Recap: Actsoft at Geotab Connect 2020

As you may know, last week we had the opportunity to be a part of this year’s Geotab Connect event. Hosted in San Diego, the event brought together fleet industry experts and leaders to share their knowledge, demonstrate their services, and give insight into the future of fleet. For us at Actsoft, in addition to being a major platform to showcase our solution, it also gave us myriad opportunities to learn even more about, and connect with, our newest partner, Geotab. I took some time to sit down with some members of the team that attended the event to learn more about their takeaway.

The event, which kicked off last Tuesday, included a three-person fireside chat. One of the panelists was our very own CEO, Tom Mitchell. During the discussion, Mitchell, along with Geotab’s Neil Cawse and Lytx’s Brandon Nixon, discussed a variety of topics, including the future of AI in fleet telematics, integration between multiple telematics solutions, the yet-to-be-seen impact of 5G, and electric vehicles’ role in the future of fleet.

The most exciting avenue for Mitchell, however, was one that explored further potential mutual benefits between Geotab and Actsoft’s partnership, especially in light of some news that Geotab revealed during the conference. “Geotab is monstrous,” Mitchell said. “They just surpassed two million subscribers. They have their hands in a ton of different things.”

Geotab already dominates the fleet-tracking space. With their massive customer base and the technology packed into their GO devices, they’re able to deliver all the information fleet operators need to know about how their vehicles are functioning and how they’re being treated. But as Mitchell pointed out, when companies that excel in their individual fields join forces, it results in a better, all-encompassing package. “You can’t go out there and find a single-source solution.”

Andrew Velker, Executive Vice President of Sales at Actsoft, seconded this notion. “There are very few companies that tell the full story like Geotab,” he told me. “We take it outside the vehicle.” This further demonstrates the importance of combining efforts. Rather than one company attempting to do everything, multiple can work together and excel in their areas of expertise, offering customers a much more robust solutions package.

And if the crowds at our booth were any indication, fleet operators agree. “I couldn’t believe the number of people swarming at our booth,” Mitchell said.

Connect 2020 not only gave us an opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with Geotab, but also to begin a dialogue with other companies we might work with. “[The event] was about strengthening our relationship with Geotab and creating different partnerships, all centered around Geotab,” said Kevin Thigpen, Chief Operating Officer at Actsoft. “It was focused on domestic and international partnership potential. I met a lot of different groups at one event, making it a cost-effective and efficient solution.”

Getting so much face time with various representatives from Geotab — there were at least 300 employees in attendance — was another huge win, in particular for Trent Cherin, Vice President of Global Strategic Alliances at Actsoft. Having that in-person interaction was a great opportunity to discuss the future of Actsoft and Geotab’s partnership, such as the integration of the platforms. “We want to provide different functionality from within the Geotab platform,” Cherin explained, “to give existing Geotab customers the same look and feel they’re used to, but with new information.”

The event also gave us the opportunity to seek out new potential resellers for our solution. Rod Shaddeau, Actsoft’s Indirect Reseller Channel Manager, said of the event: “We met with more than 20 Geotab resellers. I have a ton of follow-up with these 20-plus [individuals].” (Note: Visit our Resellers page if you’d like more information on how you can become a reseller.)

One common takeaway that everyone in attendance was in agreement about was: Big data is the next big thing. “Geotab is huge into big data and AI,” Mitchell said. “I see us doing more with the data we are collecting.”

Thigpen agreed, saying, “I see us further integrating our platform and data with Geotab and leveraging new APIs to integrate with big data. We’ll change the conversation we have with our customers. We’ll be able to pull data from multiple sources to help customers better understand their businesses through trends and predictive analysis. [Through this,] you change the paradigm of your relationship.”

“How does a company differentiate itself?” Velker posed. “More data and better technology. They’ll rise above other companies not doing that because they’re stuck in the past.” He echoed Thigpen’s sentiments, saying we’ll be able to use all of this data to help make companies smarter and paint a clearer picture so they’re better equipped to make decisions on the fly.

Suffice it to say, Geotab Connect 2020 was an exciting event for us, one rife with ample opportunities to grow and collaborate with Geotab and its ever-growing family of resellers and customers. We’re excited about what the future holds and how this partnership will continue to flourish and help us provide our own customers with even more enhanced solutions.

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