ARI Named to Computerworld’s 2014 List of 100 Best Places to Work in Information Technology
The company is ranked #17 among the other midsized companies named to the list
ARI® has been named to IDG Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in IT for 2014. This prestigious annual ranking recognizes those organizations that offer their IT professionals the opportunity to work on challenging projects using the latest technologies while also providing supportive work environments, superior benefits and competitive compensation.
“We seek to foster an energetic work environment that supports innovation, collaboration and learning,” said ARI Executive Vice President and CIO Steve Haindl. “We are honored to be named to this year’s list and are proud to be recognized for fostering an environment that promotes teamwork, communication, recognition and professional development.”
Telematics Gets a Warm Reception from UK Fleets
By Mike Sheldrick, Senior Editor
"You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
BuzzFeed recently ran a cute item: “12 Car Advances That Would’ve Freaked Out People in the Eighties.”That might be an exaggeration. But astounded and amazed would not.
I remember showing Dave Cole, head of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Michigan, an Etak navigation system in late ’80s. It included map data and restaurants for Detroit and Ann Arbor. This was pre-GPS, by the way. “That’s amazing,” he said, as we found a restaurant (by cuisine) and quickly calculated a route. As a hard-nosed engineer and the son of Ed Cole, a former GM president, he was a man not easily impressed. Full disclosure: a Silicon Graphics workstation was in the trunk. It was early days for navigation. So early that the neologism, telematics, had not even been invented.
Now that telematics has switched into overdrive, it’s not so hard to imagine that many of us will be freaked out in just a few years. In other words, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
London: Half of All Car Thefts Executed by Hackers
The London Metropolitan Police recently reported that half of all car thefts in the city last year were committed without the traditional tools of the trade. Rather, the thieves used high-tech devices to exploit a vulnerability unique to the newest (and most desirable) car models: their onboard computer systems. The tools to "hack" a car are relatively cheap, and instructions easy to procure online. They allow thieves to disable alarm systems, unlock doors and control the lights, steering, brakes and navigation system.
The Connected Mobile Ecosystem
Connectivity is the economic and commercial engine of today
By Tim Taylor, Chief Success Officer at Telogis
The old business adage “if you can measure it, you can manage it,” remains true today. But there is a new truth for the mobile enterprise: if you can connect it, you can transform it.
If knowledge is power, connection is empowerment. We can now connect customers, suppliers, drivers and vehicles in ways previously impossible. At a high level, this equates to engaged drivers, informed and satisfied customers and executives with the ability to understand trends in their business. On the road, this equates to practical advances such as lower fuel costs, reduced vehicle wear and tear, and better utilization of resources and personnel.
Understanding the connections, and how to achieve them, is the charge of everyone who manages a mobile enterprise – from the fleet manager up to the CEO. Here we examine ways to get more out of the mobile enterprise while also evolving the way we interface with and serve customers.
A Call to Action (for Fleet Providers): Let ‘Content’ Open Doors for You
As any great sales person will tell you, sales is not about a great product or service, it’s about the customer’s perception of value.
By Ed Pierce, It'sTheArts.com
For fleet decision-makers, value is helping to maximize the contribution of his fleet to the company’s strategic goals as well as the savings derived from controlling costs.
Even if the company has been an industry leader for 100 years, insists that every manager earn a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, regularly wins prestigious “Best of” awards, and reports fantastical total customer savings every quarter … even with all of that, it’s important that you understand how to differentiate your value proposition in terms that are meaningful to the customer – because that’s the real key to winning and keeping business.
As explained in the last column, “earned media opportunities” - print and digital advertising, public relations, trade shows, direct mail – are important tactics for telling the value story. Yet, many times that story gets lost in translation, especially in advertising.
Here are three common examples readily identifiable in most trade magazines representing every industry:
1. Smugness (The “Top of the Mountain” View) – The message: “We are XYZ company, the industry leader, with the best people, the best service, and the best technology.”
The Hype: The name says it all! A fleet manager can be confident that this company’s “star-power” will rub off on him or her. It is the safest bet even without substantive proof.
2. Product “Featurette” – The message (an exaggeration): “Our G-Wiz gizmo uses a proprietary motionless thermo-nuclear generator that snatches free energy from a vacuum to deliver pre-real-time data.”
The Hype: Dazzling product features will blind fleet managers into thinking a company has the best product or service despite the lack of benefits or real-world application.
