The trucking industry can benefit from advances in “open” wireless and mobile technology that cost less and offer more options than proprietary solutions
, according to Marc Mitchell of Enterprise Information Solutions Inc.
Enterprise Information Solutions, Downers Grove, Ill., is a systems integration and computer-engineering firm.
“For most of the 15 years that wireless technology has been available, it has been a proprietary and closed offering for transportation,” Mitchell told an audience in Atlanta last week.
“Today, a new generation of wireless technologies leverage a much wider audience of users, but is still capable of addressing specific transportation industry needs. These new solutions mean measurable ROI that did not previously exist.”
So-called “open” technologies include computer operating systems, communications protocols and software that can be used on readily available commercial networks and inexpensive hardware – cellphones, for example.
Mitchell said the idea of open system technology is often misunderstood. Many vendors claim their solutions are “open” because of compatibility with other products. But “open” technology really refers to a system built to a previously existing public standard, one that has equivalent solutions from multiple vendors and is not restricted to a single, often costly vendor, Mitchell explained.
Mitchell said that when choosing the right wireless technology, fleets must consider a range of issues.
“A wireless solution that works for one company, doesn’t necessarily work for another,” he said.
For more information visit www.eisolution.com/transportation.