Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/93367
TECHNOLOGY: CLOUD COMPUTING SOTI INC. SAYS IT HAS MORE THAN 80,000 CUSTOM- ERS WORLDWIDE USING ITS PROD- UCTS TO SUPPORT DEVICES RUNNING WINDOWS DESK- TOP AND HAND- HELD OPERATING SYSTEMS. stalled on a handheld. To date, QDI has supplied drivers with BlackBerry handsets to use XRS. Going forward, drivers will have more hardware options; in addition to using consumer devices to run XRS, drivers can use a Web browser on their device to access QDI's internal Website to retrieve pay statements and other information. "We want to be a pro- vider of value to drivers," Dixon says. "Drivers are in demand, and we want to be an attractive alternative. We make it easy to come onboard and easy to get to the data they need to do their jobs." The ability to deploy XRS through a consumer-style model can speed imple- mentation. Drivers can download an XRS applica- tion from the Google Play store or click on a link sent to their device from QDI. Once they plug in the Relay device, they can be using electronic logs and other features in minutes. XRS offers the application on a monthly subscrip- tion basis with no upfront hardware costs and no minimum length of con- tract. Xata says the system soon will be available on more than 50 types of mobile devices to automati- cally transmit vehicle and operator data directly to a management dashboard. J.J. Keller offers an on- board recorder for $199 that is compatible with Android smartphones to record hours of service and DVIRs through its Encompass E-Logs online reporting service, which starts at $3 per month. Customers can upgrade to the Encompass Premium Edition for $25 per month to get a per- formance dashboard with fuel usage, GPS location tracking and other driver metrics. Qualcomm also recently announced development of an Android platform that will run the same hours-of-service, messag- ing, workflow, safety and performance monitoring applications as the com- pany's present MCP; the difference is that fleets can use consumer-style Android devices for the display unit. 64 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 Applications on the devices will sync with a stationary "black box" in the vehicle. Qualcomm anticipates its new Android platform will be deployed mostly by small fleets as a low-cost approach for complying with hours-of-service and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Compliance Safety Ac- countability program. Even larger fleets that already use a Qualcomm MCP, such as the MCP 50 or MCP 200, might want to use Android as a comple- mentary platform to run applications like messaging and workflow so that a driv- er could capture signatures and take pictures of freight at the point of delivery. When used as a comple- mentary system, the An- droid platform would not require a separate black box, says Norm Ellis, vice presi- dent of sales, services and marketing, who anticipates that larger fleets will not choose the Android system over the MCP because of the lack of control they would have with consumer devices. How long would the hard- ware last? What if drivers lose or drop a phone? Fleets WITH TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING REMOTE EMPLOYEES TO CONDUCT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEIR WORK IN THE FIELD, FLEETS ARE FINDING A NEED FOR WAYS TO MANAGE A WIDE ARRAY OF MOBILE DEVICES.