The opportunity, brought about by a general lack of innovation and momentum from some of the more established players, has created a gap in the market for innovative technology companies that are set to change the face of fleet management beyond recognition over the next 10 years.
One such organisation is Jaama, who has invested heavily in emerging technology to become a certified Microsoft development partner and the first company in the world to develop a Microsoft Smart Client fleet management software system. Jason Francis, Jaama’s managing director: “Fundamental to Jaama’s success is our product technology platform which uses entirely industry standard, Microsoft .Net with an SQL or Oracle database, and uniquely uses the revolutionary Microsoft “Smart Client’ application design.
“There is no doubt that ‘Smart Client’ will replace traditional web based systems over the coming years as it provides all the benefits of web browser software, but for the first time also provides an easy to use, functionally rich user interface. This makes it possible for us to develop systems with far more automation and complexity than ever before but keeps the product simple to operate.”
Francis, described recently by the fleet press as ‘one of the best known figures in fleet technology”, is no newcomer to the fleet industry. He’s spent more than 20 years working in insurance and fleet, most recently as managing director of rival fleet software company cfc solutions.
In the past he has described fleet technology progression as ‘painfully slow’ due to the significant investment required to develop next generation products, and this was the catalyst for the creation of Jaama. He adds: “My team of experts, many of whom have worked together for the best part of a decade, wanted to accelerate the pace of change in our industry by using the latest technology to develop an entirely different fleet management system. They have already achieved this and recently won an Institute of Transport Management award in recognition.”
Francis concludes: “By creating a range of products that are made up of component modules designed for all fleet sizes that fully integrate into 3 single ‘open’ system, we have created what is visibly the most advanced vehicle management software solution currently available.”