Image: Azuga
Azuga's Fleet Mobile app allows businesses to communicate with their drivers and includes a driver rewards program.
Azuga's Fleet Mobile app allows businesses to communicate with their drivers and includes a driver rewards program.
Azuga's Fleet Mobile app allows businesses to communicate with their drivers and includes a driver rewards program.
Azuga's Fleet Mobile app allows businesses to communicate with their drivers and includes a driver rewards program.
Azuga's Fleet Mobile app allows businesses to communicate with their drivers and includes a driver rewards program.

Azuga to expand, step up product innovation after acquisition by SEP

April 17, 2018
Azuga is looking to grow its presence in the telematics space and beyond now that Sumeru Equity Partners has acquired a controlling interest in the company.

Connected vehicle and fleet management technology company Azuga is looking to grow its presence in the telematics space and beyond now that Sumeru Equity Partners (SEP) has acquired a controlling interest in the company. SEP — which specializes in growing medium-sized tech companies — also made a "significant" investment to help Azuga accelerate its product innovation.

The transaction closed in March, and terms were not disclosed. Azuga CEO and founder Ananth Rani will remain in his role at the company, also retaining his shares in it. But right away, Azuga is ramping up its operations and has an eye out for new locations to support its growth strategy.

"Straightaway we'll be looking to expand — plenty of interviews with salespeople, engineering, development, customer success/support [personnel]," Rani told Fleet Owner. "That's just the immediate process. We're also scouting for new offices in the U.S., expanding current offices and things like that."

Azuga provides connected vehicle, fleet and telematics software and solutions for commercial fleets, government agencies, insurance companies and automotive industry suppliers with its platforms that are now in use by some 3,000 customers. Founded in 2012, it's a young company, and Rani notes the fleet management space is highly competitive.

But Azuga has managed to gain ground and attract fleets — sometimes large ones — to its products. Rani points to the company's focus on meaningful driver rewards and fostering healthy competition in its fleet management platform rather than a "gotcha" culture of driver behavior monitoring. The key in such an approach is to keep drivers engaged in gamification for the long term.

This format has played well for Azuga, and Rani says he believes it helped land its first big customer, Atlanta-based lease-to-own retailer Aaron's Inc.

Azuga claims its fleet management platform allows customers "to turn data about vehicle usage and driver behavior into intelligence that improves operations and safety while also reducing costs and risk for fleet operators" and notes that it "has invested significantly in product innovation, market coverage and its employee base." The fleet solution is Azuga's flagship product, but Rani explains that the company is also looking to grow its other products like toll/usage-based vehicle tax management and a fleet assessment tool for commercial insurance companies.

"With Sumeru's investment, we can broaden the platform and all these things," Rani says.

Meanwhile, Azuga continues its partnership with Danlaw Inc., which is essentially the hardware partner in the Azuga fleet management equation and provides the secure connectivity devices that plug into vehicles. In addition to continuing as a large shareholder in Azuga, Danlaw will remain a key supplier and strategic partner.

Rani contends that Azuga's partnership with SEP and Danlaw "will have a considerably positive impact on our product innovation strategy, customer support and employee base."

As a part of its investment, SEP principals Paul Mercadante, Sanjeet Mitra and Mark Haller will join the Azuga board of directors. 

"The fleet management and telematics technology market is undergoing a significant transition as the shift from asset-tracking solutions to complex, sophisticated platforms allows fleet operators to use real-time data to influence safety, operations and performance," stated Mercadante and Haller. "From its founding, Azuga has differentiated itself by taking on a customer-first mentality and building a modern platform with extensive functionality that mutually benefits fleet operators and vehicle drivers alike."

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He's written about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined Fleet Owner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he's a keeper of knowledge at Fleet Owner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all around trucking—and still turns a wrench or two. Or three. 

And he's never without a camera, or so rumor has it.

Sponsored Recommendations

Stop Sweating Temperature Excursions

Advanced chemical indicators give you the peace of mind that comes from reliable insights into your supply chains. Compromised shipments can be identified the moment they arrive...

How Electric Vehicles Help You Prolong the Life of Your Fleet

Before adopting electric vehicles for commercial/government fleets, prioritize cost inquiries. Maintenance is essential; understand the upkeep of EV fleets. Here’s what you need...

How to Choose the Right Route Planning Solution

This free buyer's guide will help equip you with the knowledge and insights needed to analyze route planning software and vendors in the market and, ultimately, make an informed...

How to Put Your Trucking Data to Work

How fleets can overcome data overload to optimize operations and get ahead.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of FleetOwner, create an account today!