Fleet management systems are simply a must for any fleet on the road today. The benefits and the insights you get from using such a system is essential in both effectively managing your fleet and getting the most out of it. One of the most important factors in deciding is the affordability of the system you are going to implement. Next comes the range of features that you are going to need to fully optimize your system.
Just remember that features change and what might be optional now would be a requirement later on. Also, expect that there will be new technologies coming in every so often that you will find very useful for your operations. Does this mean that you should put off getting a fleet management system today?
Definitely not! You should not miss out on getting the benefits of using fleet tracking and fleet management systems as soon as possible. Let us examine the connected car space to see how things have been progressing in that area. It might be a little different from fleet management, but it will help you get an idea of how to proceed in the future.
Connected cars and apps
Google and Apple have entered the connected car space services with their Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Both are aimed at in-car infotainment and provided means of extending the infotainment content available in cars. This helped app developers take notice of the car market. Before Google and Apple came into the fray, most developers were not interested in providing apps for the cars because platforms used by different automakers vary. In short, they would need to develop a version for Nissan cars and then develop another version for Toyota and yet another for Mitsubishi. It simply took too much work to get a foothold in the car market. The result is that fewer apps were made available for cars, no matter how advanced their dashboards were. With Apple Car Play and Android Auto, developers only need to develop for these two platforms and be able to reach a wider set of car brands.
Apps and the fleet
This is great news in the fleet management space as well. You simply cannot rely on smartphone integrations that are being offered. Fleets need a different set of apps and fleet managers need apps to extend their investments in fleet management system. Fleet apps are not simply for revenue, games and social media. Instead, these apps are meant to help fleet manager get more out of, customize, and update their fleet management system.
The good news is that you now have MyFleetApps, which serve as an online marketplace for apps that are directed towards the fleet management market.
MyFleetApps acts like the Google Play or Apple App Store for apps that you can use for fleet management. MyFleetApps currently already has a variety of apps available, such as Concurrency, Location Proximity, Odometer Reader, Devices in Zone, Proximity XL, Unplugged, and On Command. Check out MyFleetApps today to see if there are functionalities you are missing out on and see how you could get these apps installed onto your current fleet telematics systems. What’s more, you can expect more apps coming in in the near future, making it easy to customize, update and extend your current fleet management capabilities.
Photo courtesy of ng Connect Program.
Frank Pellitta
President Telematics Provider
