HUGHES Telematics enters agreements with IBM, Oracle

HUGHES Telematics has entered two agreements that enhance its portfolio of global technology relationships. IBM and Oracle both will provide essential technological ingredients necessary to deliver HUGHES Telematics' consumer solution to its automotive partners and the drivers of their vehicles.

IBM has been working with HUGHES Telematics to build its telematics operations center, which is the hub of connectivity for all HUGHES Telematics-equipped vehicles. This milestone formalizes a long standing relationship between HUGHES Telematics and IBM and is the springboard for the implementation phase of HUGHES Telematics' systems in Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler vehicles.

"Telematics and vehicle ICT are moving from the conceptual phase to strategic execution," says Thilo Koslowski, vice president automotive at Gartner, Inc. "Partnerships between telematics providers and experienced IT leaders are a critical success factor in developing successful offerings and realizing the connected vehicle."

"IBM's significant experience and strength in developing world-class operational hubs will ensure that our customers will have an exceptional experience every time they connect with us, whether from behind the wheel or behind the keyboard," says Erik Goldman, president of HUGHES Telematics.

HUGHES Telematics also has selected database and applications software from Oracle for its customer- and business-facing systems. The combination of Oracle's leading database, middleware and applications will allow HUGHES Telematics to provide a standards-based adaptable platform for future services and deliver a continuously exceptional customer experience, HUGHES reports.

"IBM and Oracle are providing two vital elements in developing a telematics platform that is specifically engineered for integration with our automotive manufacturers' and dealers' EDI systems, specialized call centers and third party content providers. This unprecedented infrastructure is unmatched in its ability to dynamically provision and manage services. Our significant investment in this architecture demonstrates our commitment to a best of breed approach," Goldman says.

"The HUGHES Telematics project is a perfect fit for IBM's expertise in automotive CRM and telematics. The telematics operations center we develop with HUGHES Telematics will support both subscription-based and transactional services, automotive customer relationship management and third party service integration. By deploying a state of the art network with no legacy burden, HUGHES Telematics will be capable of service offerings not available in the market today," says Karen Newman, IBM lead automotive industry partner for the Americas.

"Oracle is pleased to have been selected as the application and technology software provider powering the HUGHES Telematics infrastructure," says David Bonnette, group vice president, North America CRM Sales. "Oracle's call center and customer billing applications, as well as our ERP and database software can provide a scalable solution that will meet the dynamic needs of the automotive market. We are excited to work with HUGHES Telematics and IBM to deliver this leading customer offer for the automobile industry."

HUGHES Telematics will begin rolling out its telematics solution in Mercedes-Benz USA and Chrysler LLC vehicles in 2009. The operations center is designed to support telematics services using third party vehicle solutions as well as HUGHES Telematics equipment.

For more information, visit www.HUGHEStelematics.com.