There is a reason why we talk about vehicle data management even outside the fleets: it is a silent revolution and still not understood by everyone that concerns the possibility; of extrapolate value from a series of numbers .
ONE STEP BACK: THE VALUE OF DATA 
Few people know the true value of data but many have heard of Big Data, a term that has even reached national news: it means exploiting plurality & agrave; of the individual data of each user of a service – among the most; notice Facebook, Google and Amazon for example, to create a business. This is certainly not the latest found in absolute terms but today's technologies have made it much more; accessible data-driven approach and their analysis & egrave; become more & ugrave; remunerative compared to the past.
Working with data does not only translate into the sale of aggregate and more data; or not anonymised, everyone can do that and it is not; certainly the focus of this article or the Geotab solution.
However, there are few companies that know how to derive value from this complex mass of information. Palantir & egrave; perhaps the most famous for the ups and downs of the stock on the stock exchange and for the contracts with the US institutions, but Facebook and Google themselves have dedicated internal divisions.
In Italy, to give you an example, Enel X already has; implemented the constructive use of data: in addition to the wallbox product, in addition to home automation with Homix, there is; a business that speaks to the B2B world and which I told you about at CES in Las Vegas
Enel X: City smart analytics and adaptive lighting Video CES 2020 20
11 Gen Technology
So far, this world is; it has always been delegated to large companies for a couple of reasons: collecting data was not easy, so it is; as more & ugrave; difficult & egrave; analyze them and translate them into shares of value.
The evolution, the applications and the greater digitization of the population, however, have made the topic within the reach of an ever increasing number of people and companies.
The news, then, us showed how there is value behind the data we all generate by doing something, in a totally passive way: using Facebook, sending an email, buying a skin for Fortnite, ordering a lunch on JustEat, booking a plane ticket and driving a car or commercial vehicle .
Understood that the data & egrave; important, I'll explain briefly why & eacute; I decided to approach a world more & ugrave; aimed at B2B but with interesting and potential implications also on the most users; consumer. And by consumer I mean both the geek like me who, as a freelancer, wants to see the numbers generated by the use of his car also as a work tool for example, and those who are not & egrave; a fleet manager of a large company but still has a small business or a VAT number that would benefit from greater attention to the fleet .
In my case the starting idea is; was to understand how to improve the accuracy of the data provided during the tests and automate the collection of the same . During a recharge, for example, I have always used the notepad and the pen (or a spreadsheet) to collect the values of power delivered, kWh stored in the battery and so on, generating curves or calculating the recharge times. The same goes for the average consumption, all manually tracked.
You will agree with me what it is; & egrave; much more; easy and practical,
and being able to generate the customized report in a spreadsheet , you access a world of possibilities: from banality; of an average calculated with a formula with multiple functions evolute.
The advantage of the Geotab platform, to which I asked for a pair of devices that contain the hardware necessary to not waste the data generated while driving and for network communication (as well as being encrypted), & egrave; that it is a cloud system with many features. I will mention just a few:
- & egrave; scalable according to needs, from large companies to SMEs … up to the requests of a very small HDmotori;
- & egrave; customizable : scalability It is not only about the size of the company but also the functions. It adapts according to the specific sector in which you operate as long as you are dealing with means of transport;
- & egrave; bidirectional : not only generates data and reports, but the downloaded spreadsheet can & ograve; be modified with the macros and functions that the customer considers most; useful. Then just upload everything back to the platform and the game is; done;
- & egrave; expandable : a marketplace with the best apps and solutions; innovative allows you to take advantage of the free ones or to buy tools made available by others, saving on the cost of ad hoc development.
The HARDWARE 
In a box full of cables for
strong> guarantee installation in any medium , it is in fact adapters and extensions for the OBD connection present in all vehicles, we find the device that connects to the diagnostic port .
It contains everything you need: connectivity to the network & egrave; integrated , no mobile router or smartphone to act as a bridge for the connection. 256-bit encryption is; processed inside the device and guaranteed in transmission, the power supply is provided by the connection port and the on-board intelligence allows access to different functionalities.
The first is; that of the firmware: Geotab GO9 automatically recognizes the vehicle to which it is; connected and update the software without the need for; of manual interventions. Also & egrave; present a feature & agrave; of energy saving which reduces activations when the vehicle is when parked, thus avoiding to tire the car 12V battery. Normally the update with the vehicle off takes place every 30 minutes but, for specific needs, this interval is; customizable.
GO TO ELECTRIC? 
On social media and in the comments and requests from those who read and watch our tests: do you advise me to switch to electricity? Is LPG for me? Which engine do I choose?
The first answer that we of the editorial staff will write to you is; a question: tell us about yourself, how you use the car , how many kilometers do you do, what routes do you plan to tackle. Does the concept sound familiar to you? It means that we need data to answer you .
In the case of an advice to a private individual, approximate data collected from experience may suffice even if, often, you will discover that the human being is fallacious and approximation is a lot. Before relying on Geotab GO9, I tried to estimate the motorway distance traveled during the test of the Renault Zoe and then verify it with the data collected by the device: my estimate showed an error of 15% compared to the real odometer data recorded via OBD and saved on the platform.
Geotab does the same, responds to your needs using your data , optimizes fleet management and also provides a ready-to-use tool to understand if you can switch to electric and what benefits and savings battery-powered vehicles will bring both in terms of & quot; fuel & quot; that in the calculation of the TCO, the Total Cost of Ownership.
EVSA: A COMPLETE TOOL 
Once the importance of the data is understood, a history must be created to be used as a starting point. A tool like EVSA, the fitness assessment tool; of electric vehicles , & egrave; precise precisely because & eacute; is based on real use of our vehicle or our company fleet.
Imagining a small delivery company, for example, baster & agrave; then install the devices on the vans in the fleet, collect at least one month (preferably at least three months) of daily trips, and then start the evaluation.
The fitness assessment tool asks us which vehicle (s) in the current fleet, for example an old diesel that will not be able to; more circulate in Milan, we plan to replace it with an electric vehicle.
The Geotab device & egrave; compatible to date with over 160 models of electric vehicles, the most & ugrave; extensive list on the market according to the company. The platform will propose; a selection of means that & egrave; s & igrave; limited with respect to the totality; of those available, and has the advantage that each model & egrave; been tested directly by the company , so it is to provide real data on consumption and performance.
Selected vehicles to be included in the choice, for example Mercedes eVito and Nissan e-NV 200 because & eacute; the others would not meet our load needs, the interface will propose us; the acquisition preference (purchase, leasing and for how many years we intend to use the vehicle) and then guide us in two further screens.
The first allows you to set or modify the costs for the vehicle to buy , useful if we already have; an insurance quote or if we want to change the leasing rate and add any incentives. The second asks to customize the reference values of the vehicle currently supplied , further refining the accuracy based on the actual data we have.
Once this is done, the report will return; costing and evaluation , so & igrave; to offer a decision-making tool based on our actual movements and real needs rather than the & quot; hearsay & quot; or on approximations. Depending on the needs, for example, there may or may not be the convenience of a transition to mobility; electron. Or the electric vehicles available may not yet have sufficient autonomy to cover the necessary movements.
Once the switch to electricity has been evaluated, then Operate Electric intervenes, the platform that compares energy consumption, returns information on the state of charge in real time, creates a cost statement and allows you to set up customized rules, all for a complete and optimized management. If I have 5 electric vans, the data will allow you to manage them easily; recharge them and assign them to various tasks by planning stops and routes. And not only that.
THE ONLY LIMIT? THE FANTASY 
 of those who use it. Custom alerts can give me at a glance the snapshot of which of my drivers does the most. struggles to adapt the guide to the electric vehicle, allowing me, for example, to plan an ad hoc training course for him. </p>
<p> For me & egrave; It was very useful to have the reports of the refills and the related costs, as well as a report of the consumption of all my trips so to obtain greater precision in reporting the real data of the various road tests. </p>
<p>Also I can go into further detail: an account & egrave; to say that I consumed an average of 18.55 kWh on the journey from Milan to Verona (and back) with a Zoe. Another & egrave; show you my speed profile, how I accelerate and brake during that journey. This provides you readers with an extra element; to parameterize my guide to yours and better interpret the cold number on consumption that I have indicated to you. </p>
<p>? EASY? <img src = )
There is a psychological limit, a cognitive bias that tends to make everything complicated in our eyes; that us & egrave; unknown. In reality, after a first moment of initial study, the Geotab platform becomes immediately navigable.
The interface is very simple, but & egrave; This is where I find the advantage: even completely ignoring the training that the Geotab team gives you, and which allows you to understand briefly how to use all the tools, it will take about ten minutes to get familiar with the functions available.
Installing the device & egrave; even more; simple : locate the OBD port, choose the adapter (not always necessary) and plug it into the socket. The rest is; automated, from firmware update to cloud communication.
An old saying goes: who more & ugrave; spends, spends less. In our case we can & ograve; translate with necessity; not to underestimate the added value of a service, of any kind. An accounting application or service they may seem like an unnecessary cost, but the time they save us turns into productivity.
Knowing the data related to your fleet, at any level, may seem superfluous on the surface. Having them available and being able to use them, for & ograve ;, means being able to optimize costs : our expense for a service turns into an advantage in the general budget and in the medium/long term.
If you work with a tool, any tool, & egrave; better start collecting the data associated with it right away. Do it today & egrave; already late: it had to be done yesterday … but & egrave; anyway better than procrastinating and waiting for tomorrow.
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