Insights and innovations – Shaping the future of public sector fleet management

The public sector sessions at Geotab Connect 2024 opened with two engaging talks: “Public Sector: State of the Nation” and “Government Solutions: Reflecting and Looking Ahead.”

In the first discussion, Jean Pilon-Bignell, Geotab’s SVP of Business Development, shared valuable insights into the government telematics solutions market’s current state and our unique approaches to serving it.

In “Government Solutions: Reflecting and Looking Ahead,” Chris Jackson, our AVP of public sector solutions sat down with Sabina Martin, our VP of product management to share exciting updates about our latest product additions that promise to transform public sector efficiency.

This article will recap key points from  these discussions and shed light on Geotab’s recent public sector solution updates.

Public sector segment overview and enhancements announced

Jean Pilon-Bignell began the discussion with an insightful overview of how Geotab's solutions are addressing the unique needs of public sector agencies, our fastest expanding market. Geotab is dedicated to enhancing decision-making, optimizing resource use and cutting costs for public sector teams across federal, state, local and specialized departments.

2024 enhancements in the works:

FedRAMP features: Analytics tools, dashboard cameras, solar asset trackers, and electric vehicle tools.

State and local (S&L) upgrades: Contracts in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, and more, plus enhancements to safety and maintenance.

Public Works: Soon, a dedicated event center and a health dashboard for winter teams, with new integrations and tow plow support.

Utilities: Camera solutions, asset tracking, a Safety Center hub, and sustainability reports.

Public safety: New integrations for easier data management and improved connected vehicle tools.

People transport: Partnerships to enable tablet-based student ID integration for school buses, electric vehicle assessments, and enhanced DVIR brand presence.

Reaching the 1M public sector subscriber milestone

The opening session highlighted a significant achievement for Geotab: reaching one million public sector subscriptions. This exciting milestone is a testament to Geotab’s commitment to supporting government entities across all levels in achieving their fleet goals with data-driven insights. As our public sector customer base continues to grow, we are dedicated to providing the technology needed to drive effective operations.

Continued partnership with General Services Administration 

Building on the momentum of reaching one million public sector subscribers, Jean’s presentation also revealed that Geotab recently secured a new contract with the US General Services Administration (GSA). This contract establishes Geotab as the exclusive telematics software provider for more than 400,000 agency-owned or GSA-leased vehicles.

By signing this new agreement, the GSA enables federal agencies to pursue smarter fleet electrification strategies, comply with established mandates and manage data efficiently in a FedRAMP-authorized environment. Our platform’s FedRAMP authorization and FIPS 140-2 validation also enable the GSA to meet strict cybersecurity requirements and better protect its data.

Introducing Geotab Ace: A breakthrough in AI-driven fleet management

One of the most significant announcements during our opening public sector Connect session was the launch of Geotab Ace, a groundbreaking advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) for fleet management. Geotab Ace is an innovative AI assistant designed to enhance the capabilities of our existing platform, allowing users to interact with and analyze fleet data more intuitively and efficiently

In the public sector, the implications of Geotab Ace are substantial. It provides leaders with deep, actionable analysis for improved insights into their fleet operations, streamlining processes to save time and improve cost efficiency. Users can effortlessly interact with Geotab Ace for tasks such as implementing optimizing vehicle utilization or electric vehicle initiatives. This new AI assistant simplifies the task of extracting specific, relevant information, replacing time-intensive manual data analysis with instant, conversational data interaction.

Geotab Ace is currently entering an exciting phase with a waitlist available for interested private sector partners and customers. For public sector customers, Geotab Ace will become available later in 2024. Stay tuned for these additional details.

Assessing the public sector landscape and what government solutions exist

During Chris and Sabina’s presentation, they highlighted the evolving role of telematics solutions in public sector operations.They emphasized how these technologies are becoming essential tools for decision-making, risk management, and maintenance planning. Particularly notable is the role of telematics in spearheading sustainability initiatives, showcasing its significance in modernizing fleet operations across various government sectors.

Telematics solutions that cover multiple aspects of your public sector fleet operations are usually the most effective types of technology to use because of the breadth and depth of insights they can provide. These insights can help lay the groundwork for your organization’s success by connecting each of the various aspects of your workforce together. You can then use this integrated data to guide strategic decisions about your fleet operations. Whether you’re in state or local government, public works, public safety or education, relying on advanced fleet metrics to guide operational choices helps you maximize productivity and savings.

How Geotab’s telematics solution for the public sector adds value

The latter discussion also addressed several tangible methods in which Geotab’s telematics solution benefits public sector organizations. These included:

• A foundational user experience. Recent enhancements to the MyGeotab menu, Assets page and onboarding and learning experiences provide  customers with the resources necessary to quickly begin driving value from our platform. Greater investments in cloud-to-cloud integrations are also bringing new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) labels to Geotab’s partner ecosystem. These upcoming OEM brands include Tesla, Hyundai, Freightliner, Kubota and Komatsu.
• Asset utilization and connectivity.  Our speakers highlighted how public sector organizations can use MyGeotab to visualize asset usage rates and provide optimized public service. By seeing how each asset in a fleet is operating, administrators can identify discrepancies, rightsize their vehicle count and prevent overuse.
• Enhanced safety. No matter what segment of the public sector an agency operates in, safety is always a critical component of day-to-day processes. Geotab's latest features, including new collision rule categories, proactively heighten awareness of potential accidents. The new Safety Center dashboard also provides a bird’s-eye scope of all collision metrics, empowering you to uncover potential risks in advance and manage a safer fleet.
• Fleet maintenance. Proactive insights that factor in timelines, risk severity and previous vehicle data allow you to take action in many cases before smaller issues exacerbate. The new Maintenance Center in MyGeotab will also offer a holistic overview of all fleet maintenance updates, engine fault incidents and more, simplifying how you perceive this essential data.
• Sustainability. As an increasingly important topic for public sector fleets, sustainability and fleet electrification are the future of public service. Using tools like our EVSA, electric vehicle (EV) battery insights and range analytics, your fleet is equipped to properly assess and initiate EV needs and opportunities. Our speakers talked about how harnessing the capabilities of these features can help your public sector fleet reduce high emissions and move closer toward its environmental goals.
• Integration and AI. Connecting your data and using generative AI to manage your fleet can save your organization crucial time and money. The second discussion concluded by highlighting how using these tools to manage data efficiently can strengthen your public service efforts and drive lasting ROI.

Segueing into the future of public sector fleet software

With the conclusion of these two sessions, attendees were emboldened with critical information about Geotab’s latest public sector updates and additional knowledge to help them extract more value from our platform. Throughout the rest of 2024, Geotab is excited to continue leading the way for public sector telematics and shape future innovations for this segment’s organizations.

Discover more about Geotab’s fleet management solutions for the public sector by scheduling a free demo of our product today: https://www.geotab.com/request-demo/