Nokia Announcement is Bad News for Apple and Google

Nokia

is set to announce a deal with Oracle

that will greatly enhance its mapping services, presenting another challenge for Apple

, which failed to define iOS 6 as a leading mapping tool.

It also presents a challenge to Google

, the world leader in mapping software. Google lost Apple, one of its biggest clients, when the iPhone maker decided to team up with TomTom to build its own mapping application. That venture has been regarded as a

that has left consumers -- which previously had instant access to Google Maps -- searching for a more reliable alternative. The problems have been so persistent and widespread that Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Executive Officer,

for the mistake. Nokia and Google were among the companies that Cook mentioned as possible alternatives to Apple's own Maps app. Waze, Bing and MapQuest were also on Cook's list. By signing a deal with Oracle, which mostly serves business customers, Nokia hopes to further solidify its position as a

of map and location technology. According to

, the two companies are expected to make an official announcement today at OpenWorld, an annual event hosted by Oracle. The conference is expected to bring in more than

. Nokia believes that the deal will help the company expand its mapping services, while Oracle is expected to promote the venture as a simple way for customers to use "Nokia's maps to integrate consistent and broad mapping capabilities into Oracle applications," The Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier this year, Nokia joined forces with Groupon

to bring daily deals to the site via Groupon Now. Nokia has also inked deals with Amazon

and Yahoo

. Despite the company's efforts, Nokia has a long way to go in the battle for map tool supremacy. While Nokia heavily promotes the fact that its mapping software comes built into all of its phones, few consumers are aware that they can get the maps for free at

. On Google, searchers will find more than a billion results for the term "maps." First-page results include Google Maps, Maps.com (an online retailer of physical maps), Bing Maps, MapQuest, Yahoo Maps (powered by Nokia) and National Geographic Maps (powered by Bing).