Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/93367
EXPANDING THE CLOUD W FLEETS ARE FINDING MORE VIRTUAL MEANS TO MANAGE A GROWING RANGE OF MOBILE ASSETS BY AARON HUFF hile transportation companies have unique needs, all can agree that information becomes simpler and easier to access by a mobile work force with cloud computing. While this strategy has tradeoffs – particularly for an in-cab environ- ment – fl eets with the right set of tools can maintain tight control over security and reliability as they enter this brave new world. When Quality Distribution Inc. upgraded its cloud tech- nology, employees and drivers noticed improvements in the speed, mobility and effi ciency with which they could access information. QDI is a large, diverse publicly-traded transportation company with a decentralized business model. The Tampa, Fla.-based bulk hauler operates four business entities with 150 locations across North America, 80 percent of which are small offi ces with three to fi ve computer users. Nearly all 3,000 drivers are independent contractors; QDI also provides IT services to an affi liate network of carriers. For years, QDI has managed its software and services from its central data center in Tampa. This cloud data center serves up software to the thin client or "dummy terminals" at each offi ce; this setup enables QDI to limit the software it has to store and support on the remote devices. Cliff Dixon, the company's vice president of IT, reached a decision point early last year. People wanted more options to access informa- tion, and Dixon wanted a better way to manage soft- ware licensing and updates to the operating systems of hundreds of computers. Dixon decided to em- brace the Google model of cloud computing; from that point on, the Web browser would be the front end of the cloud. He converted QDI's e-mail system from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps, and he also converted from Microsoft Offi ce to G oogle Docs. With these changes, users could access, create, share and edit information and fi les using any device with a Web browser. "We've seen a big shift in users converting documents into Google and pressuring others to do it," Dixon says. QDI also converted its Windows laptops and desk- tops to Google Chrome- book and Chromebox computers. The Chrome operating system is opti- mized for Web-based ap- plications; eventually, all of QDI's software will become Web applications. In the meantime, the company is working with a technol- ogy vendor, Cloud Sherpas, to enable virtual access to native Microsoft Offi ce applications such as Word and Excel through a Web browser. "We are creating a net- "We are creating a network where you can bring any device that you want to work from if you feel it makes you more efficient." – CLIFF DIXON, VICE PRESIDENT OF IT, QUALITY DISTRIBUTION INC. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 61