Growth stage fleet management software maker Platform Science entered several collaborations in 2020. It moved up six places to No. 4 on the FreightWaves FreightTech 25.
The biggest deal was with Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). Beginning in 2021, its customers can use third-party telematics and connectivity services directly from their trucks without installing aftermarket hardware. Platform Science software will be built into DTNA telematics hardware at the factory.
Platform Science’s technology provides a seamless end-to-end solution. It maximizes visibility with minimal complexity and eliminates the delays, costs and inconveniences of installing cabling and antennas. Drivers will need only an authorized mobile device to log into their telematics system.
“For the first time, our software is going to market built directly onto the truck rather than being installed afterward,” Platform Science founder and CEO Jack Kennedy said. “This partnership represents a leap forward for an industry that was built on legacy technology, challenged by costly inefficiencies and rigid systems.
“If you are a customer, this is [like] basic cable,” Kennedy told FreightWaves in July. “You get a cable box. And now because you have a cable box, you have the ability to add channels that are [important] to you. If you are an app developer, this is the typical smartphone application marketplace experience.”
DTNA made an undisclosed investment in La Jolla, California-based Platform Science’s Series B funding round as part of the agreement.
McLeod certified integration partner
In October, Platform Science announced its Internet of Things (IoT) fleet management platform is a Certified Integration partner of McLeod Software. That allows fleets to pair McLeod’s Software LoadMaster Enterprise system and streamline the mobile experience through the Platform Science ecosystem of edge applications.
The Platform Science integration is within McLeod Software’s Symphony Mobile Communications module. It enables users to easily monitor hours of service and directly manage dispatch operations, the company noted.
The integration spans the entire suite of Platform Science products. This includes the Platform Science Workflow and Messaging applications, key components to the Platform Science Productivity suite, the company said.
Samsung Galaxy collaboration
In November, Platform Science and Samsung Electronics America grew their collaboration to include the deployment of Platform Science’s Remote Platform Management (RPM) products on Samsung Galaxy Tab Active devices.
Fleets using the enterprise-level ruggedized Galaxy Tab mobile devices can run the entire RPM product portfolio. That includes mobile device management, mobile application management and device-to-vehicle connectivity built into Platform Science’s open telematics platform.
“This past year has seen an unprecedented shift in the way we work. And it places a much-deserved spotlight on the truck drivers who are maintainin their essential role in keeping this country moving,” Kennedy said.
”We look forward to continuing to partner with truck drivers, fleets, developers and [manufacturers] to empower them with flexibility, choice and control over all of their technologies.”
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