To many customers, who are buying just one or two GPS units, the answer to that question is pretty simple: they just want to know how much for the hardware, installation and service. But when you start dealing with small fleets, the answer gets a little more complicated. The one-time costs aren’t always telling the whole picture. The ones who have had systems in the past know how to ask good questions, like: how easy is it to make changes to our system? can we customize it ourselves? can we add users and change vehicle names ourselves? Lots of so-called low cost GPS tracking systems are really not so low cost because they are so hard to use - and they require going to the vendor for even little changes. So fleet buyers should be sure to consider ease of use in the total cost equation.

I was visiting a prospect the other day who is looking at ripping out their existing GPS tracking system and replacing it with the Ublip Fleet Tracker. We asked the end user (who is a job dispatcher) what was wrong with their existing system and frankly we were shocked: the biggest complaint was that for EVERY change, the vendor had to do the work. Even things as easy as changing the name of a vehicle had to be sent to the vendor. And the dispatcher could only see one vehicle at a time! Finally, because the tracking device was using a Paging Network, the data rarely was current.

It was pretty simple what she needed: “I just want to be able to see at a glance:

- “where are my trucks right now?”

- “where have they been?”

- “how long did they stop at each location?”

- “how fast were they going?”

This business really isn’t brain surgery. Customers just want low-cost GPS tracking that is reliable, simple and easy to use.

Wow. Who woulda thunk it. Sun announced Wednesday it was buying MySQL AB for a cool $1 Billion USD. Not bad for an Open Source database - and it seems to put to rest any doubts people had about the viability of Open Source companies. Of course MySQL is practically an icon in the web world . . . we use it at Ublip of course - as do most savvy web application builders. Overall, we think this kind of deal will continue to promote the use of open, affordable GPS tracking solutions.

We get a number of questions at Ublip from prospective customers who are considering monitoring devices in their company vehicles, asking whether or not they should tell their employees they are being tracked. Our view is that, in general, the answer should be “YES”. In most cases, just the THREAT of being watched is enough to significantly alter employee behavior in a positive way. Think about it, with just a click or two it is very easy to see how fast an employee has been driving, where they stopped - and for how long, the route they took, even whether or not traffic really was a factor that day. It’s not that most employees are dishonest, but knowing that they are being monitored can help do things like limit speeding, improve timeliness and cut down on idle/wasted time. One of our prospects used the analogy of software that companies use to monitor which web sites employees visit. It has the effect of cutting way down on wasted time on sites that, well, let’s just say the boss would prefer they not be looking at during work hours.

My own personal experience on this effect is telling. Like a lot of people, I’ve always been guilty of “fudging” (I hesitate to use the word “cheating”) on my departure times when leaving work at the end of the day. Let me start by admitting I’m the type of guy who is always rushing to get someplace (home or otherwise). A typical call from my wife goes like this: “when are you coming home; dinner is ready and the kids are asking”. In the past, my answer would typically be: “I’m packing up now and will be out of here in 5 minutes”. Of course, half the time I want to send just one more email, or make one more call, and that 5 minutes turns out to be 20. I’ve got a reasonably long drive home (about 13 miles), so it always gave me some fudge factor before. But now, not only my wife, but my kids can log on and see exactly where I am. I’ve already gotten one call: “you haven’t even left yet!” (BUSTED!) - and I’ve notice I am actually modifying my “depature behavior” a bit already.