Showing posts with label field mobility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label field mobility. Show all posts

Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of March 26, 2012


The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Axeda Corporation, a provider of a cloud platform for running and managing M2M transactions, through a partnership with SAP Gold Certified Partner GlobalSoft Solutions is connecting real-time data from its platform to SAP ERP and CRM systems. Read Original Content

The world market for RFID technology is projected to reach USD $18.7 billion by the year 2017, according new research announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Read Original Content

Parents of newborns at Colquitt Regional Medical Center can now feel an added measure of comfort thanks to a new state-of-the-art infant protection system called “Cuddles.” The new security system consists of tiny bracelets for the newborns that are constantly monitored by RFID technology. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

Set to hit the market in June for well over a grand, Panasonic’s SR-SX2 rice cooker works with FeliCa-enabled smartphones, which is an RFID smart card system developed by Sony. Through a downloadable app users can specify the type of rice they're cooking, the length of timers, and other settings, all by touching their phone to a blue icon on the cooker's lid. Read Original Content


The rugged handheld device Getac's PS236 is now available with AndroidTM. The military standard mobile handheld now comes equipped with Android 2.2, for those partners and customers looking to run the open-source software. Read Original Content

A lobbyist for the RFID industry has convinced Connecticut legislators to consider implanting spy chips on the state's license plates. The state Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously to pass a bill asking the Department of Motor Vehicles to create a report on the implementation of RFID for motor vehicle registration. Read Original Content
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Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of March 19, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility and machine to machine communications that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Rugged phones have been popping up on the mobile market for a little while now and Caterpillar has announced a new Android powered smartphone for the rough and tough customer, the CAT B10.  Read Original Content

Our lives are filled with connected gadgets, but there's more out there. Everyday household appliances are now connected to the Internet. Check out these fridges, thermostats, and scales that all go online to allow you more convenient control and save you energy and money. Read Original Content

The global RFID market is expected to reach $19.3 billion during 2011 – 2014, according to a new market research report from ReportLinker. Emerging RFID applications under different verticals will also outpace other automatic identification technologies, such as bar code. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

Two Spanish retailers are tracking the popularity of selected items within their stores, using technology that detects which products are lifted off shelves, and how often. The stores are utilizing an RFID-based system provided by Spanish automatic-identification solutions company Cité Trade Tech. Read Original Content

The integration of the smartphone into consumer vehicles will become all but standard on new models, finds a new report by Juniper Research, which forecasts that 92 million vehicles will feature technology to integrate the smartphone into the head-unit by 2016. Read Original Content


The rugged tablet market has been exploding in recent months, putting out ever tougher, ever faster and ever more economical ruggedized devices to help companies meet the high-speed, high-tech business intelligence needs of the era. Read Original Content
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Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of March 12, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility and M2M that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Microsoft will soon have another operating system available for download in "preview" form: Windows Embedded Standard 8. That OS is at the heart the company's big push into so-called "intelligent systems. Read Original Content

An RFID solution is trying to put the breaks on warehouse accidents. Several consumer goods manufacturers are testing technology from Transmon Engineering to alert forklift drivers when they come within range of a pedestrian. Read Original Content

Identive Group, Inc., a provider of products, services and solutions for the security, identification and RFID industries, has announced results for Q4 2011. The company saw a 21 percent revenue growth to $102.7 million.  Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

F4Devices has released its new Flint rugged handheld. The Flint offers a combination of flexible GPS configurations, ranging from 1 to 3 meters to sub-meter accuracies, while supporting geotagging with the 5 megapixel autofocus camera as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G data. Read Original Content


The Census Bureau is considering trying out RFID technology to keep track of hundreds of thousands of computers and other items in a pilot project. The bureau issued a Request for Information looking for input from vendors on what types of RFID systems might be suitable to track 80,000. Read Original Content
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Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of February 13, 202

The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobility Charts Weekly

Trimble has developed a rugged tablet that is stronger and more durable than other rugged tablets in the field mobile market. The Trimble Yuma has been military tested and operates using Window 7 OS. Read Original Content

Scientists from the University of Montpellier have found a way to print RFID tags onto paper allowing them to create inexpensive RFID tags. Read Original Content

Ryan Systems and the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture has been carrying out pilot deployments of a solution that employs radio frequency identification technology to track food produce and its temperature as the food is shipped from Taiwan and California. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

GPS Insight has helped Crescent Electric Supply Company run a more efficient fleet of vehicles by reducing the consumption of fuel. In one month, Crescent's Salt Lake City branch saw a mileage reduction of 1,605 miles. This reduction saved the branch $4,815 in fuel. Read Original Content


Trimble introduced recently a new generation of GNSS devices for GIS field applications, the Trimble Juno 3B and 3D handhelds. With the new Trimble Juno series, mobile workforces ranging from public utilities to municipalities are empowered with rugged, integrated GNSS handhelds that are optimized for everyday fieldwork such as asset management, data collection and inspections. Read Original Content
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Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of February 6, 2012

The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobility Charts Weekly

The U.S. government has approved specific Android devices for use by federal employees and officers in the military this year. This is the first time that smartphones have been approved to handle classified documents in the field. Read Original Content

The U.S. Forest Service has selected Psion's compact Workabout Pro 3 for data collection in rugged environments. Read Original Content

TomTom passed another milestone by providing fleet management solutions to 15,000 customers who actively manage over 175,000 vehicles. This is an increase of 30 percent compared to the 134,000 vehicles at the start of the year. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

Glacier Computer, developer of rugged industrial computing solutions announced recently the availability of the T510K a 10-inch portable tablet to their existing product line of vehicle & fixed mount terminals, portable tablets, and rugged handheld computers. Read Original Content
With concerns over disease and global trade trumping tradition, federal regulators are promoting the switch to RFID electronic ear tags for cattle tracking. Read Original Content
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Mobile Expert Podcast Series: CSC's Quentin Fisher

CSC's Quentin Fisher
This is a very interesting interview that I did with CSC's Quentin Fisher this week.  He is responsible for CSC's enterprise mobility and BI practice and spends most of his time working with SAP solutions. Learn how CSC is using mobile apps connected to SAP's Hana, and the trends they are seeing.


I am testing a new way of publishing a podcast on my blog today.  Hope this works!


Listen to the podcast now!




*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Strategies and Situational Awareness

Robert L. Bateman, author of the book, Digital War, A View from the Front Lines writes, "Situational awareness allows us to replace the wastefulness of mass operations with the extreme economy of precision operations."  If you know where all of your resources are located and their availability to be used, it becomes much simpler to manage an efficient precision operation.

Throughout military history some of the biggest challenges for commanders was finding both the location of their enemy, and the locations of their own armies (not to mention supplies).  This resulted in huge inefficiencies due to the need to spread armies over large areas as a defense against the unknown location of an opponent.  In addition, once a battle began, it was nearly impossible to accurately see and track events in real-time due to the "fog-of-war."

In many ways, a similar challenge exists today inside many enterprises.  It is often the case that companies will purchase equipment, parts, supplies and materials and warehouse them in many different locations simply because they cannot effectively monitor, track or deliver them in real-time at the point-of-need.  As a result of this challenge, there are over-inflated and inefficient levels of inventories and assets (and often workforces) that result in poor cash management.

The same challenge can also arise when an ERP does not effectively track the use of workforces and skills.  I read a case study involving PG&E where they were inefficiently managing their assets and workforce across many different regional offices.  They solved this problem, in part, by consolidating dispatch offices and deploying a real-time and dynamic scheduling system.  This provided them with far greater visibility into the current work performed by each crew alongside a clear view of the future work on the schedule.  Here is how they described their improvements:
  • Management centralized control over the scheduling of field crews to help ensure usage goals were met.
  • Accurate measurement of current-week crew utilization rates, as well as projected utilization rates for future weeks.
  • Flexibility for management to move crews among service regions to ensure customers receive gas and electric services efficiently and effectively.
  • Consolidation of scheduling staff from having dispatchers at sixty-seven offices down to having dispatchers at just two offices.
In my Enterprise Mobility Survey 2011 Report (available free here) I found that 42.6% of survey respondents identified "improved visibility and accountability" as motivations for deploying mobile applications to their mobile workforce.  In addition, 34.7% identified "improved employee interactions and collaboration," as motivations.

All of these steps and solutions are dependent on mobile strategies and enterprise mobile technologies to provide managers with situational awareness.   Here is more from author Robert L. Bateman, "Situational awareness is the most revolutionary technology in the history of warfare.  Situational awareness can lead to a tenfold increase in velocity.  Situation awareness involves being aware of what is happening in the vicinity to understand how information, events, and one's own actions will impact goals and objectives, both immediately and in the near future."  Bateman even converted this concept into a physics formula, "operational and tactical speed contribute to a force being out of proportion to the mass at any given location."

Situational awareness can even impact the way we manage people.  Here is a excerpt from the U.S. Army publication, Battle Command, “Technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we command in battle by becoming the tool that will allow the commander to move freely about the battlefield to where he can best influence the action without separating himself from his staff and other sources of information, communications and control.”  It is also true within the enterprise.  If you can manage your company, resources, workforce, projects and business from an iPad, then you are no longer restricted to the cubicle or corner office.

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Field Mobility News Weekly - Week of January 30, 2012


The Field Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read M2M News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly
Also read Mobility Charts Weekly

Group Mobile has declared Panasonic’s Toughbook 31 to be the “best rugged computer” of 2011. In making this selection, Group Mobile's experts took price, processor, battery life, wireless options, media bay options, display brightness, and the ability to withstand harsh environments into consideration. Read Original Content

Motion has developed a tablet device that helps smart grid companies improves efficiency by 75 percent. Read Original Content

Swiss waste management and material transportation company Challande et Fils is tracking the locations of its containers and waste bins as they are deposited at construction sites and other locations, using RFID tags on the bins, as well as readers on trucks to transmit GPS location data, along with each tag's unique ID number. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

Oracle has introduced new Utilities Mobile Workforce Management 2.1 and Utilities Mobile Workforce Analytics, which help utility companies improve field service efficiency, customer service and system reliability. Read Original Content
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Mobile Expert Video Series: ClickSoftware's George Chondros

Last week in Sydney, Australia I was able to catch up with ClickSoftware's George Chondros and interview him about the latest trends in enterprise mobility in the ANZ market. 




*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Expert Video Series: Powercor's David Weedon

In this interview David Weedon, Business Implementation Manager, with SAP customer and electrical power distributor Powercor, shares how they have mobilized different segments of their field services operations.  Their core business is to manage the poles, wires and equipment that deliver electricity to homes and businesses in Melbourne and through central and western Victoria. They are responsible for the quality and reliability of their customers’ power supply.  David shares details of their implementations, ROIs and what they plan to do next in this video.




*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Expert Video Series: Coates Hire's Garry Newton

This is one of the most interesting segments of the Mobile Expert Video Series that I have ever recorded.  I had the privilege of interviewing Garry Newton, the Service Operations Manager for Coates Hire about their enterprise mobility solutions and the rugged environments that they work in.  Coates Hire is Australia's largest equipment hire company with over 125 years experience supplying to a wide variety of markets including Engineering and Building Construction and Maintenance, Mining and Resources, Manufacturing, Government, and Events. 

*Also please note how sophisticated my special effects are becoming :-)



Photographed from a utility truck
near Cardwell, Australia (15 feet long)


*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Expert Video Series: Zenware's Rod Puzey

In this video interview I ask Zenware's COO, Rod Puzey about some of the mobile applications that companies are asking Zenware to custom develop.  The Zenware team is an expert in field mobile data collection and gets involved in many strange and interesting mobility projects.



Upcoming Events


Build vs. Buy:  Mobile App Development - August 24, 2011
Field Mobility 2011 - October 25 - 27, 2011
Enterprise Mobility Exchange - November 2 - 3, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
Healthrageous Mobility Case Study
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform 

Ruggedized and Industrial Mobile Device Articles

Consumer Smartphones or Industrial Smartphones?


*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Enterprise Mobility Exchange - Las Vegas in November

Enterprise Mobility Exchange
Las Vegas
Anyone need an excuse to go to Las Vegas in November?  The Enterprise Mobility Exchange has an amazing line-up of mobility experts speaking there on November 2nd and 3rd:

• Onyeka Nchege, Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Coca Cola Bottling Company Consolidated


• John Leabeater, Lead Technical Analyst, AIDC & Mobility, Coca Cola Bottling Company Consolidated

• Geoff Hunt, Lean, Productivity & Technology Programs Manager, GE Healthcare

• Matthew Berardi, Managing Director, Field Technology Operations Technology & Systems Support, FedEx Ground

• Divya Mahajan, Director, Architect for Enterprise Integration and SOA, Philips International

• Shawn Crossley, Senior Enterprise Architect, PG&E

• Joe Chung, MobileConnect Program Lead, PG&E

• Eric Hartman, Senior Director - Logistics, Papa John's Pizza

• Brian Reed, Director, Transportation and Service, Papa John's Pizza

• Ken Bodenhoefer, Senior Manager, Business Process & Technology Integration, Southern California Edison

• Ted Johnson, IT Manager, Mobility Support, Exelon

• Stephen Jones, GBS ESS Global Mobility Service Manager, P&G

• Stephen Malowney, Enterprise Financial and Operations Solutions Manager, Sempra Energy

• Eugene Signorini, Vice President, Research, Yankee Group

• Tony Winston, Senior Manager Mobility Solutions, American Airlines*

• Sumair Dutta, Senior Research Analyst, Service Management, Aberdeen Group*


The downside is you would be stuck listening to me as well. Oh well, can't win them all.

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Expert Video Series: Electrix's Jeff Morgan

I got to know Jeff Morgan while speaking at the ClickConnect APAC 2011 conference last week in Australia.  Jeff works for Electrix, a company that contracts with utility companies to provide field services, maintenance and asset inspections.  They have a long history of working with mobile applications in the field and he discusses his experiences in this video interview.

Jeff is also the guy that shared the picture of the GIANT snake his colleague saw along the road in Australia.









Upcoming Events

Critical Requirements for Mobile App Development:  Agility and Speed Strategy, Process, and Tools to Accelerate Mobile Development, July 21, 2011
Mobile Tablet Trends in the Enterprise featuring Samsung Mobile - July 28, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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Mobile Expert Video Series: ETSA Utility's Grant Roach

In this video I interview field mobility veteran Grant Roach from the South Australian electricity distributor ETSA.  They started their first mobility projects in the 1990s and have continued to evolve it.  They are now adding ClickMobile to their ClickSchedule solution.  He also has a lot of experience with change management in the field services space.



Upcoming Events

Critical Requirements for Mobile App Development:  Agility and Speed Strategy, Process, and Tools to Accelerate Mobile Development, July 21, 2011
Mobile Tablet Trends in the Enterprise featuring Samsung Mobile - Thursday, July 28, 2011
    Whitepapers of Note
    The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
    ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
    Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
    Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
    Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
    Networked Field Services

    Recorded Webinars of Note

    3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
    The Future of Enterprise Mobility
    The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
    The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
    Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform



    *************************************************************
    Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
    Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
    Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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    Mobile Expert Video Series: Jessica Fell

    I had the opportunity to meet Jessica Fell from Association and Communication Events in Australia last week and talk to her about the upcoming October 25th-27th Field Mobility Conference in Sydney.





    *************************************************************
    Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer
    Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
    Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.
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