Qualcomm #1 in Commercial Telematics Competitive Assessment, but Watch Out for MiX, Says ABI Research

Qualcomm Enterprise Services (QES) has been named the leading commercial telematics service provider (TSP) in the latest Competitive Assessment released by ABI Research. The company’s global reach, dominant market share, and intuitive product range were all fundamental to securing the top spot. Telogis, Trimble, Masternaut, and Xata complete the top five.

The “vendor matrix” is a key component of this assessment that has been developed by ABI Research to provide a clear and unbiased understanding of vendors’ positions in specific markets. In the case of commercial telematics, TSPs were scored against 12 different criteria falling under the broader categories of “innovation” and “implementation”. Market share, which measures total global active subscribers, carries a 25% weighting in the implementation category and QES is easily the dominant player in what is an extremely fragmented market. “Although Qualcomm had an estimated 700,000 subscribers at the end of 2011, this only equates to just over 6% of total subscribers. However, the company is way ahead of Trimble and Fleetmatics, its two closest rivals,” says senior analyst, Craig Foster.

Partly because of this, QES also ranks first in the implementation category as a whole (which, in addition to market share, examined pricing, vertical segments, regional coverage, hardware configurations, organizational health and quality, and reliability). Trimble and Telogis placed second and third, respectively. For innovation, companies received scores for user interface, features, integrated navigation, vehicle monitoring sensors, and interfacing with converged devices. Xata secured the top spot, marginally ahead of Telogis and TomTom Business Solutions.

Although finishing in seventh place in the vendor matrix, and eleventh in the market share rankings, Foster highlighted MiX Telematics as one to watch. “Having recently moved beyond its South African home market into the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States, while also expanding its European base, the company’s regional coverage is improving. This, in addition to the fact that features such as real-time traffic and turn-by-turn navigation are now finding their way into MiX’s solutions means that the company is sure to rank even higher next time around.”

This Competitive Assessment provides a rating of the leading commercial vehicle telematics service providers. A total of 18 companies were scrutinized against several criteria under the categories of implementation and innovation in addition to a market share analysis for the same 18 companies. These findings are part of ABI Research’s Commercial Vehicle Telematics (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/commercial_vehicle_telematics) Research Service.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.