Telematics Detroit took place from 20 till 23 May in Novi, Michigan. It has now become the default North American telematics event from which no self-respecting North American telematics company can afford to stay away. A great achievement for UK-based Telematics Update.
Several observations could me made. First of all the OEMs and TSPs were attending in big numbers, highlighting the revival of in-car telematics solutions with Ford and BMW sending many of their key employees to the event. At the same time there was an acute sense of realism across the event, in sharp contrast with many overhyped navigation and LBS events. Adopting the right business models and choosing the appropriate service offerings were recurring topics at almost every panel and in many key note speeches. Linked to this there was increasing awareness no one can go it alone and that the only way forward consists in engaging in the right partnerships and commercial agreements. At the same time everybody was aware of the ongoing consolidation trend with the threat of acquisitions and takeovers looming large over every company, big or small…
Real-time traffic information remains high on the agenda illustrated by INRIX winning two prizes at the
2008 International Telematics Awards: the individual “Telematics Leadership Award” for president & CEO Bryan Mistele and the “Best Use of Telematics Technology for the Public Sector Award”. Other notable winners were OnStar (for the third consecutive year) and BMW North America, winning both the “Global Car Manufacturer Innovation Award” and the “Best Telematics Component Solution Award” for the NGTP Initiative in partnership with WirelessCar and Connexis. In the portable arena, Microsoft and Dash were honored for respectively MSN Direct - the “Best Portable Telematics Solution” and the Dash connected PND - the “Best Portable Navigation System”.
While telematics Detroit essentially remains a consumer telematics event, there were a number of commercial telematics players present, a trend which is expected to continue in the future. The “Best Telematics Service & Application for Commercial Vehicles Award” went to both TomTom and T-Systems Enterprise Services. Chipset players were also present represented by Freescale, Qualcomm and Intel illustrating Telematics Detroit is about the complete telematics ecosystem. The exhibition housed a respectable collection of high profile companies and the four track sessions were all well attended.
The only downside is the venue itself, far away from both airports and the Detroit city center. Despite its fancily sounding name, the “Rock Financial Showplace” offers conference room facilities which are in urgent need of a face lift both in terms of looks and technical infrastructure. Telematics Update should start looking around for a venue worthy of Telematics Detroit to guarantee future growth and success.
