It strikes me that the telematics world is fairly fragmented.

Telematics are systems that allow companies to track drivers in real time. There are many uses: from delivery firms to taxi companies.

I know of a few brands: TRACKER, Trafficmaster and TomTom WORK. But there are plenty others out there. All claiming to do similar type things. But what actually can telematics really deliver for a small business?

So it was useful to catch up with Jeremy Gould. Jeremy is TomTom WORK’s sales manager. And he had just been speaking about the launch of the company’s new duty of care product: FleetCheck. It’s fleet management software at no extra cost with TomTom WORK – see news story Free business car management for small businesses.

TomTom WORK is the business unit of the portable sat-nav company TomTom. But in addition to the sat-nav get-me-there-guidance facility, the business unit adds in telematics.

It can help a business become much more efficient, reckons Jeremy. It can help with job allocation (which driver is closest to the job); and increase the number of jobs completed – perhaps by your team of engineers.

Which in turn cuts down the number of miles and reduces the fuel bill. It can also help fulfill HMRC requirements for detailing private mileage and business mileage in a company car. This is all part of its reporting features.

And now it has a further feature with FleetCheck: this captures car maintenance data. It also provides an audit trail to support your business and its duty of care. Which is all useful stuff.

But doesn’t all this cost money small businesses can ill afford? I put the question to Jeremy.

”It’s certainly true there is capital cost involved,” Jeremy told me. “But we reckon that within six to nine months a business will see a return on that investment. You shouldn’t underestimate the ability of telematics to deliver dramatic efficiency gains. It should make a business work a lot smarter.”

Quite clearly I need to pay more attention to telematics in the future, then. Let me know if your business uses telematics. And how it helps your company.

Talking to TomTom WORK’s Jeremy Gould