Response by Mark Whitmore, SVP Global Sales, Directed Technologies
Neil Cawse, CEO and Founder at Geotab, is right to highlight the opportunity that exists within Australia’s fleet sector in the recent interview with Fleet News Group. Compared with North America and parts of Europe, Australia has been slower to adopt technologies such as OEM telematics, AI-enabled video safety systems and broader connected vehicle platforms.
However, comparing markets requires context.
Australia has developed differently. Our fleet industry has invested heavily in safety, heavy vehicle compliance and operational governance, driven by unique operating conditions, long transport distances and some of the world’s most demanding regulatory requirements (without a nationally cohesive mandated approach). As a result, Australian fleets have often prioritised compliance and risk management ahead of digital transformation.
The encouraging news is that this is changing rapidly.
Vehicle manufacturers are now delivering factory-connected vehicles, camera technology has matured significantly, communications infrastructure continues to improve, and fleet operators are looking beyond simple vehicle tracking towards technologies that improve safety, productivity and operational performance.
As an Australian technology company working with OEMs and enterprise fleets across multiple international markets, Directed Technologies is seeing this shift firsthand.
Australia absolutely has the opportunity to increase its adoption of connected vehicle technology, but we don’t need to follow the same path that North America took over the last twenty years. We have the opportunity to move directly to more integrated platforms that combine OEM connectivity, video, diagnostics, connected assets and enterprise integration from day one.
One of the biggest changes occurring globally is the rapid growth of OEM-connected vehicles.
Only a few years ago, connecting a fleet almost always required installing aftermarket hardware. Today, many commercial vehicles leave the factory already connected, providing access to vehicle diagnostics, operating data and software services. Australia is also far less homogenous than EU and NA markets with more makes and models seen here than any other market globally. Platforms under one brand could be manufactured domestically, in Japan, in North America or Europe and increasingly China.
This represents a fundamental shift in how fleet technology is deployed.
Five years ago, connecting a vehicle meant fitting a telematics device. Increasingly, vehicles are arriving from the factory already connected. The challenge is no longer collecting data; it’s combining that data with operational systems to create better decisions.
At the same time, connected video is evolving from a passive recording system into an active safety technology.
Artificial intelligence is enabling fleets to detect driver distraction, mobile phone use, fatigue indicators, seatbelt compliance and other high-risk behaviours in real time. These technologies are already well established in North America and are beginning to gain significant momentum in Australia.
Predictive maintenance is another area where Australian fleets have considerable opportunity.
Rather than servicing vehicles solely on time or distance intervals, modern connected platforms can combine OEM diagnostic data, fault codes, workshop history and vehicle utilisation to identify issues before they become roadside failures.
Similarly, connected asset technologies are extending fleet visibility beyond the vehicle itself.
Medical equipment, trailers, generators, freight cages, tools and other high-value assets are increasingly becoming part of the connected ecosystem, enabling organisations to improve utilisation, reduce losses and enhance operational readiness.
Fleet technology is no longer just about the vehicle. It’s about understanding the entire operation, vehicles, drivers, connected assets, workshops and enterprise systems working together through a single connected platform.
Perhaps the biggest opportunity lies in software integration.
Historically, telematics platforms operated as standalone systems. Increasingly, fleet data is being integrated with maintenance platforms, ERP systems, dispatch applications, payroll, compliance and customer service systems to automate workflows and improve operational efficiency.
This is where the greatest value will be created.
The next decade won’t be defined by who connects the most vehicles. It will be defined by who makes that connectivity useful. The organisations that succeed will be those that turn connected vehicle data into safer operations, smarter maintenance and better customer outcomes.
Australia has every opportunity to become a leader in the next generation of connected fleet technology, and we do so with awareness of the need for sovereign capability as recently highlighted by OAIC outlining connected vehicle offshore threat vectors.
Rather than simply adopting more telematics, Australian organisations can embrace integrated connected vehicle platforms that bring together OEM vehicle data, AI-enabled safety, diagnostics, connected assets and enterprise systems into a single operational environment.
The opportunity is not just to catch up with global markets. It is to leapfrog them.
