In late June, GPS Insight updated the brand of the telematics provider that included a redesign of the company's website, logo, graphics, and corporate messaging.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company changed leadership in October 2018, when founder Rob Donat transitioned to chairman and Gary Fitzgerald became the chief executive and chief technology officer. Fitzgerald joined GPS Insight in November 2016 from General Electric, where he had served as an enterprise architect for 10 years.

Fitzgerald discussed the company's branding update in greater detail with Automotive Fleet.

Automotive Fleet: How will the rebrand impact fleet customers?

Gary Fitzgerald: GPS Insight has been providing fleet solutions since 2004, including telematics, ELD and in-cab cameras that drive growth, reduce risk and improve operational efficiencies. Although we have grown tremendously since our founding, we have always represented ourselves with the same logo.

There are some things about the logo that we love and some that we have wanted to change as the company has matured. The representation on our original logo placed sole emphasis on "GPS," and we are much more than a GPS tracking company now. We are offering a broader, multiple-level approach to fleet software that enables our customers to engage their modern fleets through actionable data.

We made sure this logo emphasized the word "Insight" to help our customers understand that our products will save them time and money by providing insights about their business for a safer, more efficient fleet.

I think ultimately what we are trying to do is send signals to our customers letting them know we are continuously pushing things forward. Camera technology and fleet safety are fundamental to fleets today and we want to make sure fleet managers recognize that we are a part of that. We are not stuck in the past; we are moving forward and driving the industry forward with us.

AF: How are you helping fleets make the AOBRD to ELD transition knowing that it will be a hard enforcement?

Fitzgerald: Our methodology has been to reach out and work directly with our AOBRD customers, and we are coming up on 50% total transitioned to ELD. We know who they are, and we are working to make sure they understand the timelines to avoid racing against the clock later this year. Certainly, we understand that it is a bit of a challenge to get the software updated, but it's vital to ensure they don't have any enforcement surprises down the road.

We brought our ELD solution to market back in 2016 and have had great success with it so far. We are currently in the process of going through a thorough analysis of what we can do to enhance this solution and are eager for those who are still on the AOBRD to transition over as soon as possible.

AF: Are fleets seeking more customization of telematics systems, and how are you supporting that?

Fitzgerald: There are telematics service providers that have provided marketplaces and opportunities to incorporate various solutions into a platform. Something that our customers have told us is they don't always like that type of a solution. It leads to challenges, such as having to log in to multiple systems, and there is a risk of data loss and confusion.

Our approach has been to partner with top companies to make sure we are providing a quality, all-in-one experience for our customers. We are having conversations on an everyday basis with companies that we want to work with to provide our customers with the best experience possible.

We recognize that there are companies out there that have invested in other products, and we have very robust APIs that allow us to move data around efficiently, which enables us to feed those products as best as possible. However, we think the best experience is to have your data right there in front of you instead of being passed around from solution to solution.

AF: What are some of the innovations that you've rolled out that have expanded the capabilities of traditional track-and-trace fleet management?

Fitzgerald: There is a convergence that is happening not just in this industry but across many sectors. We are starting to see software solutions that bring together intelligence and computing power that we have never had before, and we are creating this digital representation that is blending virtual and real world.  We have a ton of data that we can analyze and look at to craft these big data solutions that can give much more in-depth insight into what is going on inside a given fleet.

For years and years, we could tell you that a driver was being a little erratic and was braking too hard, but it is entirely possible that it was a good braking event that prevented an accident. With our new camera solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can reward a driver for what may have previously been a penalization. As a software as a ervice company, we can provide much more data and insight for a company to be able to react and make decisions. 

AF: We've heard that the company may be for sale. Could you clarify that?

Fitzgerald: The company is not for sale. In May 2018, we partnered with Bregal Sagemount, a private equity firm, which took a minority stake in the company. They are a great partner with excellent experience in the industry.