Fleet operators have invested heavily in telematics over the last decade. Using data drawn from Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, sensors, vehicle engine systems, dashcams, black boxes, and increasingly, wearable devices, the technology is transforming the industry.
Outputting data such as vehicle location, driver behaviour, engine diagnostics and vehicle activity, telematics devices have empowered fleet operators with information. Benefits can be seen in route planning, logistics management, driver communications, reduced fuel usage, improved productivity, and better maintenance.
While this is all positive for the industry, problems are emerging on the horizon. Growing adoption of telematics technologies, as well as growth in capabilities of telematics devices, means that data quantities are already growing wildly out of control.
Information overload is aggravated by the fact that most fleet operators and insurers have more than one telematics system in use and the collected data is often incompatible. Whilst they provide the same, or similar data, it is often presented in different formats and with differing interpretations, and fleet managers are left with more data than is incomprehensible.
Overload is likely to get worse with the emergence of connected cars. These vehicles are set to send 25 gigabytes of data to the cloud every hour, equivalent to about 6,000 music tracks or 10,000 emails. Given the legal limit for driving most vans in the UK is 56 hours per week, that means one van could be generating 1,400GB (or 1.4 TB) of data every week.
Aside from efficiency, there could be serious consequences to if the industry doesn’t get this information overload problem under control. Driver safety may be compromised. And organisations may face legal action if they fail to acknowledge and implement their data. For example, if a company’s driver is involved in an incident that could have been prevented through analysis of telematics data, legal ramifications are likely to be severe.
Telematics Data Aggregation
With these challenges in mind, telematics data aggregation is set to be critical to the future of the industry, bringing together the mass of data that is generated by devices and enabling managers to make the most out of it. By benchmarking and filtering out the information businesses don’t need, the software ensures that the data becomes significantly more useable.
Telematics data aggregation has a number of palpable benefits. For fleet managers, this means that they can continue to reap the benefits of their data: optimising fuel consumption, ensuring cost-effective maintenance, enhancing driver safety, and so on.
For insurers, telematics data aggregation also represents a potential competitive advantage. It can be used, for example, as a value-added service to customers, helping to refine, improve, and evolve the claims process. It can also be used, as another example, to alert insurers in real time to First Notice of Loss (FNOL) so they can proactively take charge of an incident.
Ultimately, telematics data aggregation allows insurers and brokers to get a view of their client’s risk profile that they never had before - from sophisticated insights down to simply knowing how many vehicles on cover are on the road. This results in faster claims processing, lower indemnity spends, fraud deflection and higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Final Thoughts
Although a relatively new field, telematics data aggregation is set to grow as data continues to expand at exponential rates. Telematics data aggregation gives fleet managers and insurers alike a competitive edge in their ability to monitor and manage risk. Organisations that fail to implement data aggregation systems now, to make the most of their data, run the risk of being left behind and swamped by the oncoming data wave.
NTT DATA UK is committed to finding and working with specialist partners, delivering the latest innovations from the UK’s vibrant small business tech sector to our clients. We recently announced a new, five year partnership with Collision Management Systems (CMS) that will help bring the benefits of telematics data aggregation to a wider market, including insurance, engineering, public sector and transport industries.
Read more on the partnership or contact us to learn more.