ABI Research forecasts that the total number of Software-as-a-Service or SaaS-based subscriber units will increase from 1.06 million at the end of 2012 to 16.8 million on a global basis by the end of 2018.>
SaaS-based telematics services are defined as software-based telematics applications residing in the cloud (in either a public or private cloud infrastructure), where the intelligence or data processing essential to the functioning of the application is performed in the cloud rather than by software/hardware residing locally in the vehicle.
“SaaS cloud-based services offer many benefits for telematics services providers compared to the traditional platforms,” comments Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research. “For example, the platform is easily scalable and all IT services can be outsourced to the cloud provider which means that the telematics provider can focus on its core competence of developing telematics applications.”
However, there are a number of potential issues and challenges, including data privacy and possible legal issues regarding data ownership. There are also security concerns as any ‘over the air’ transmission of firmware updates could provide an opportunity for hackers to modify or disable customers’ operating systems or introduce malware.
As with other cloud applications, fleet telematics systems must be designed from the outset with the cloud in mind and it is often difficult and not cost effective to port legacy systems (typically obtained through acquisition) over to the cloud. Companies well positioned to benefit from the trend towards SaaS-based services include Fleetmatics, MiX Telematics, Telogis, and XRS.
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