Big Rigs and Big Data: Takeaways from XUE 2013

It’s no exaggeration to say that trucking affects every person in modern society. If you grocery shop, make a simple click to purchase something on Amazon or own anything made after 1975, the trucking industry has worked hard, behind the scenes, to make sure you have what you want, when you want it. Big changes are happening inside of the trucking industry and we at mindWireless are learning from how the industry is flexing and shifting with these changes, especially in terms of mobility solutions.

Recently mindWireless had the privilege of attending XRS Corp’s 2013 XUE Conference that featured XRS’ brand new mobile data collecting unit. This new system is exciting because as trucking companies begin to adopt it, we here at mindWireless will be poised to aide in complete mobility management of the myriad of new devices companies will see they have to now manage.

XRS & an M2M Revolution

Trucking companies are now becoming keen collectors of big-data. Transport enterprise has been attempting to collect fleet-information for years with satellite outfitted big-rigs, this is an effective but costly and complicated solution. XRS has recently unveiled a massively simplified mobility solution for trucking fleets: a single small device that connects directly to a truck’s computer. This system then transmits a Bluetooth signal to an operator’s own wireless device (smartphone, laptop or tablet) giving the driver a real-time, detailed read-out of their driving activity.

mindWireless & The Irony of Mobility’s Inefficiencies

It became clear to us at mindWireless during the conference that XRS’ “machine to machine” strategy will undoubtedly cause adoptive companies a whole host of new mobility management work. Decision-makers inside of shipping companies will inevitably find themselves internally managing an extended wireless program for each of their drivers that will be incredibly taxing and inefficient if handled in-house. After adoption, every truck in their fleet equals one new corporate-liable device to manage.

Can’t We Just Use Carrier or IT Support?

While wireless carriers are very good at operating, servicing and expanding networks, many enterprises find their customer support lacking in the areas of invoice processing and accurate cost allocations. Pooled voice and data plans can lead to confusion and added costs. If operating a stipend BYOD program, usage stipends can be very taxing on HR and expense reporting.

Since 2000, mindWireless has been driven in achieving excellence in wireless reporting, help-desk solutions and cost-optimization. As organizations embrace powerful and exciting mobile solutions like XRS’, it will indeed pay to consider the areas of mobility management that will need to be addressed. Because, in an increasingly interconnected world, mobility, like trucking, is growing to affect every person in modern society.