The True Meaning of Technology Convergence

How Technology Convergence is Driving New Developments in Fleet Tracking

With new technologies emerging at a faster rate than ever, companies are often left to choose between the new-fangled tool of the moment and the tried-and-true technology they’re already using. As great as new technology breakthroughs can be, they can also create new headaches, including technology gaps in understanding for management, pricey new hardware, privacy concerns, integration issues, and more.

As a result, the continued drumbeat of New. More. Better. has created a new set of tech convergence problems for companies across industries.

In a recent on-demand webinar conducted by Lytx, a Q&A interview between Tony Papas, Channel Director at Lytx, and Oliver Temple, Channel Business Development Director at Lytx offered some insights. Oliver began the discussion with a definition of the concept; “Technology convergence is often perceived as one provider offering all of the pieces of the puzzle. All-in-one doesn’t always mean one for all. Integration is the key to creating a mission critical solution that covers all aspects of a customers’ needs.”

For example, Oliver noted the recent partnership between Webfleet Solutions and Lytx. “This is a best-in-class telematics service provider leveraging best-in-class video solutions to create an all-in-one technology for their end client. It’s all about the end client’s needs and providing a path towards that end.”

What are the Main Challenges of Technology Convergence?

While the concept of technology convergence is logical at its root, the challenge is often finding the right partners that will be the right fit for your own suite of services. The technology itself must provide a seamless fit. Oliver explains, “If you don’t have open APIs, it can become a very complex project.”

“Convergence isn’t just a technology project, it’s a change management process. Many businesses are still operating in silos which doesn’t give their technology the ability to be cross-functional with other best in class solutions.”

“Lytx has taken the task of seamless technology convergence seriously, realising that partnerships that are easily integrated is a great way to do business. One key area that we’ve focused on is safety. We’ve taken our data and fed it into risk management and collision analysis environments to help converge safety elements. It’s all about a cross-functional approach.”

To help the company further define their priorities, Lytx created a hierarchy of three key areas of focus that were derived from feedback from our strategic partners and their customers. They include Integration, Smart Technologies, and Seamless Connectivity; each of which must be discussed and considered when expanding the capabilities of Lytx’s products and services.

Lytx’s Hierarchy in a Nutshell

Integration: New technology should be easy to install and use. Per Mr. Papas, “We designed our fleet cameras in a way that makes them easy to install in 30 minutes. Once installed, the device is automatically ready to work, giving our customers immediate two-way flow of data from the moment the camera powers up.”

Smart Technologies: As new areas of artificial intelligence emerge, it’s not simply about fleet tracking, it’s about making the roads safer for everyone. Tony explains, “This is just another way that technology, in this case, artificial intelligence capabilities are converging with many industries, including fleet tracking. For example, with drivers being more tech savvy than ever, the list of distractions continues to grow. The artificial intelligence technology that we employ includes machine vision that allows our users to know when a driver is distracted by a device such as a cell phone or tablet. When this is detected, we can then send an immediate reminder to the driver.”

Seamless Connectivity: Being able to seamlessly connect any suite of new solutions across platforms has always been an issue as many companies are still using what may be considered yesterday’s technology. Per Oliver Temple, “Our goal is to make new solutions as accessible as possible to whatever platform our strategic partners are using. We try to enable the solutions we offer in a way that makes them nimble and adoptable across multiple technologies and platforms.”

What the Future Holds

As new capabilities emerge in fleet tracking and video telematics, it’s important for our customers to have the most advanced capabilities. The concept of converging technologies is not going away, hence the need for a suite of products that not only moves the needle in capabilities, but also keeps the customer’s core abilities to track and maintain their vehicles simple and efficient.

With over 20 years of experience in fleet tracking, Lytx is here to help. To learn more about Lytx’s suite of solutions for any sized fleet, please contact us at www.lytx.com/surfsight or reach us at +44 (0) 1908 880 733 / intlchannelsales@lytx.com.

Watch the webinar!