By the end of 2008, virtually all automakers will have telematics strategies, and the market leaders will be acting on their plans, said Thilo Koslowski, vice president of Gartner, Inc., a Stamford, CT-based technology research company, at the seventh annual Telematics Update Detroit conference recently. He predicted that by the year 2011, safety-focused telematics functions will be standard on all vehicles.
Telematics is a combination of computers and telecommunications devices. Systems such as General Motors' OnStar have pioneered the technology in the auto industry.
"This industry is finally really taking off," Koslowski said. "...It's a very, very different demand from what we have seen in the past-especially ten years ago, five years ago, where a lot of companies weren't even clear if they should invest in this whole technology or marketplace."
Using Gartner's "hype cycle" chart, Koslowski suggested that the industry is now on its way from the "slope of enlightenment" to the "plateau of productivity"-or a more stable role in the marketplace. He said his company has found that consumers' telematics preferences remain largely unchanged. Such functions as safety, navigation and hands-free cell phone devices are valued, while such services as shopping while driving attract little interest.
According to Koslowski, future telematics products will focus on providing consumers access to more information from more sources with fewer gadgets, which will foster the continued partnership of content providers with those producing hardware in vehicles.
© 2007 Hearst Business Publishing Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Source: Motor
