Verizon-Fleetmatics Deal Makes Telematics Giant
Logos via Verizon and Fleetmatics.
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Logos via Verizon and Fleetmatics.
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Verizon will control about 25% of the telematics market following its planned acquisitions of Fleetmatics and Telogis in moves that indicate steady growth ahead for fleet telematics use, experts told AutomotiveFleet.com.
The deals will bring about 1.4 million units in service under Verizon’s telematics unit and create a telematics provider with the potential to dominate the market, said Clem Driscoll, who produces an annual market study. The units would be shifted to operate on Verizon’s cellular network.
“Fleetmatics is the largest fleet tracking company in the world, and this is the largest acquisition in the history of this industry,” said Driscoll, who’s been watching the industry for two decades. “It’s the largest in terms of money and subscribers.”
Verizon should be able to complete its acquisitions, even in a challenging regulatory environment. Anti-trust concerns should be allayed because there are still several hundred telematics vendors in the U.S., Driscoll said.
After the dust settles, Geotab and GPS Insight would be Verizon’s largest competitors. In addition to software, Geotab offers its GO7 OBDII dongle. Omnitracs and PeopleNet would continue to be the primary telematics providers to over-the-road trucking fleets.
If Verizon successfully closes the acquisitions of Telogis and Fleetmatics, it may need to consolidate the three software-as-a-service platforms. All three companies provide hardware from a third-party vendor and would likely continue to do so, Driscoll said.
Verizon’s acquisitions should create greater awareness about the value of telematics data to fleets and help fleet managers further combat misuse of company assets, said Dillon Blake, senior director of business development at Runzheimer, a reimbursement management firm.
“The issues most fleet companies face now is there are a lot of data, and what do you do with that data,” Blake said. “Verizon has a good solution to provide some deep business intelligence in an easily digestible form.”
Related: Verizon to Acquire Fleetmatics
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