As I reflect on the year that was, I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of the connected vehicle and mobility revolution. Despite the curveballs and challenges of 2020, the fundamental role we play in keeping people, assets and vehicles moving hasn’t changed. In fact, today, it’s more important than ever.
Despite the challenges, 2020 has been a milestone year for Intelematics.
My decision to join Intelematics back in April was driven predominantly by a desire to work in a company with a robust data and technology DNA. Intelematics’ data pedigree is second to none. This strong belief in the company’s fundamentals carried me through the initial challenges of taking the helm in a completely remote environment. A transition to the cloud in 2019 with Amazon Web Services (AWS) held us in good stead as our entire workforce transitioned into remote work mode in March. That’s where my Intelematics journey began. From day one, I joined all of our employees in navigating working from home and all that it entailed.
This year Intelematics decided to elevate customer experience to the top of our strategic agenda. We undertook an exercise of extensive customer and market research to help understand how to reduce friction along the customer corridor; thereby enabling customers to smoothly transition from their initial market research and onboarding phase through to ongoing service operations.
As a further sign of our dedication to customer outcomes, we committed the organisation to achieve ISO 27001, the Information Security Management System Accreditation. Through the hardening of processes, architectures, and procedures, we have strengthened our lines of defence and are more equipped than ever to safeguard our critical business data.
The data required for a post-COVID traffic and transport system
COVID-19 reshaped not just the way we live, work and play, but also the future of transport infrastructure and mobility. Previous assumptions about population density, migration and demographic trends are out the door as industrial hubs move to the suburbs and away from the CBD. Traffic flow in regional locations is also on the rise, and usage patterns of traditional mass transport are changing before our eyes. Who better to understand traffic flow and movement than Intelematics, an organisation that derives unique insights from years of traffic speed, congestion, volume, and origin and destination data.
Mobility data became a critical asset for decision-makers in these times of change in industries that enable movement of people and goods. Especially with both Federal and State governments investing heavily in infrastructure as part of their economic recovery plans. Therefore, keeping track of traffic trends and the changes in road usage was key to planning and executing any transport or infrastructure project. We understood Australia needed a reliable source for traffic data to stay ahead of the curve and factor in the changing dynamics of an uncertain environment. The launch of INSIGHT is a market leading traffic analysis tool that gives the government’s and councils, planning authorities, engineering firms and other industries the whole traffic picture. Intelligence derived from data allows for more informed decisions about the transport solutions needed to sustain the changing face of cities. It also unlocks new ways of thinking about how we build and connect our cities, make them safer, less congested, and more sustainable.
The rise of the connected vehicle
Among other things, 2020 will be remembered for the year Toyota took the next step in their connected vehicle journey in Australia. Intelematics are proud to partner with Toyota Australia in delivering potentially lifesaving connected vehicle safety and security technology. Intelematics ASURE Safety and Security Platform uses innovative digital technologies to provide emergency call (eCall), breakdown assistance (bCall) and Stolen Vehicle Tracking (SVT) with an emphasis on customer experience. In the event of an accident, or upon button push, ASURE automatically connects the driver with a triage contact to arrange the appropriate help be it emergency services or a request for the police. This technology is so critical that we are lobbying industry leaders to make it mandatory in all Australian vehicles.
Intelematics also announced a joint venture with Voyomotive bringing predictive battery analytics to the North American market in an industry first. Yet another example of our data skills.
In January, Intelematics launched CONNECT, a modern and modular fleet tracking and management solution that’s shaking up the industry. Throughout the year, CONNECT’s feature-set developed in line with our customers’ requests. This led to the evolution of new vehicle optimisation dashboards, speed and impact alerts and ATO certified Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) reporting. We also became the fleet management solution providers for market-leading car subscription companies Carbar and Carly and are supporting several businesses in the connected vehicle space. As we move into 2021, we will continue to invest in building modular and agile solutions for our customers.
Delivering mobility data to help keep us moving
At our very core Intelematics is a data-driven company. We are at our best when deriving actionable insights from massive data sets – this is what has driven us for the last 20-years. One example of this is the project we completed with RACV in Victoria to relaunch arevo, their mobility as a Service (MaaS) app. The app taps into the needs of a younger generation, with Intelematics essentially building the ”brains” behind the route-planning functionality that powers the app. In 2021 we plan to offer our MaaS solutions to more markets across Australia and New Zealand.
Investment in R&D and shaping our industry
Intelematics is committed to ongoing investment in research and development. Intelematics recently partnered with Australia’s leading applied research centre in the transportation and mobility sector, iMove Australia, to research the impact of connected vehicles on road safety. We are also advocating for the standardisation of industry data so that it can be used and interpreted by all – including government, academic and commercial organisations.
On a personal note
Intelematics is a wonderful organisation, and one I’m proud to have led for the past 9-months. The only thing I would change about 2020 is not having had the chance to meet a few more of my colleagues in-person. Much can be achieved through technology in the virtual world, but I do miss shaking hands, sharing a drink, and the casual banter of an office environment. The way we live may be changing, but the need for human-to-human interaction is something that never will.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday break and I look forward to 2021.
Rob is an MBA-qualified executive leader of high-performance teams with consulting experience and tenures across the logistics, telco, energy renewables and location & navigation market sectors.
He currently leads the product and design team at Intelematics and is responsible for the strategic development of connected vehicle and mobility solutions for the Australian market and global AI-based data services.
He has extensive experience in building new products from inception, integrating newly acquired businesses, commercialising large marketplaces for high profile Australian brands and negotiating deals with global suppliers. He feels comfortable working in complex digital and iOT-based environments dealing with rapid change.
