s advisors an estimated total of 75,000 hours a year in creating brochures and property Web sites. Virtual Earth adds excitement to property presentations with aerial and bird’s eye views of buildings, helping to win new listings and close more deals more quickly.