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Synovia publishes new version of mobile app which includes tracking inoperable and lost/stolen vehicles and enhanced mapping functionality.

The fleet tracking technology company has launched the latest upgrade to its free mobile application designed for fleet managers to manage their fleet from anywhere with a smart device.

The latest version released to the Apple app store and Google Play will allow users to see multiple vehicles on simultaneously as well as filter vehicles shown on the map by groups. It will also allow for quick and easy navigation to broken-down vehicles to help personnel in the field get up and running more quickly.

Users will also be able to toggle between satellite views to provide greater understanding when vehicles may be off road or situated in a large parking facility.

“We continue to listen to our customers and invest significantly in our technology to better deliver the features and functionality they need to operate smarter and safer fleets, save money and provide improved customer service,” said Jon King, CEO, Synovia. “We recognise fleet managers require more information in a mobile application and will continue to innovate to enhance the mobile experience and deliver a more sophisticated user experience.”

Research analyst firm, Strategies For Growth℠, has launched its 2019 field service management tracking survey and is looking for participants.

The 2019 survey is the fifth in a series of now annual benchmark tracking update surveys that provide an analysis of the key existing and emerging trends that characterise the global service market. 

Like past surveys, the 2019 version is a targeted, multiple choice questionnaire that should take less than 15 minutes to complete. All responses will remain strictly confidential, and will only be tabulated and reported in the aggregate. 

However, if respondents provide their name, title, company and e-mail address, then Strategies For Growth℠  will be happy to forward a copy of the top line survey results in a complementary executive-level analysts take report to be published following the data collection and analysis.

Field Service News will be publishing the executive level results from the survey once the data has been collected and analysed later this year.

You can take part in the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019_FSM 

 

BigChange, the mobile workforce technology company, has appointed Frederic Dupeyron to oversee its expansion in mainland Europe. 

Having served as a non-executive director at BigChange since it was founded, Dupeyron joined the company on a full-time basis at the beginning of February as Executive Vice President for Europe.

He is tasked with establishing BigChange subsidiaries in mainland Europe and its expansion across the region. Frederic Dupeyron, who will report directly to BigChange's CEO, Martin Port, has held several senior leadership positions for European transportation and technology organisations over the last 20 years.

He was CEO at Masternaut prior to its acquisition by Francisco Partners in 2012 and previously served as CEO of Hub One and ADP Management, subsidiaries of French airport operator Groupe ADP. Frederic Dupeyron began his career working in finance, serving in the Transport Finance Team at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and then as Director of Corporate Finance at Aéroports de Paris. 

Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, said: “2019 is going to be a huge year for BigChange as we ramp up our activities around the world. I’ve worked with Frederic for many years and am delighted that he is joining BigChange on a full-time basis to lead our charge into mainland Europe.” 

Frederic Dupeyron added: “I’ve seen BigChange go from strength-to-strength since it was launched and I am excited the opportunity now exists for me to focus my efforts on boosting its business in mainland Europe. BigChange’s multilingual technology is already transforming mobile workforce operations on the continent, and there are huge growth opportunities for the company there.”

Ericsson has unveiled the next steps in the evolution of cellular IoT and launched new solutions that will enable service providers to address a larger part of the IoT market with diverse use cases across verticals including automotive, manufacturing and utilities
In line with its cellular IoT vision, Ericsson is launching enhanced functionalities for Massive IoT and new solutions for Broadband IoT. One example of Massive IoT enhancement is the NB-IoT Extended Cell Range 100km, which stretches the standards-based limit from around 40km to 100km through software updates without changes to existing NB-IoT devices.

This opens huge opportunities in IoT connectivity in rural and remote areas, particularly for logistics, agriculture and environment monitoring. Ericsson has deployed NB-IoT data connections up to 100km with Telstra and DISH.The Broadband IoT solutions being launched include drone detection and link control, radio access network (RAN) slicing, Advanced Subscriber Group Handling, and Multi-Gigabit LTE for 2Gbps data throughput and around 10 millisecond latency.

The new solutions will enable a wide range of use cases in automotive, drones, AR/VR, advanced wearables, smart manufacturing, and smart utilities. Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, says: “Cellular IoT is moving from early adoption with Massive IoT to global rollout. We are now describing ‘what’s next?’ for our customers and how they can make the most out of their 4G and 5G investments on the same network and address more advanced IoT use cases across industries.”

Ericsson’s evolution concept describes how cellular IoT can move from the more basic use cases of Massive IoT such as asset tracking and smart metering to increasingly sophisticated use cases enabled by Broadband IoT (for example infotainment in cars, AR/VR, drones and advanced wearables), and then by Critical IoT (for example, autonomous vehicles), and Industrial Automation IoT (for example, collaborative robotics in manufacturing).

This stepwise approach will make it easier for service providers to match cellular IoT capabilities with current and future use cases by continuing to enhance LTE networks while preparing for 5G. With effective use of techniques such as network slicing, service providers can support all four segments in a single network, allowing them to optimize their assets and tap into revenue opportunities within industries.

According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, the number of cellular IoT connections is expected to reach 4.1 billion in 2024 – increasing with an annual growth rate of 27 percent.

Patrick Filkins, Senior Research Analyst, IoT and Mobile Network Infrastructure at IDC, says: “Ericsson has come up with a uniquely clear vision for cellular IoT with well-defined segments for service providers to address new business growth opportunities from industry digitalization. Ericsson’s cellular IoT evolution concept will support service providers to incrementally allow add-on use cases even within a single vertical.”

Firm's first software release of 2019 tailored to engineers on large project work.

Job and Project Management Software outfit simPRO's has, as part of its Mobile package, released an app that records working hours as well as allocating time for engineers in both service and project environments.

The TimeSheet app will allow businesses to understand how much time is being spent on each project, and cut back on administrative labour, such as paper-work, on-site.

Jonathan Eastgate, simPRO's Chief Technology Officer said: "The extended app gives all engineers who use it a new level of autonomy. Time can be recorded retrospectively  - or as the job is being completed. And the ability to use the app offline gives users access to review and record activities no matter where they are."

 

A new report from has highlighted that senior executives are still often the weakest link in the corporate cyber security chain and that cyber criminals target this vulnerability to commit serious data breaches. 

According to a white paper from The Bunker, many senior executives ignore the threat from hackers and cyber criminals and often feel that security policies in their respective organisations do not apply to their unique position. However, in reality, their often privileged access to company information make their personal accounts extremely valuable to exploit and heightens the need for extra care.

In addition to highlighting the common mistakes made by senior executives, the white paper lists the top security areas that should be prioritised to ensure cyber security resilience.Phil Bindley, Managing Director at The Bunker said: “In tackling and mitigating the security threat, a critical issue is a failure to securely back up email data. Many businesses assume that a cloud-hosted service, such as Office 365, comes with automatic back-up and security provisions.

Unfortunately, it does not.“Unless stated and agreed, vendors do not guarantee complete system security or data backup as standard, so organisations need to be careful and have a full understanding of the SLAs in place. We advise people to replace the word ‘cloud’ with ‘someone else’s computer’, to get a better perspective of the risks that need to be mitigated when deploying a cloud-based service”.

All employees -especially those at the top of the corporate ladder- need to realise that cyber criminals use social engineering, email phishing and malware to access personal accounts, and C-level staff especially need to avoid becoming the weakest link in the cyber security chain by adhering to regularly updated, company-wide security policies regarding data sharing and backup.He continued: “Cloud offers a highly secure and cost-effective platform to defend against threats and malicious attacks.

However, data stored in a public cloud typically resides outside the protection of an organisation’s internal systems and many vendors do not automatically back-up data or implement security and privacy controls as standard, making it a perfect entry-point for cyber criminals to exploit.

“Reviewing corporate policies, with a focus on people, premises, processes, systems and suppliers will provide valuable insights into which areas to improve, and by championing a ‘security first’ corporate culture, organisations and their senior executives will be well positioned to avoid the high financial costs, reputational damage and unexpected downtime that could result from a cyber attack or data breach,” he concluded.

 

Download a copy of the white paper click here,

 

The effects of the record-breaking temperatures in the US, specifically the  Midwest have had a significant economic impact on all fleet activity. Commercial fleets including UPS and USPS were forced to suspend their operations to ensure driver safety.

 

Geotab launched time-lapse maps showing how the polar vortex is impacting commercial fleet activity, based on a data analysis of connected vehicles.

Analysing data derived from an average of 7,500 vehicles equipped with devices (between 1/23 and 1/30), they quantified the impact this weather is causing on commercial activity and proven just how significant of an influencing factor the weather can be to our economy.

When Geotab looked at traffic on January 30, compared to the previous Wednesday, January 23, they saw a 51% reduction in total miles driven by all fleets, according to the data.

There was an overall drop in volume throughout the entire day, which translated into a drop in deliveries and other services in neighbourhoods away from the main roads.

Full Report: Polar vortex halts fleet activity in U.S.

Tieto has entered into a strategic partnership with Swedish telecom operator Telia leveraging 5G mobile technology.
5G technology has been on the agenda for several years but the standard is not yet completely set and the roll-out of commercial networks will not begin until next year. But despite that, Telia and Tieto both see plenty of reasons for companies to start looking at the technology already today. As part of Telia’s partnership program, Tieto will be involved in developing solutions together with its customers and making use of the innovation-friendly environment for 5G that the operator has created. In addition to Tieto, other members of the Telia 5G Partner Program include Ericsson, Volvo Construction Equipment and Einride.

”To only view 5G as yet another communications technology is too simplistic. From our perspective, we feel that the technology is an enabler for our customers and a way for them to carry out projects and ventures that would have been very difficult – sometimes impossible – with today’s technology,” says Cecilia de Leeuw, Head of Telecom Services, Tieto.

One example is environments where requirements for reliability and security are extremely high. The technology can be used to expand infrastructure, for example to enable large numbers of connected devices that communicate with each other and send large quantities of data at high speed and controlling devices in real time.”“We are already seeing great interest from customers within the forest industry where they see opportunities to optimize its supply chain thanks to the possibilities for real-time planning that 5G technology enables. By placing connected sensors in trees, one can easily keep track of every parameter, from moisture levels and temperatures to weather conditions and possible risks like wood rot, in order to identify the exact right time for harvesting,” says de Leeuw.

Healthcare is another area where 5G technology is expected to have a major impact. Secure and stable connections will play an important role in building secure information pathways, and in the longer term the technology can lead to solutions like doctors operating surgical robots remotely – enabling people who live in faraway areas to receive advanced treatments without having to travel.

“As always when it comes to this type of potentially revolutionary technology leap, it is difficult to predict where the technology will go, how it will be utilized and what it will enable. But I feel confident that we will see many incredibly exciting services and products in the coming years that have been made possible thanks to 5G technology,” concluded de Leeuw.