Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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technology MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF The era of ���Big Data��� Cloud computing poses new opportunities, challenges for fleets N o commercial or private fleet survived the recession of 2008 and 2009 with a bloated cost structure. Fleet executives and managers had to lay everything on the table to become lean enough to survive. Most ���eets that froze spending on new technology during the recession released the spending lever as freight volumes recovered, seeking ways to add value for customers and operate more ef���ciently. Today, renting versus buying technology seems to have become the standard, as the Software-as-a-Service or cloud computing model generally is more cost-effective. Vendors host software remotely and forego the annual licensing and maintenance fees in lieu of a monthly subscription that includes all future software updates, data storage and IT support. Load One, a 350-truck expedited freight provider, uses cloud-based software for its dispatch and voice-over-IP telephone systems. Onsite servers are used for e-mail, accounting and other applications that require a higher level of security and control, says John Elliott, president of the Taylor, Mich.-based ���eet. Along with cloud computing, Load RENTING VS. BUYING: The Software-as-a-Service model generally is more cost-effective. FAST TRACK: Cloud computing can help companies integrate their systems through Web services. POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: More data pours in from mobile devices from multiple databases. 20 One has moved its IT systems to a ���virtual��� environment. With this strategy, Elliott and his employees have instant access to an exact replica of their of���ce workstations from any PC or mobile device with an Internet connection. With this virtual desktop technology, employees can use Microsoft Of���ce and other applications, along with their ���les, from any mobile device ��� all in the same native format they would appear at work. If someone left the of���ce with ���ve windows open on his desktop PC, those same windows would appear when he logged in to his virtual desktop from an iPad. Besides lower cost and greater accessibility, cloud computing can put companies on the fast track for integrating their systems through Web services. Load One uses a feature in its Sylectus dispatch software to automate invoicing. The software pulls satellite tracking, images of delivery documents and other data from another cloud, its Qualcomm MCP 200 onboard computing platform. The ���eet can present customers with an invoice almost immediately after delivery. If there is a downside to cloud computing and virtualization technology, it is that businesses have more data pouring in from mobile devices. Overall, the amount of Internet data is expected to grow by 50fold over the next decade. Another potential downside of cloud computing is having data in separate databases outside the customer���s walls. At some point, it will become necessary to create a single database ��� a data warehouse ��� to consolidate and analyze data across an enterprise. During last month���s CCJ Fall Sym- COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JANUARY 2013 posium in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jim Sassen, Qualcomm���s senior product marketing manager, gave a short but insightful presentation about the progression of cloud computing in the transportation industry. As more data is going to the cloud, data analysis actually requires fewer human and IT resources, Sassen said. Many vendors have created analytical tools such as scorecards and executive dashboards that make it easier to consume information, but the future of ���Big Data��� belongs to predictive analytics, he said. Some of the largest ���eets in the country now are using a cloud-based service from Qualcomm called FleetRisk Advisors, a service that brings in hundreds ��� even thousands ��� of data elements from an Continued on page 22 AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296.