Data2map

Data2map is a privately owned presentation-mapping service provider whose products are designed to help office users, educators, creative professionals, and industry specialists present geographically referenced information. The company originated in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1999 under the name meridian consult, founded and owner-managed by Manfred Guntz. It adopted the Data2map name in 2003 and later moved its head office to Salzburg, Austria, in 2007. The business developed against the background of the growing availability of desktop mapping and presentation software. Rather than requiring every customer to build maps from geographic information systems data, Data2map created pre-designed digital map series that could be edited in commonly used office and graphics applications. Its stated approach is to provide geographically structured assets that remain flexible inside software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, and Adobe Photoshop. The product portfolio includes presentation-ready PowerPoint maps, editable business maps, and more detailed professional map series. Depending on the product, users can modify colours, labels, symbols, boundaries, and other graphical elements. The professional range extends beyond basic political geography and may include detailed borderlines, topographic information, infrastructure, population content, raster imagery, and satellite images designed to fit corresponding vector maps. The catalogue also includes digital flags for countries and major international organizations, with files supplied in presentation and vector formats. Data2map supports several standard cartographic projections, including Miller, Robinson, Mercator, Gall–Peters, and Hobo-Dyer projections. Its online map shop has offered downloadable world, continent, country, postal-code, and topographic maps, allowing customers to obtain digital material for immediate use. The company’s emphasis is on customization through standard software rather than on supplying a proprietary geographic-information platform. The brand has served a broad, presentation-oriented customer base. Potential use cases described for its offerings include classroom and educational materials, travel presentations, broadcast and television graphics, corporate communication, and mapping work connected with gas and water networks. Its registration as a German trademark in 2005 formalized the Data2map name during the period in which the company was expanding its product identity beyond the original meridian consult name. Publicly available reference material does not provide reliable information about revenue, employee numbers, later ownership changes, or current corporate structure.

Data2map began in 1999 in Frankfurt, Germany, where Manfred Guntz founded the privately owned business under the name meridian consult. The company developed within a period when desktop publishing, presentation software, and computer-based mapping were becoming accessible to ordinary office users as well as to professional designers. Its early business direction was to make geographically referenced information easier to present by supplying pre-designed map material that could be adapted without requiring customers to construct every map from raw GIS data. To support this objective, the company worked with software engineers and geographic-information specialists to develop vector-map series suitable for customization in mainstream applications. The resulting files were intended to preserve the flexibility of ordinary presentation and graphics software. Customers could adjust colours, text, symbols, and other visual elements while using familiar tools rather than a dedicated cartographic system. In 2003, the company changed its name from meridian consult to data2map. The new identity reflected the business’s focus on transforming geographic data into usable visual presentations. The Data2map trademark was registered by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich on October 20, 2005, under registration number 304 59 255. This registration established the name as a protected brand during the company’s early expansion. A further structural change occurred in 2007, when the head office moved from Germany to Salzburg, Austria. Reference material describes the company as being based in Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer in the Salzburg region. Despite the relocation, the brand retained its German origins and continued to operate as a privately owned, owner-managed specialist provider. The company’s product development has centered on several layers of cartographic detail. Its PowerPoint-oriented products provide ready-made slides that users can edit directly. The Business Series supplies vector maps in Adobe Illustrator format or as editable PDF files. The Professional Series offers more detailed geographic content, including refined boundaries and selected topographic, infrastructure, and population information. Related raster and satellite materials are designed to align with vector maps, enabling users to combine editable outlines with image-based geographic backgrounds. Data2map also expanded beyond maps into digital flags representing countries and major international organizations. These assets were supplied in PowerPoint and vector formats, and the company described an Adobe Illustrator add-on that made editable flags available through the application’s Symbols Palette. The broader catalogue included world, continental, country, postal-code, and topographic maps distributed through an online shop. The company’s services have been positioned for a range of presentation and communication settings, including education, travel, television, and utility-related work in gas and water. Projection options such as Miller, Robinson, Mercator, Gall–Peters, and Hobo-Dyer allow users to choose different geographic representations according to the intended communication purpose. Public reference material does not establish detailed information about later management, financial performance, staffing, or ownership beyond the company’s privately owned and owner-managed description.

• 2007

  Head office moved to Salzburg

  [1]Data2mapen.wikipedia.org

  The company moved its head office from Germany to Salzburg, Austria; reference material identifies its base as Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer.

• 2005

  Data2map trademark registered

  [1]Data2mapen.wikipedia.org

  The German Patent and Trade Mark Office registered the Data2map mark on October 20, 2005, under registration number 304 59 255.

• 2003

  Brand renamed Data2map

  [1]Data2mapen.wikipedia.org

  The business adopted the Data2map name as its presentation-mapping activities became the center of its market identity.

• 1999

  Company founded as meridian consult

  [1]Data2mapen.wikipedia.org

  Manfred Guntz founded the privately owned mapping business in Frankfurt, Germany, under the name meridian consult.

A practical supplier of editable, presentation-ready geographic assets for non-specialist office users, designers, educators, broadcasters, and professional map creators.

• Presentation maps

  Maps for PowerPoint

  Ready-made map slides supplied in PPT or PPTX formats for direct use in Microsoft PowerPoint. Users can adapt colours, labels, text, symbols, and other presentation elements with standard PowerPoint functions.

• Editable vector maps

  Business Series

  Business-oriented vector maps supplied as Adobe Illustrator files or fully editable PDFs. They are intended for users who need to customize geographic graphics for corporate communication, reports, presentations, and other professional visual materials.

• Detailed cartographic maps

  Professional Series

  A more detailed map range with cartographic borders and additional geographic content, including topographic, infrastructure, and population information. Files are supplied in editable Illustrator or PDF formats, with corresponding raster and satellite materials available for some uses.

• Presentation and vector graphics

  Digital flags

  Editable digital flags for countries and major international organizations. Formats include PowerPoint, Illustrator, and editable PDF, with an Illustrator Symbols Palette add-on described as a way to keep the flag library accessible within the design application.

• Geographic imagery

  Topographic and raster maps

  Raster-based geographic materials, including topographic and satellite imagery, designed to fit corresponding vector maps. These products extend the catalogue from presentation graphics into more detailed geographic visualization.

1. 1Data2mapen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Data2map official websitedata2map-shop.de