Many reports indicate that small and medium sized business (SMB) owners expect their revenues to grow in 2017. It is reasonable to anticipate that those business owners would wish to take advantage of the latest technologies to advance their objectives, however it always strikes me as odd that many IoT technology vendors seem to overlook SMB and region-specific market segments.
Their loss. My gain.
At DCS, our business is enabling our partners of all sizes to gain the benefits of IoT solutions. We help school districts monitor bus driver behavior, enable local landscaper company owners to maximize the daily deployment of their personnel, assist rural businesses to monitor their diverse business assets, and empower owners of small fleets with powerful fleet management solutions similar to those technologies utilized by the largest fleet owners.
At the core of these implementations are CalAmp’s telematics gateways and supporting software services that facilitate the connection of data in the field to information in the office. CalAmp’s Programmable Event Generator (PEG) is an advanced alert engine and processing system that can be customized for each customer to capture and reliably deliver a wide range of data to back end systems that translate that information into actionable intelligence. As needs change over time, CalAmp’s Programming Update Logistics System (PULS) permits DCS to update the deployed device’s embedded software and/or fundamental behavior over-the-air so that customers can modify the data they are capturing without having to bring their entire fleet back into the garage. In the SMB market, this ability to customize the devices and to update them without traveling great distances saves valuable time, reduces cost and enables businesses to make more informed decisions.
This all said, the smarts and flexibility offered by PEG and PULS can serve a greater purpose than just tracking vehicles. DCS receives a lot of requests for creative implementations of industrial IoT solutions and CalAmp products have proven adaptable across several use cases and market segments. For example, we have used CalAmp technologies to solve temperature failure issues for craft beer brewers in Southern California, permit Virginia pig famers to monitor their livestock and alert high rise condo owners via text message when they have mail in their mailbox (yes, people still get physical mail). Core to the success of these solutions was the versatility of CalAmp’s extensive offering.
Telematics powered solutions promise great benefits to businesses of all sizes, and particularly to small businesses. The key is recognizing that one-size-fits-all does not always work in the small business world, and that taking the time to create a uniquely tuned solution using a flexible and versatile platform unlocks a path to customer success and trust.