The fleet operating system is coming

There may ultimately be one story from this week's Fleet Brief that matters more than all the others.

Fleet software is consolidating. Not necessarily through acquisitions. Through functionality.

Tracking used to be a product. Video used to be a product. Maintenance was another product. Fuel management was another. Compliance was another.

Increasingly, they are becoming modules within larger platforms. AI accelerates this because its value increases when it can see information across the entire organisation.

Imagine an intelligent fleet platform that knows:

• A driver's recent risk score has deteriorated.
• The driver has shown signs of fatigue.
• The vehicle has an emerging braking fault.
• The vehicle is carrying a high-value load.
• Heavy rain is forecast on its route.
• And the driver's next journey involves a historically high-risk road.

Traditional fleet software displays six separate pieces of information. An intelligent fleet operating system could simply say:

That is the direction the industry is heading.

And if that happens, the most valuable fleet technology may no longer be the device fitted inside the vehicle. It could be the intelligence deciding what happens next.