Transportation is important for proper functioning of a society and country as it includes mobility of people, goods and services.
Through transportation people can access job markets and participate in recreational, cultural, educational, and social activities.
The transportation field also contributes to the economy, as a consumer of resources and as a supplier of jobs.
IT is important and necessary for transportation which provides intelligent infrastructure and intelligent vehicles for crash prevention safety, traveller information, emergency management, road weather management, traffic incident management and many more.
Intelligent transportation uses and implements information technology to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation and also reduces the risk of accidents while managing the time required for services to be effective emergency rescue.
In addition, cities deploy intelligent transportation systems to reduce air pollution produced by heavy traffic.
In March, Zebra Technologies released results of its survey and mentioned 90 percent of transportation and logistics (T&L) companies will either have or will plan to deploy the Internet of Things solutions within an year.
Moreover, 51 percent said that they expect IoT to improve regulatory compliance and delivery processes, while 45 percent said they expect IoT to help their companies in improving safety. Wi-Fi, security sensors, near field communications (NFC) and real time locating systems are the most important elements of IoT solutions.
Additionally, SAP and IBM joined hands to combine SAP software with IBM’s implementation and configuration services targeting the transportation and logistics industry.
SAP Transportation Management, SAP Event Management and SAP Customer Relationship Management applications, as well as the SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management solutions is integrated to provide a 360-degree view of individual customers.
Last year, Microsoft assisted Helsinki Bus Transportation, Finland, to analyze data to improve decision-making, fuel economy and customer satisfaction.
With Microsoft, Helsinki Bus Transportation can track traffic data, driver performance and gas usage utilizing a data warehouse solution developed with CGI and Microsoft software including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Office and Power Map.
The transportation company noticed 5 percent savings in fuel costs due to more careful driving and improved maintenance and enhanced customer satisfaction by 7 percent.
Internet of Everything (IoE) is expected to transform the transport industry worldwide.
Consumers and enterprises can look forward for the remote monitoring of infrastructure conditions through digitally connected tracks and roads to the provision of real time data and journey-planning applications.
Last year in January, Enterprise software vendor Accenture implemented a new transportation management system at Russian brewer Efes Rus to improve transportation network and better product delivery.
Accenture provided standardized transportation platform, including an automated planning process, tracking data and improved visibility into transportation costs.
The company said by deploying Accenture’s solution, which is an implementation of the SAP Transportation Management application, helps Efes Rus to plan the 700-1,000 deliveries that it makes each day.
This apart, The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) deployed Ciena packet optical and packet networking solutions to improve its private fiber optic network.
CDOT’s network helps to improve transportation safety and increase societal productivity, can provide detailed, real-time data on traffic volume, speeds, transit schedule status, evolving weather conditions, and other roadway conditions to transportation operations centers.
Also, Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata also invested in Ola, app-based transportation aggregator.
Virgin Atantic Airways selected Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to transform and optimize its IT processes, applications and infrastructure.
The Airways can also gain access to TCS’ Airline and Digital Innovation Labs, facilities designed to support the development of solutions that address the changing needs and expectations of the new digital consumer.
Shilpa Khatri
