What is Fleet Telematics?

“Telematics” is used to describe any system that transmits data over a telecommunications network (the word itself is just a combination of telecommunications and informatics). However, most of the time when people refer to telematics, they really mean vehicle telematics, but the basic ideas are the same for both terms.

Vehicle telematics includes gathering, storing, and transmitting information about specific vehicles for tracking and reporting purposes.

With telematics, you not only have the ability to gather and store data from your remote assets, but you can also put this information to good use. Not only will you be able to see how your vehicles and drivers are performing in the field, but you can identify areas that need improvement. It all depends on your provider and what information is gathered.

Some telematics providers only report on GPS location data. The functionality may be great to keep tabs on where your drivers are ‘currently,’ but what about the future and possible growth of your business?

More advanced providers can monitor much more than GPS pings such as engine diagnostics and driver behaviors. These companies also provide reporting and analytics tools to identify and correct problem areas to keep your business headed in the right direction.