Feb 4, 2026
10 min read
We looked at what’s actually changing in fleet management and narrowed it down to 6 key shifts that are already shaping the industry and will influence what comes next.
This perspective reflects the shared vision of Aliaksandr Kuushynau, Head of Wialon, and Maryia Filimanchuk, Head of Wialon Innovation and Strategy Hub.
Will it be about AI?
Yes. But not just that.
If you want to learn about trends in a shorter format without diving deep into text, here’s a short video.
1. The great consolidation: From specialized apps to unified platforms
For a long time, fleet management consisted of many diverse and fragmented solutions. Nearly every operational task had its own dedicated app: one for fuel management, another for maintenance, and separate tools designed exclusively for electric vehicles.
Fleet software vendors, like many players in the broader SaaS market, focused on addressing specific business pain points. As more fleet operations became digital, specialized tools helped companies adopt technology step by step.
Over time, however, the market evolved. Fleets began using technology across more processes, and the number of digital tools grew accordingly. What once felt like progress gradually turned into friction.
By 2026, fleet owners no longer manage fuel separately from maintenance, nor do they treat EVs as a completely independent operational universe. Fleets are often mixed, and workflows span multiple functions at once. Expecting users to switch between applications, repeatedly re-authenticate, and reconcile data across disconnected systems is no longer acceptable.
This shift is reshaping the market. Fleet management service providers are gravitating toward universal platforms, while fleet owners are favoring solutions that cover most operational needs within a single environment. At the same time, large platform developers are strengthening their position. Through partnerships and acquisitions, they are absorbing smaller, specialized players, gradually changing the competitive landscape around integrated platform ecosystems.
|
At this point, you might reasonably ask: can a unified software really work for fleets with different priorities and business models? This is exactly the challenge Wialon Hosting set out to address. The solution covers core needs such as GPS tracking, geofencing, routing, and real-time alerts, while also supporting more advanced scenarios, including video telematics, driver behavior monitoring, and fuel management. To help fleet management service providers operate in an increasingly consolidated market, we recently introduced Wialon Platform. It’s a no-code solution builder that allows service providers to configure unique fleet solutions around specific customer needs. The same platform can support compliance-driven fleets, maintenance-focused operations, or driver-centric use cases — all within a single ecosystem. |
__CTA_BANNER_111__
Aliaksandr Kuushynau, Head of Wialon, at the Telematics & Connected Mobility conference
2. Leveling the playing field: Advanced features for SMBs
Access to advanced fleet management tools has long depended on scale. Predictive maintenance, detailed analytics, and driver behavior monitoring were typically reserved for large enterprises. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), operating fleets of a few dozen to a few hundred vehicles, relied on simpler solutions — not because their operations were easier, but because advanced systems were too expensive and complex to justify the investment.
Setup is faster, configuration replaces development, and advanced features become usable without long onboarding cycles or heavy technical effort.
AI also plays its role in this shift. It helps with initial GPS tracker setup, explains the software settings, and turns reports into insights that teams can actually use.
For fleet management service providers, this means SMB customers can be served efficiently on the same advanced platform as larger fleets, rather than on simplified or limited solutions. For fleet owners operating fleets of 20 or 100 vehicles, this trend brings a level of visibility and control that previously required enterprise-scale resources. And for fleet software developers, SMBs are becoming a key audience, not just consumers of new features, but often the fastest to adopt and put them into practice.
3. Data becomes an asset — and a point of tension
Fleet data wasn’t the goal, it was a byproduct. Fleet owners turned to management systems for real-time monitoring, alerts, and basic reports. Data accumulated in the background, rarely questioned and rarely used.
That’s in the past, right?
Today, data is perceived as power: it shows how a fleet truly operates. Telematics, vehicle diagnostics, driver behavior insights, and operational analytics uncover patterns, highlight risks, and support better decisions. This means fewer surprises, lower operating costs, and more efficient use of resources.
Many fleets relying on Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) solutions are discovering that access to their own data can be limited. Exports may be restricted or require additional fees, and switching to another system often means leaving valuable historical data behind. In Europe, the EU Data Act begins to shift this balance by affirming that vehicle-generated data belongs to the fleet owner or user and reinforcing their right to access, transfer, and use it beyond OEM systems. In other regions, similar regulations may not yet exist, but the underlying issue of data control remains the same.
For fleet management service providers, this creates an opportunity. By building solutions on independent software platforms, they can offer products where fleet data remains fully accessible. For fleet owners, moving away from closed ecosystems reduces vendor lock-in and leads to more predictable costs.
For fleet software developers, the message is equally clear. Making data easy to access, move, and work with is no longer a nice-to-have. In 2026, guaranteeing data ownership becomes a strategic advantage that directly shapes what fleet solutions can deliver.
4. AI beyond the hype: The gap that keeps growing
As AI becomes a standard part of modern businesses, its role is quietly changing. The discussion is no longer about whether AI is impressive or innovative. It’s whether it delivers results that are consistent, measurable, and worth paying for.
By 2026, many companies have already moved past pilots and experiments. AI is integrated into everyday workflows, handling routine tasks, supporting decisions, and taking pressure off teams. In that sense, it now looks less like a breakthrough technology and more like something familiar — similar to how CRM platforms or ERP systems gradually became non-negotiable parts of modern operations.
According to a recent Wharton School report, many enterprises are seeing tangible gains in productivity and performance from AI adoption. Most now report positive ROI (74%), with especially strong results among smaller players who move faster to integrate Gen AI into workflows.
But this transition hasn’t been even.
What holds companies back is rarely the technology itself. Access to new AI tools has never been easier. More often, the friction is internal: unclear ownership, lack of trust, or resistance to changing established ways of working. These constraints compound over time, while the market continues to move forward.
Today, falling behind on AI adoption becomes harder and more expensive to fix. In the fleet industry, this shows up quickly: higher operating costs, slower response times, and growing pressure from customers who already expect AI features as a baseline. The impact can be felt across all players, from software developers to fleet management service providers and fleet owners. There is still time to adapt — but the window is narrowing fast.
5. Agentic AI: From support to execution
Current fleet systems are good at pointing out problems. They say: a vehicle needs maintenance, a critical fault is detected, a driver breaks a rule. What follows, however, is usually manual: fleet managers review the alert, create a task, and push the process forward.
Agentic AI is emerging in fleet management at the point where systems used to hand control back to people.
Unlike conversational AI, which explains and recommends, agentic AI is designed to act autonomously within predefined rules. It can create tasks, trigger workflows, monitor service performance, and escalate exceptions with minimal human input.
For fleet management service providers, agentic AI points to a future where scale can be achieved without proportional growth in operational complexity. For fleet owners, it leads to faster response times and more predictable day-to-day operations. For fleet software developers, it raises the bar: AI must be designed not only to generate insights, but to execute actions independently, safely, and consistently within real operational workflows.
6. Business ambidexterity: Operating today while preparing for what’s next
In fleet management, change no longer arrives in clear phases. It overlaps.
New technologies enter the market before older ones disappear. Legacy devices continue to operate alongside AI-powered dashcams. Electric vehicles are added to fleets that remain largely built around combustion engines. 2G and 3G networks are still widely used.
The challenge is no longer choosing between the present and the future, but managing both at the same time, without fragmenting systems, teams, or customer experience. Ambidexterity means operating in 2 modes at once. One focuses on stability: supporting existing customers, maintaining proven services, and managing transitions such as the 2G/3G sunset. The other looks ahead: testing new business models, integrating new tools, and gradually adopting AI-driven capabilities.
Current technologies make this balance possible: shared platforms, common data layers, and modular architectures allow different fleet realities to coexist within a single operational framework.
For fleet management service providers, this trend means continuing to rely on established business models and long-term customers while deliberately creating space to test new services, features, and pricing approaches in parallel. Fleet owners can adopt new tools gradually and learn from them without disrupting operations. Fleet software developers are increasingly focused on building systems that can evolve alongside the market, supporting different levels of maturity at the same time.
By 2026, the strongest players in fleet management will be those able to operate confidently in more than one reality at once.
__CTA_BANNER_222__
Is there a forecast here you agree with, or one you see differently? Let’s continue the conversation. Share your perspective on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram, and don’t forget to tag @Wialon.
