Infomobility.it case study

Transcription

1 Infomobility.it case study Vodafone Global M2M Infomobility.it provides real-time in-vehicle monitoring for its haulage and insurance customers Vodafone Power to you

2 Infomobility case study Infomobility.it Demand for real-time in-vehicle monitoring is growing throughout Europe driven by the clear safety, control and efficiency benefits it delivers to haulage and insurance companies. To help meet this demand and in turn grow its business, the Infomobility.it Group is relying on Vodafone to provide the critical wireless data connectivity at the heart of its machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions. For our technology to work effectively, we needed a highly reliable wireless data network to carry the information between the vehicles and monitoring stations. Franco Iachini, Chief Executive Officer, Infomobility.it Group

3 3 Providing vital real-time information from vehicles to customers Based in the Italian province of Teramo, the Infomobility.it Group provides telematic solutions for its haulage and insurance customers. The Group began by providing remote sensing devices and its portfolio now also includes geographic information and satellite navigation systems and, more recently, driving monitoring products. We have recently developed InfoBox, a high-performance satellite tracking system for safety and logistics applications and passenger and car monitoring, says Franco Iachini, Chief Executive Officer, Infomobility.it Group. Infomobility.it s in-vehicle devices automatically transmit information such as speed, distance, acceleration and time over a wireless data network to the customer. Many haulage companies use Infomobility.it s telematic devices to track vehicles or trailers, aid fleet management and monitor the temperature inside refrigerated cargos. Benefits An efficient and reliable data network offers cost-effective M2M communications between vehicles and monitoring stations Fleet operators using the technology have seen insurance premiums fall by up to 60% Encourages safer driving habits and aids the introduction of payas-you-drive insurance policies Helps insurance companies to recover over 80% of stolen vehicles Provides a platform to increase market share to 10% throughout Italy and the rest of Europe Infomobility.it has a communications partner it can rely on to help the Group expand across Europe Insurance companies also use the Group s solutions to monitor driver behaviour. The insurer can assess the risk of a driver having an accident and charge insurance premiums accordingly. The insurer would, for example, charge higher premiums for a driver who covers long distances at high speed than for a driver who travels short distances at lower speeds.

4 Infomobility case study The telematic solution provides this vital premium-adjusting information. The solution also helps detect and deter vehicle or trailer theft as soon as a theft occurs, monitoring personnel can alert the appropriate authorities, providing an exact location. With more and more insurance companies and major fleet operators interested in monitoring driver behaviour on the grounds of road safety, efficient logistics and costs, the market for this type of device and associated e-business services is growing rapidly within Italy and the rest of Europe, says Franco. The insurance companies are especially interested in the pay-per-use and pay-as-you-drive applications while other organisations employ the technology for road user charging. One million vehicles in Italy currently carry such devices and forecasts indicate that the European market will increase tenfold by With Vodafone, we now have a dependable telecommunications partner to support our expansion plans throughout Europe. Franco Iachini, Chief Executive Officer, Infomobility.it Group However, for our technology to work effectively, we needed a highly reliable wireless data network to carry the information between the vehicles and monitoring stations. This is where Vodafone came in. When you are using a highly optimised communications protocol to boost device performance and lower data transmissions, byte-oriented pricing is crucial for M2M communications. Our agreement with Vodafone helps us to control costs. Franco Iachini, Chief Executive Officer, Infomobility.it Group

5 5 Looking for a reliable, high quality, cost-effective solution Infomobility.it set out its requirements to three companies, including Vodafone. The formal tender specified three key criteria: high network reliability and coverage, Quality of Service (QoS) and cost-effective network charges for data traffic. The Group chose Vodafone for its ability to deliver on all three criteria. During the testing phase of proposed solutions, Vodafone provided technical support to Infomobility.it s engineering department and helped its staff to configure an appropriate SIM for a cost-effective M2M communications solution. One important aspect of the QoS we offer is the updating frequency of the data transmitted by our box. Consequently, we needed a good billing solution and a proprietary encryption protocol to lower data exchange costs, says Gianluigi Brasili, Chief Technical Officer, Infomobility.it Group. Increasing control and lowering costs With the Vodafone M2M communications solution in place, Infomobility.it has so far provided Italian insurance companies with around 7,500 InfoBoxes. Tests indicate that network coverage is very good. The vast majority of vehicles have reported excellent coverage which is especially encouraging considering the terrain in certain parts of Italy, says Franco. Car drivers and hauliers opting for the technology are seeing considerable financial benefits. Some insurance companies have reduced individual premiums by between 10 and 25% and large fleet operators have seen premiums fall by as much as 60%. Insurance companies are benefitting from the technology too, says Franco. They are making very sophisticated user profiles that will allow them to introduce pay-asyou-drive insurance policies in the near future. Moreover, in the case of theft, over 80% of stolen cars are recovered. Thanks to Vodafone s M2M communications, Infomobility.it now has the platform to expand business within this lucrative market. Over one year, the company forecasts turnover will increase from 4.8 million to 6.4 million, with approximately 15,000 InfoBox devices installed in vehicles. Our goal is to gain 10% of the market by 2014, which represents one million installed devices, says Franco. Given the positive experience we have had with Vodafone during this project, we now have a dependable telecommunications partner to support our expansion plans throughout Europe.

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