A drop in smartphone prices is driving adoption of IOT (Internet of Things) technology including that within car and fleet management services.

Ruth Kang'ong'oi, General Manager at fleet management company, Safetrac Limited, says many Kenyans are accessing car tracking services through their smartphones.

''Mobile technology has evolved tremendously in ways which benefit businesses and their fleet. With smartphones or tablets, companies can employ active fleet monitoring without the need to buy additional equipment. This, in the end, helps the companies make significant savings and meaningful decisions on their businesses'' she said.

According to the latest Communication Authority (CA) Quarterly report for year 2016/2017 (Q4 – April-June 2017) low cost smartphones are also adding to the internet penetration.

"The total number of internet subscriptions amounted to 29.6 million which was an increase of 15.2 percent from 25.7 million registered in the previous quarter," the report said.

"The growth was driven by 15.3 percent increase of in mobile data subscriptions to 29.4 million at the end of the quarter which quarter, which accounted for approximately 99 percent of the total subscriptions. The increase of mobile data subscriptions could be attributed to continued fall in the price of smartphones costs as well widespread availability of the handsets," the CA added.

Kang'ong'oi added that fleet management could be one of the ways IoT will have a direct effect on the market.

"The IoT is made up of several smart devices such as sensors, mobile devices and cameras, all of which make use of wireless technology to communicate with each other. Incorporating IoT with fleet management helps in managing fuel and labour costs, improving fleet maintenance procedures, maximising dispatching and scheduling, increasing response times, and enhancing customer satisfaction."

A recent study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) on the global IoT fleet management market has found that smartphone integrated real-time data is driving demand for fleet management services worldwide.

The study notes that an increasing number of transportation companies are integrating their tracking and monitoring, routing, fuel management and remote diagnostic processes using mobile technology.