CONNECTED
THE RELEVANCE OF TELEMATICS CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED @DieterQuartier
The first edition of the Connected Fleets Conference gathered almost 100 international fleet managers, suppliers and experts wanting to share insights on the why, the how and the when of implementing telematics. Judging by the reactions, the event was spot on and calls for a sequel. On 15 and 16 May, Fleet Europe organised its very first Connected Fleets Conference in Brussels, a high-level event for those looking to discover, buy and implement connected technology for their fleets. Procurement managers, CIOs, CTOs, Fleet and Mobility managers and other stakeholders gathered on Wednesday night for the opening of what promised to be an information-dense learning, networking and sharing experience for both buyers and suppliers. Geotab’s Edward Kulperger gave a foretaste of what telematics can do and how the market is evolving, after which he engaged in a short discussion with Fleet Europe’s Steven Schoefs about data security, data privacy, market consolidation and differences between North America and Europe. The opening night dinner was the ideal occasion for the attendants to already get to know each other and talk telematics in a leisurely way.
FLEET EUROPE #108
What’s in it for me? On Thursday morning, Alberto Lodieu from Ptolemus Consulting Group kicked off with a keynote presentation on the telematics market evolution. The industry is widening from traditional telematics suppliers to various types of new actors, such as fuel companies and OEMs, while telematics vendors are expanding services into new areas. As a direct result of this trend, competition is becoming bigger.
Even tyre manufacturers are moving in the connected fleet area, as demonstrated by the recent takeover of TomTom Telematics by Bridgestone. The Dutch telematics company was represented by Rene De Jong, Sales Director Benelux, who during a panel discussion on convincing the internal stakeholders stressed that “If there’s no benefit for the driver, it becomes more difficult to implement telematics.” Indeed, driver resistance is one of the main obstacles fleet managers mentioned in a recent Global Fleet Survey, alongside work council resistance and privacy issues. Hannah Massenhove from BDO emphasised the importance of informing all stakeholders to ensure you get everyone on board. “Stakeholder management should be the first step,” she said. “People have to see what they stand to gain.” Olivier Mansard, VP Global Sales, Masternaut, agreed: “Telematics are the future but we have to make it positive for the drivers.” He had a scoop for the Brussels audience: his company is on the verge of being acquired by yet another tyre manufacturer, Michelin.
Open platform for more security The Connected Fleets Conference Founding Partner, Geotab delegated Mike Branch, VP Data and Analytics, to give the audience valuable insights in how data and Artificial Intelligence can predict events. The more data is shared, the more reliable and accurate the predictions.
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Rene de Jong (TomTom Telematics), Olivier Mansard (Masternaut) and Hannah Massenhove (BDO) in a debate moderated by Dieter Quartier at the Connected Fleets Conference.
Also, telematics requires an open platform approach if you want to maximise security, as explained during the panel discussion between Dirk Schlimm, Executive Vice President, Geotab, Dr Dan Massey, Director of Technology, Cybersecurity and Policy Programme and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and part of the Neutral Vehicle Consortium, and Dr Ted Guild, Connected Vehicle Lead at W3C. “It sounds counter-intuitive, but an open system is far more secure,” said Dr Massey. “In closed systems, you’re on your own to protect your system against your adversaries. In an open system, however, you have all other users as allies.” “Data is the new gold, but it can also be the new asbestos,” said founding partner Geotab’s Dirk Schlimm,