Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018

loud based storage and applications have been with us for some time Increasingly more and more fleet generated data is stored and processed in whats called a cloud environment Because cloud based systems are somewhat invisible many users are uncertain exactly what that means Technically the cloud is a network of internet connected computer servers used for data storage and computing There are different types of clouds Private clouds are just that For instance many telematics and transportation management software providers use a private cloud where customers store and access data Some large trucking companies maintain their own private clouds within their data centers Public clouds are those offered by third parties with the most advanced being cloud services from technology giants such as Amazon Microsoft and IBM Anyone can rent storage space and computing power in public clouds and many technology companies do just that For trucking companies even if your operation still runs the bulk of your business on servers based on site chances are you still have data collected in the cloud whether you are aware of it or not Many fleets have been in some form of the cloud for years through the products theyre using says Chris Sandberg vice president of information technology PeopleNet This includes telematics products as well as software as a service or SaaS applications Any time theyre using a SaaS offering its more than likely in a cloud infrastructure of some type he explains As a result their data has been stored and processed in the cloud for years now Why the cloud has become more common The bottom line reason cloud based computing and storage have grown within the industry is the value it adds to a fleets business in terms of helping to reduce cost says John Molamphy vice president of engineering Verizon Connect But the change has also come about as companies have changed their mindset on cloud computing In the trucking industry we are coming into the age of the cloud every single day says Ben Barnes vice president IT services McLeod Software While the technology has improved one of the more important changes according to Barnes is that most IT staff no longer view the cloud as a threat Instead companies are finding that they can put the keep the lights on tasks in the cloud and allow their IT staff to be more innovative he explains Kevin Haugh chief technology officer for Omintracs agrees The market is increasingly understanding the potential and reliability of the cloud and its ability to support critical business operations He says that telematics providers were among the first private clouds A lot of that has transferred over to the public cloud he notes as fleets have opted for public systems such as Amazon Web Services or Microsofts Azure rather than installing software on premises What it comes down to is where a trucking company feels the data is secure and safe That used to mean a data center or even just a closet on premises Now the data might be stored there or in an offsite data center or in multiple data centers The world has changed and its not about what is inside of your walls says Ron Godine vice president information C Back office personnel and drivers can access cloud based data and applications from a variety of devices including desktop computers tablets fixed in vehicle mobile comm devices and smartphones APRIL 2018 HDT 59 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM PHOTO MIX TELEMATICS