eDriving has acquired Interactive Driving Systems, a global provider of fleet driver safety management solutions through its Virtual Risk Manager (VRM) platform and Mentor eData, a consumer-focused telematics app and analytics provider.
The combined companies form the leading driver training and risk reduction business with a mission of training consumer and professional drivers to be the best and safest they can be and evolving crash-free operating cultures for corporations worldwide.
The impacted and addressable market is vast, given the critical nature and costs associated with driving for individuals, families, small businesses and major corporations. The ability to draw on fast-emerging telematics, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) in constructing solutions creates an unparalleled and immediate opportunity for eDriving.
In the U.S. alone, there are nearly 30,000 fatal motor vehicle crashes annually and motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of teen deaths. The global value of the auto insurance market is expected to reach $821 billion by 2018. As technology quickly evolves and consumers and companies adjust to next-generation options, the global telematics market is expected to reach $45 billion by 2019.
eDriving CEO Celia Stokes who joined the company in early 2015 and paved the way for a significant expansion of the organization's focus and impact, said: "These acquisitions fast-track our vision of offering a full suite of solutions that maximize road safety and constructively empower personal and professional drivers to better control what is happening when they are behind the wheel."
"If you want safer family cars and lower fleet operating costs with more predictable insurance rates, you need sharper focus on the driver."
Mission -- Size & Scope
The new eDriving enterprise, with over 430 employees worldwide, will immediately begin sharing assets and resources, including patents, data analytics, telematics data, technology development, websites, apps, subject matter experts, interactive content and video libraries. Financial terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed, but the combined company now has:
More U.S. state approvals than any other company to provide online driver training and certification
1 million novice and driver improvement customers annually (consumer market)
More than 700,000 fleet drivers in 97 countries, using courses in 45 languages
Over 10 million unique visitors to websites
A powerful telematics and analytics engine capable of operating as a turnkey offering as well as connecting to other telematics providers
200 driving instructors in a fleet of BMW Mini Coopers in key markets
A blue-chip customer base including global Fortune 500 companies.
Stokes added: "It's an honor to be combining forces with a best-in-class provider in driver risk reduction strategies that has created meaningful, crash-free cultures for such an impressive set of worldwide corporate customers."
"I have spoken with many of these customers and the value they place on ensuring their employee drivers return home safely to their loved ones every day is palpable and foundational -- as is their reliance on and trust in Interactive Driving Systems."
"And Mentor eData's rigorous approach to using data to model driving behaviors enables us to fuel a different level of driver insight, training and effect. Our three organizations share a thorough and engaging approach to driver improvement and risk reduction while our market reach and areas of core competency are entirely complementary. This combination is game changing for the industry."
Interactive Driving Systems the founder and CEO Ed Dubens, who becomes Executive Vice President (EVP) of newly formed eDriving FLEET and will continue to drive all operations and strategy for the fleet business line said: "We already have a pipeline of customers who see the combination of entities as greater than the sum of the parts and are ready to engage more deeply."
"Driver safety is, indeed, poised for fundamental change."
Multiple Brands, New Telematics Team & Flagship Clients
eDriving will operate and integrate brands including DriversEd.com, I Drive Safely, Virtual Risk Manager, eDriving FLEET, OneMoreSecond, DriveInsight, and DrivingBuddy and expects to launch multiple products in coming months. These products include a closed-loop, mobile-based virtual coaching product that is modeled after Interactive Driving System's popular, award-winning, flagship offering, Virtual Risk Manager (VRM).
Flagship Interactive Driving Systems' clients include Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, GSK, Cummins, Merck & Co., Zurich, BT, Royal Mail, Liberty Mutual and Roche. Many have won prestigious awards for improving safety outcomes while substantially reducing costs.
Steve Lakowske, founder and CEO of Mentor eData, will join as a senior executive in eDriving's telematics team and brings established customer relationships from the insurance and international mapping services markets.
