2015 was good to us and although we’re sad to see it go, we are very excited for what 2016 holds. Here at Octo North America, we have been growing our team and North American presence, including the launch of two new UBI programs, the shipment of more than one million of our award-winning telematics devices, and new partnerships with several U.S.-based research and academic organizations (stay tuned for announcements soon).
We’ve doubled our revenue and employee headcount, and we continue to lead the insurance market into the connected car age. The insurance telematics industry is ever-expanding, as insurers are accelerating plans to become more digital – driven by increased adoption of Internet of Things technologies (IoT), data and analytics tools and digital-first distribution models, according to an Accenture report based on an online survey of more than 400 senior insurance executives across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Gartner Research predicts that by 2020, there will be a quarter billion connected vehicles on the road and that during the next five years, the proportion of new vehicles equipped with this capability will increase dramatically, making connected cars a major element of the Internet of Things (IoT). We agree, of course, as worldwide, Octo Telematics still boasts the largest database of driving and correlated crash data, and our telematics devices make any car a “connected car.”
We made a commitment this year to significantly expand our North American footprint and we’ve reached that goal – closing a strong 2015 and starting 2016 with a very positive outlook and full pipeline. Our revenue has increased year over year – doubling since 2014 – and we’ll continue to produce a wide range of technologies to innovate the insurance industry in the coming year. Stay tuned for exciting developments around not only connected cars, but connected lifestyles, as well as mobile, usage-based insurance and the Internet of Things as we continue momentum in the New Year.
May your 2016 be happy and prosperous!
– Nino