TomTom 2005 Annual Report Download - page 20
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Newopportunities
ThetechnologyinthecurrentTomTomproductsis
amongstthemostsophisticatedonthemarket.
R&Dactivitiesarecontinuingatfullpacetoexploitthe
rapidadvancesbeingmadeinthevarioustechnical
disciplinesandtopreparenewproductsformarket.
AssistedGPSforexample,enablesdevicestofind
satellitesmorequicklyusingawirelessserverandis
alreadybeingappliedtosomeofourproducts.TomTom
PLUSexploitsanadvancedwirelesspushtechnology
thattransmitsinformationtothedeviceontheserver’s
initiativewithouttheneedforcostlypolling.
AppliedGenerics
InJanuary2006,weannouncedthatwehadacquired
AppliedGenericsLimitedbasedinEdinburgh,Scotland.
AppliedGenericshasdevelopedtechnologythatmakesit
possibletogeneraterealtimeroadtrafficinformation
basedontheanalysisofmobilenetworkusageandcell-
switching.Thetechnologyiscommerciallydeployedand
hasthepotentialtodeliverhighqualitytrafficinformation
atafractionoftheinvestmentnormallyrequiredto
generatetrafficinformation.Theuniquepatentedand
proventechnologywhichthecompanyhasdeveloped
hasthepotentialtodeliverhighqualityrealtimetraffic
information,notonlyformotorwaysbutalsoforlocal
roads.Withtheproliferationofcarnavigationproducts
andtheincreaseofcongestion,thereisagrowing
customermarketforthesekindsofservices.
TomTomWORK
InAugust2005,TomTomannouncedtheacquisition
ofDatafactoryAG.Datafactoryprovidesawebbased
serviceforvehicleandpersonallocalisation,fleet
management,planningandreporting.Thecompany,
whichisbasedinLeipzig,Germany,isaleadingplayerin
offeringso-called‘track&trace’productsandservices.
Growingconvergencebetweentrack&traceand
navigationsolutionsmakestheacquisitionofDatafactory
alogicalandstrategicstepforTomTom.Datafactory’s
proprietaryandscalablewebapplication,WEBFLEET,
integratedwithTomTom’spowerfulnavigationproducts
andservices,combinesthebestofbothworlds.
Datafactory’scustomerscomefromawidevarietyof
marketssuchastransport,logistics,trafficandservices.
Withtheonlineservice,customerscanmonitortheir
fleets’movementsreal-time,andcommunicatewith
individualdriversonorders,lastminutechangesin
schedulesandothermessages.Tailor-madereportingon
thebusinessactivitiesoffleetsorindividualcarsisalso
availablewithoneclick.
Startingin2006,thecompanyhasanewname.
TomTomWORK(www.tomtomwork.com).Thiscompany
offersaconnectednavigationsolutionthatcombines
plugandplaytrack&tracetechnology,withsmart
navigationandcommunicationtools.Thishelpsto
improvethemanagement(andcontrol)ofvehiclesand
daytodayplanning.Withthis,TomTomWORK’sbusiness
activitieswillberolledoutacrossEurope,focusingonall
professionalmulticarusers,whichmakeTomTom
WORKservicessuitableforalmostanysizeortypeof
business.
TomTombelievesthatthismarkethasonlyjuststartedto
develop.Giventhegrowingdemandtoimprovetheir
efficiencyandoptimisetheallocationofresources,
servicecompanieswithfieldoperationshavestartedto
usetrack&tracesolutions.Thisisexpandingamarket
whichtraditionallyservedonlylargetruckingandlogistics
companies.Withaplugandplayproductwhichmeets
theneedsofdifferentmarketsegments,webelievethat
TomTomWORKwillbeabletoclaimtheirshareofthe
widerbusiness-to-businesssegment.