Directed Technologies Accelerates Global Growth with SingleStoreDB on AWS

Directed Technologies is a connected technology company that delivers advanced analytical insights about vehicle fleets. To provide seamless digital transformations, take its telematics platform global, and accelerate data delivery, Directed Technologies needed a solution to manage and retrieve growing volumes of data and video from connected vehicles and assets. By running its platform on SingleStoreDB on AWS, Directed Technologies delivers business value quickly for its customers, provides a deep and sustainable competitive advantage, and achieves key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reduced CO2 emissions, lowered fuel consumption, and fewer driver incidents.

Historically, Directed Technologies powered its telematics platform with a self-hosted database. However, with a rapidly expanding range of clients and capabilities, it was time to evolve. As the company’s customer base grew to include over 2,300 fleets, it needed to scale telematics globally, reach new markets, and deploy less resource-intensive data retrieval. Directed Technologies also wanted to improve collaboration with its customers by allowing them to engage in their own data discovery.

“To bring customers along for the connected vehicle and digital asset enablement journey, first we had to engage organizations in a digital transformation dialogue, which was challenging for many as it necessitated setting aside older processes and thinking” said Brent Stafford, executive director at Directed Technologies. This would allow customers to consider the deeper value of their data insights and promote a more in-depth understanding of their fleets in real time—including metrics around efficiency, productivity, and safety.

Leveraging the AWS ISV Workload Migration Program, Directed Technologies migrated their self-hosted database to SingleStoreDB on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a managed solution to deliver a connected, end-to-end approach. SingleStore, an AWS Partner, is an all-in-one HTAP database for operational and analytical workloads that powers applications that require fast data ingestion and high performance. SingleStoreDB allowed Directed Technologies to scale its platform and provide its customers key insights, like fuel performance over time and predictive maintenance indicators. “SingleStoreDBon AWS helps us provide very rich data insights to fleet managers and manufacturers quickly and at scale,” Stafford said.

Already, through simplifying and streamlining digital solutions, Directed Technologies customers have achieved major gains across various KPIs. “These services have led to a reduction in over 92 percent of driver violations in just six months—an incredible indicator,” said Stafford, adding that customers often reach nearly a 25 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

In addition to SingleStoreDB, Directed Technologies also uses several AWS services to power its platform. Amazon CloudWatch and AWS CloudTrail help diagnose emerging issues, and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is crucial to managing incoming video. AWS security services help Directed Technologies serve government and mission critical clients, while sophisticated data access controls via AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) allow custom permissions. In addition, AWS PrivateLink optimizes security and reduces costs by allowing Directed Technologies to seamlessly move data between AWS and SingleStore.

Using state-of-the-art technology solutions to unite data from Internet of Things (IoT) and telematics has helped Directed Technologies customers save lives. For example, first responders can track ambulance locations and gain visibility into the availability and performance of critical emergency devices such as oxygen bottles and defibrillators. The IoT enabled telematics solution provide an integrated view of the truck, driver performance, depot, and fleet operations.

One Directed Technologies customer successfully deployed a lastmile video telemetry solution across a fleet of more than 8,000 electric vehicles. The system employs three cameras designed to provide visibility over the operating conditions in the field. That way, vehicles are equipped to capture data when they drive on urban and rural roads. With this system, Directed Technologies delivers tailored insights into incidents and performance metrics so the customer can better assess risks and improve driver education and safety.

As its data needs evolve, Directed Technologies helps customers learn what is possible with its platform. “We provide a data analytics team who lives and breathes SingleStoreDB on AWS,” Stafford said. “We accelerate the customer’s understanding about the power of data to provide meaningful insights.”

Today, most of Directed Technologies customers’ data travels from vehicles to the cloud. But down the road, information will travel in both directions, transforming vehicles into rolling sensors, generating data that flows back to the driver or to the vehicle or even to infrastructure. That opens a world of opportunities, from advanced safety warnings to weather alerts, making the roads safer and transportation more efficient. “We believe every business is a digital business at heart, and by building our capabilities, we are better prepared for what’s next while accelerating global growth,” Stafford said.