3 questions to ask your fleet management solution provider

Actionable data has the power to change the way businesses manage customer demand, so choosing the right fleet management solution provider for your fleet is more crucial than ever before.

“Today, big data is providing rich information about every process and product. Those who know how to use it understand that rich data is telling a story, and smart businesses are listening.” —Forbes

Having the right data at your fingertips is one of the best ways to evaluate and improve both fleet productivity and safety, as well as your company’s bottom line. But how do you ensure your fleet management solution provider can provide that data and help you manage it? It all comes down to their answers to these three simple questions:

1. Is your solution collecting the right data?

Can your provider give you insights on everything from the status of your engine to the status of your windshield wipers? Can they give you that data across multiple vehicle makes and models? Ask this question to ensure your fleet management solution provider can give you the details you need for all the vehicles in your fleet. Otherwise, you might be left with an incomplete view of what your fleet is doing, and what needs to change to maximize your efficiency.

For example, let’s say a driver gets into an accident in some rough winter weather. Your fleet management solution provider should be able to give you the data you need to complete an accident reconstruction report.

“If there’s an accident, I’m going to want the read out on the accelerometer. I want to know what the outside air temperature was, whether or not it was snowing at the time, and if the windshield wiper blades were going at the time. All that creates a better, more informative picture of what really happened,” said Colin Sutherland, Executive Vice President, Geotab.

Having the full picture of vehicle diagnostics could mean the difference between having an accident covered by insurance or not. It could also mean the difference between saving or spending thousands of dollars.

2. How will your data be protected?

Once you know your fleet management provider can collect the types of data you need, you’ll want to know that they can protect it against threats and loss, too. 

Make sure your provider has a thorough plan for how they’ll keep your company’s data safe. You don’t want to be in a position in which you lose pivotal data that could’ve changed the course of your business for the better, or in one where you’re left to protect fleet data on your own. After all, you’ve got a business to run, and you don’t have unlimited resources. 

“Every piece of information can be monetized by cybercriminals, and keeping all information encrypted not only makes their job harder but also yours more worry-free." —Adrian Liviu Arsene, Senior E-Threat Analyst at Bitdefender, via PC Mag

Businesses of all sizes and shapes have data cybercriminals want. Don’t get caught without a safeguard.

3. Does the solution offer role-based permissions?

If your fleet is large, spanning different regions of a country or several different countries entirely, a fleet manager in one of your regions may not need to see vehicle diagnostics for another region—and they may not want to sort through your entire database to find data specific to their region, either. Be diligent in exploring this topic with your provider, as you might find they don’t have the capability to help you configure who sees what.

“The vast majority of telematics companies are designed for a small fleet—one user, one instance, one group—and can't cater to different divisions in the company,” said Colin Sutherland. “Allowing a division manager to see only what they need to see is an important capability for many companies.”

Taking advantage of specific, role-based permissions within your fleet management solution will make your team more productive, and can also help you protect data by sharing it on a regulated, as needed basis. When time is money, you can’t afford not to have a solution with that capability.

If you’re having trouble finding a fleet management solution provider who can give you good answers to these questions, or if you want to find a provider who can give you a better answer, check out T-Mobile for Business’ SyncUP FLEET. 

Not only can SyncUP FLEET capture a broad range of data, protect it, and give you the ability to set role-based permissions all on a fast 4G LTE network, all at the affordable price you’ve come to expect from the Un-carrier. 

Can your provider do all that? 

If the answer is no, contact a T-Mobile for Business rep to start mastering your fleet—and your bottom line—today.