Telematics service provider Telogis held its annual Latitude conference in Dana Point, Calif., this week, bringing together customers, partners, and staff. This year’s conference focused on the theme of accelerating the transformation of mobile enterprises through the power of location intelligence. Speakers included executives from Ford Motor Co., Volvo Trucks, Telogis, AT&T Mobility, and fleet managers. The event was started by keynote speaker David Cozzens, chief executive officer at Telogis. Cozzens shared his perspectives on key reasons fleets are bringing telematics technology into their operations….
Better ETAs: Estimated time of arrival is a changing game – people don’t like to be told they’re going to have to wait in their house for several hours for the cable TV installer to show up. They want to know when it’s going to happen and expect to be given realistic updates. The same is true for fleets.
Content and dynamic routing: There’s real-time data available now affecting mobility – with weather reports, traffic conditions, and construction project information being accessible for the first time. Fleets can deal with situations that come up for fleets, including driver behavior.
Cloud/SaaS: Cloud and “software as a service” computing is managing the data overload environment very effectively.
Compliance: There are more federal regulations coming down. Telematics are becoming a part of meeting compliance standards.
Fuel costs: An obvious priority for fleet managers who want to stay current on the expense and explore options.
Carbon footprint: While this was important in Europe for a long time, it is becoming more important now in North America.
Safety and insurance: Like fuel costs, this is clearly a priority for fleets using telematics as an asset management tool.
Big data: Using business intelligence to “peel back an onion,” and explore every aspect of the business.
Mission critical solutions: Where a company might us its own command center, as was performed in the post-Hurricane Sandy terrain. Real-time feedback from drivers in the field plays a critical role.
Diagnostics: Diagnostic trouble codes are sent from vehicles sounding out the need for maintenance or repair. Manufacturers are making available factory-fit options for data-rich diagnostics. Telogis has been working with ARI on a maintenance program for its customers using vehicles as a hub for operating data.
