Talk:Geotab

COI

I am an employee at Geotab. The current state of the article is of a somewhat poor (tone, structure, excessive use of bullet points, irrelevant information) and we would like to provide suggested edits to help improve this article, both in terms of the quality of the writing (to make it sound more encyclopedic) and the content. We hope to propose significant changes to the content, effectively rewriting most of it. Some of the changes we hope to propose will be improving the introductory paragraph, rewriting the history section by turning it into a paragraph and keeping only important information (there is a lot of bloat currently), and making the Awards section more concise.

Would this be acceptable from a COI standpoint and if so can someone volunteer to work with us on this once we provide the suggestions?

Mrinalini at Geotab Inc (talk) 20:13, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

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Updating Geotab page

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Geotab — combining “Geo” from geospatial and “tab” from tabulation. Geotab focuses on aiding businesses in enhancing their safety, productivity, and sustainable practices using real-time data. Geotab is now a global company with over 2,000 employees and more than 700 partners around the world.

2000-2009: Geotab founded

2000: CEO Neil Cawse established Geotab Canada in Oakville, Ontario.

2002: The GO2 fleet management device was introduced to the market, including radio frequency (RF) download and live tracking. [source]

2006: GO3 with Wi-Fi was released.

2010-2019: MyGeotab, the Geotab Marketplace and global expansion

2010: Geotab launched GO4 version 3 with more memory and accelerometer data when compared to GO3, supporting all protocols in one hardware. . Geotab was officially named Garmin's Fleet Management Partner. Geotab developed a compact-sized GO device smaller than the GO4.

2011: The GO5 hardware plug-and-play device was launched.

2012: Geotab developed GO6 and began production. Geotab patents the Curve Logging Algorithm (curve-based logic) for recording speed, position and other engine information. . Geotab launched their fleet management software, MyGeotab.

2013: Geotab launched the first telematic NFC Driver ID Key Solution, Geotab launched their partnership with Navistar Inc. for remote diagnostics,

2014: Geotab announced GO7 new commercial telematics solution. Geotab announced their J1939 integration with the Mobileye 560 (Mobileye’s Advanced Driver Assistance System)

2015: Geotab launched their Marketplace, which complements their pre-existing MyGeotab platform. Geotab acquired Strategic Telecom Solutions.

2016: Geotab launches MyGeotab mobile app. Geotab defeated two IP trolls: Rothschild Location Technologies and Orthosie . GO RUGGED ruggedized telematics device designed for harsh conditions or external installation is launched.

2017: Electric logging solution Geotab Cloud ELD is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). [source], The US Department of Homeland Security issued a blanket purchase agreement to Geotab.

2018: Reached 1 million subscriptions, Geotab launched the GO8 device, data.geotab.com. Geotab acquired the time-of-use EV charging software FleetCarma. Geotab acquired BSM Technologies and Intendia

2019: Geotab launched the GO9 device , Geotab was awarded the world’s largest telematics contract by the General Services Administration (GSA)

2020-present: EV fleet management tools:

2000: Geotab launched the Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment to enable fleets to go electric and the EV Battery Degradation Tool. Registers 2 million subscriptions Geotab launched a new Geotab Community website, https://community.geotab.com. Geotab launched its Public Works Solution in North America. Geotab achieved FedRAMP authorization for its cloud-based telematics platform.[28] Geotab achieved ISO 27001 certification for its Information Security Management System. Geotab unveiled Geotab Keyless, one of the world’s first platform that integrates a secured digital key function with a comprehensive and data-driven fleet management product. The U.S. Air Force awards Geotab sole-source contract for its 21,000 vehicles.

2021: Geotab launches their advanced electricity demand management, Geotab released an upgraded GO9+ device, Geotab surpassed 2,000 government customers,

2022: Geotab surpassed 3 million global subscriptions . The Fleet Electrification Knowledge Center is launched, a resource hub for learning about the fleet electrification process.

2023: Geotab achieves 4 million subscriptions backed by the demand for connected technologies. Geotab drives the industry standard with data intelligence solutions for over 300 EV makes and models and opens an Automotive Innovation and Research Hub in High Wycombe , England to support a cleaner and more sustainable future for transportation. Geotab launches Data Connector integrated intelligence tool. [source] Geotab launches beta of Project G, an intelligent assistant that enables customers to ask questions through a chat interface about their fleet on vehicle performance, idling times, fuel economy, vehicle usage, cost savings, and more.

 Working Lewcm Talk to me! 08:06, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

 Partly done Added all except "Geotab defeated two IP trolls: Rothschild Location Technologies and Orthosie", please re-word this section and re-submit your request. The 2023 paragraph also sounds too promotional, I've added bits from it but please re-word this section and re-submit your request if you'd like the rest adding. Lewcm Talk to me! 08:18, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Hello Lewcm,

Thank you for editing the 2023 section. It looks good.

Regarding this: Geotab defeated two IP trolls: Rothschild Location Technologies and Orthosie

I was wondering if there is anything specific you would like me to change? Can we make it: Geotab defeated two patent IP trolls: Rothschild Location Technologies and Orthosie

We could also link it to this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

Let us know, please. Thank you. Mrinalini at Geotab Inc (talk) 18:49, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Another quick note: Could you please remove the spacing between 2000-2009? All the other subheadings don't have a space. And could you remove the "," after point number 2013? Please let me know if I should submit these as specific requests? Thank you so much. Mrinalini at Geotab Inc (talk) 18:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

 Done Hi @Mrinalini at Geotab Inc, sorry I didn't realise that was the official term! I've added that sentence in with a link to the page you've posted. I've also corrected the spacing issue and replaced that comma. Thank you :) Lewcm Talk to me! 15:47, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

Corporate Structure

Please remove this section as it already is integrated in the history section.

• Why it should be changed:

I need assistance in enhancing the content's quality, adjusting the tone, and incorporating the latest information. It's important to remove inaccuracies and eliminate redundant sections already covered in the history segment to streamline and elevate the overall content.

2001:1970:49A7:3300:C0AE:11E6:B20A:1C0B (talk) 21:41, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

 Done Lewcm Talk to me! 08:19, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

References

Updating Geotab page

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Awards and recognition

Geotab was listed in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list in North America — eight times in the last 10 years (2010-2014, 2017, 2018, 2019).[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]

Geotab was listed in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 in Canada four times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014). In 2014 and 2017, Geotab was a recipient of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Leadership Award . In 2020, Geotab was named one of Canada’s Enterprise Fast 15 in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 awards.

Geotab’s CEO, Neil Cawse, was named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Ontario in 2015.

Geotab was awarded Oakville’s Large Business of the Year in 2016.

GreenFleet awarded Geotab for IT Innovation in fleet technology in 2017.

In 2018, Geotab was recognized as Frost & Sullivan’s North American Company of the Year in the commercial fleet telematics industry.

Geotab was presented with Oakville’s 2019 Business Icon Award.

In 2020, Geotab placed no. 210 on Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top Growing Companies list.

In 2018 and 2020, Geotab ranked on Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies list Growth 500.

Geotab was also recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Geotab became a certified Great Place to Work in Canada, as well as a Great Place to Work in the USA in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Geotab was ranked the number one Commercial Telematics vendor in the world in 2019 and 2020 by ABI Research.

In 2022, ABI Research recognized Geotab as the top commercial telematics vendor for the third time, for its innovation and implementation. Geotab was included on the 2022 Report on Business Canada’s Top Growing Companies ranking for the fourth year in a row.

In 2023, Geotab Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers , Geotab Inc. was ranked as one of Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies 2023 by Financial Times , Geotab Inc. was highly recognized at The Great British Fleet Awards 2023 , the company was awarded the best commercial vehicle innovator award by Canadian Business , Geotab honored with University of Waterloo award for student impact , Geotab Earns Bronze Medal from EcoVadis for Sustainability Performance [source], Geotab wins the Innovator of the Year award from Golden Bridge , Geotab wins Google Cloud Cross Customer Award 2023 , Geotab Wins Four Stevie Awards in 2023 International Business Awards geotab wins Canadian Business Excellence Awards for Private Business ABI Research Ranks Geotab as #1 Leader in Commercial Video Telematics

🟡  Edit request partially implemented

This section of the page has since been redone, I've worked in the new awards and recognition to the new layout as best I can. I did have to leave out the "#1 Leader" section as it was too promotional, you're welcome to re-word this and re-submit if you'd like. There was also a few too many primary sources (e.g. the Geotab website), I was able to find others but please be aware that secondary sources are preferred! Thanks :) Lewcm Talk to me! 22:07, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

External Links

Official Website

• Why it should be changed:

To improve quality of the content and make changes that will provide accurate information about Geotab.

Mrinalini at Geotab Inc (talk) 23:56, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

 Done Lewcm Talk to me! 08:02, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

References

Update request for introduction section

Note for when a new editor is assigned this: Spintendo was assisting us with this request but seems to not be active in the past couple months. I created a new topic below because I wasn't sure if I could get this back on the edit request list (not sure how it went back on that list). Once we resume this topic, we can delete the topic below. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Minura at Geotab Inc (talk • contribs) 16:06, 15 March 2024 (UTC)

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Replace the entire current introduction section with this:

Geotab Inc. is a Canadian technology company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. The company develops and markets telematics hardware and software used to locate, manage, and maintain vehicles and assets in real-time. It provides solutions in fleet management including on-board diagnostics, electronic logging, route optimization, accident data recording and CO2 emissions reporting.

The company was founded in 2000 by Neil Cawse, the CEO of the company. Geotab’s primary customers are private sector and public sector fleets who use Geotab products for the purpose of fleet management of motor vehicles. Geotab sells its products to end users primarily through a global network of third-party resellers. The company’s products have over 4 million subscriptions by customers in 160 countries.

Geotab’s core product lines are the Go device and MyGeotab software as a service (SaaS) platform. The Go device is a playing card pack sized device that connects to the OBD port of a motor vehicle. It transmits diagnostics and location information (obtained via a built-in GPS receiver) over standard 4G telecommunications networks in real-time. This information can then be viewed or analyzed using the MyGeotab platform. The Go device and MyGeotab platform also support integrations with third-party hardware and software to provide additional functionality.

• Why it should be changed:

Updating to improve quality of the article to try to make it more intelligible to any non-technical readers. Do let me know if there are any issues with the above text. Thanks!

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

Provided with the text above.

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 22:29, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

References

 Declined The requested prose is too promotional. Regards,  Spintendo  10:10, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Hi Spintendo, thank you for taking the time to review.

I've tried to follow the instructions in Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch in writing this and have had a look at other tech company pages that are rated B or above as a reference (e.g. Arm Holdings). Compared to a company like Arm, however, our company is about a quarter of the size so I have tried to squeeze in all the information into the introductory paragraph.

Could you either point me to another Wikipedia guide page where I can learn to distinguish between what might be considered promotional, or could you point out what in my text is considered too promotional?

This is my rationale for the text I have provided:

- 1st paragraph: Company location and markets served

- 2nd paragraph: History and business model (perhaps the "4 million" is promotional here?)

- 3rd paragraph: Product lines. Note I have kept this to the two main product lines and not mentioned any specific models. I have tried to squeeze in a bit more information here considering the article does not have a section on products.

Thanks,

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 18:18, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply, it's much appreciated. The particular text which stood out as being promotional was The company develops and markets telematics hardware and software used to locate, manage, and maintain vehicles and assets in real-time The claim that they "maintain vehicles and assets" sounds like industry jargon which does not describe what is being done by the company. How and in what way are they "maintained"? Since maintenance can be a subjective term, the fact that these items are maintained may not be up to everyone else's description of what is or is not maintained. The word "assets" is also not very descriptive. It provides solutions is a phrase that I see often in edit requests. It uses company jargon (e.g., "solutions") that we don't use here on Wikipedia. The Go device and MyGeotab platform also support integrations with third-party hardware and software to provide additional functionality. "support integrations" and "additional functionality" are more examples of this non-descriptive language. What exactly is meant by "additional functionality"? Does it make ice cream? I'm taking some liberties here, but honestly, when it says "additional functionality" — but does not specify what those functionalities are — it leaves everything but the kitchen sink open to interpretation. Language like this is, at best, not informative, and at worst, sounds more like an advertisement than an encyclopedic entry. I hope this feedback helps. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask (and sorry about the 10-day delay in responding!). Regards,  Spintendo  15:59, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the detailed explanations. I've made a few modifications to try to resolve these problems. Can you let me know if this text meets the Wikipedia standards?

Old: The company develops and markets telematics hardware and software used to locate, manage, and maintain vehicles and assets in real-time

New: The company develops and markets telematics hardware and software for use with motor vehicles.

Old: It provides solutions in fleet management including on-board diagnostics, electronic logging, route optimization, accident data recording and CO2 emissions reporting.

New: The company's products are primarily used for fleet management, including on-board diagnostics, electronic logging, route optimization, accident data recording and CO2 emissions reporting.

Old: The GO device and MyGeotab platform also support integrations with third-party hardware and software to provide additional functionality.

New: The MyGeotab platform and GO device allow extensibility through a software development kit (SDK) and an on-device expansion port (called IOX).

Would this work? I've left out saying what you can use it for (the vague added functionality) and tried to replace it with what it is; an SDK and an expansion port. Also, I have used the trademark formatting "GO" versus "Go". To the best of my knowledge, the standard formatting is not in use which I think meets the requirement stated here Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks#General rules.

The full text would be as follows:

Geotab Inc. is a Canadian technology company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. The company develops and markets telematics hardware and software for use with motor vehicles. The company's products are primarily used for fleet management, including on-board diagnostics, electronic logging, route optimization, accident data recording and CO2 emissions reporting.

Geotab was founded in 2000 by Neil Cawse, the CEO of the company. Its primary customers are private and public sector fleets. Geotab sells its products to end users mainly through a global network of third-party resellers.(Citation 3 above Talk:Geotab#cite note-85) As of 2023, the company’s products have over 4 million subscriptions by customers in 160 countries. (Citation 4 above Talk:Geotab#cite note-86)

Geotab’s core product lines are the GO device and MyGeotab software as a service (SaaS) platform. The GO device connects to the OBD port of a motor vehicle and transmits diagnostics and location information (obtained via a built-in GPS receiver) over commercial cellular networks in real-time. This information can then be viewed or analyzed using the MyGeotab platform. The MyGeotab platform and GO device also support extensibility through a software development kit (SDK) and an on-device expansion port.

I appreciate your feedback and apologies for spamming your personal page (which I have now deleted). Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 19:12, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

 Done Encoded   Talk 💬 08:56, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Update request for introduction

User:Spintendo has been assisting me with an COI edit suggestion but he hasn't been responding for over a month. I was recommended by the Teahouse to create a new COI request to get a new editor. This edit suggestion I had in my conversation with Spintendo is under the topic "Update request for introduction section" on the talk page. If someone could continue on this, that would be great. Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 04:35, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

See request linked above.

• Why it should be changed:

See request linked above.

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 04:48, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

References

 Done Encoded   Talk 💬 08:55, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Update "Awards and recognition" section

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

First, can you remove the table in "Awards and recognition"?

I have a question on what should or should not be included in the paragraphs that follow the table. Some of these are not very important and I want to know what I should keep in. The most important of these is the ABI industry research rankings in which Geotab has lead the rankings for Telematics as a whole in a number of years.

• Why it should be changed:

The table was created through a previous COI handled by another person. I think there was some confusion between the editor and the requester since it's not ideal to format it in this way in this context.

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 14:52, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

References

 Done Minura at Geotab Inc, I've removed the table. Regarding what should be kept in, I think any award with its own Wikipedia article, or any award that is covered in an independent, secondary source (ex. the news) is fine. ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 12:36, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

@ARandomName123 could you also replace the existing text for the "Awards and recognition" section with this:

Geotab was ranked the leading Commercial Telematics provider in the world in 2019, 2020 and 2022 by ABI Research (citation 1, 2, 3). Geotab was also ranked the leading Commercial Video Telematics provider in 2023 by ABI Research. (citation)

In 2023, Geotab received the “Best Commercial Vehicle Innovator” award from Canadian Business magazine (citation).

Geotab has been included in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list in North America, eight times (2010-2014, 2017-2019) (citations 44-51 on current Article).

Thanks!

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 01:59, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

@Minura at Geotab Inc:  Go ahead: I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page. ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 20:00, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

@ARandomName123 I'm really hesitant to directly edit the article because of Wikipedia:Conflict of interest#COI editing. Even with your approval, it can look bad if someone sees my username on the edit history. Would you like me to open a new COI edit request or is there anything else I can do to help you on this?

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 01:55, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

@Minura at Geotab Inc: Hi, that's understandable. In that case, please format it here as it would appear in the article (ex. including references like instead of citation [1]). That makes it much easier for reviewers to implement. Thanks!

ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 02:24, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

References

Hi @ARandomName123

Here's the formatted citations. Can you please update the section with this? Thanks

Geotab was ranked the leading Commercial Telematics provider in the world in 2019, 2020 and 2022 by ABI Research. Geotab was also ranked the leading Commercial Video Telematics provider in 2023 by ABI Research.
In 2023, Geotab received the “Best Commercial Vehicle Innovator” award from Canadian Business magazine.
Geotab has been included in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list in North America, eight times (2010-2014, 2017-2019).

Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 22:41, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

@Minura at Geotab Inc: Thanks for formatting them as requested. Unfortunately, I'm going to be taking a step back from answering more complex edit requests. Another editor has recently expressed concerns about an edit I accepted in the past. While I disagree with their assessment, I've also been losing interest in reviewing complicated edit requests, so I've decided to stop for a while, and let other editors review your edits. I've reopened the {{edit COI}} template at the top of this section. Another editor will review your edit request at some point in the future. Sorry for the trouble! ARandomName123 (talk)^{Ping me!} 20:17, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

References

 Done as an improvement to the existing section, but note that none of these awards except Deloitte Technology Fast 500 actually pass the rule of thumb about having either independent coverage or their own Wikipedia page.

Thank you for your patience! Rusalkii (talk) 00:38, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

Thanks @Rusalkii.

Regarding the ABI research and CB award, is the problem that they are not reputed enough? I do know the rule of thumb is as you said but in this case, I think including this information is still useful to a reader. Would you strongly recommend that these awards are removed?

Also, this page has a banner on the top saying "This article contains content that is written like an advertisement." I've now made a number of suggested changes that have been applied by Wikipedia editors. Can you give us some feedback on what changes would be needed to remove this banner? Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 22:11, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

I am usually against "Awards" section in general, personally, though this is not some kind of Wikipedia-wide policy. In my opinion this just doesn't add very much useful information for any reader. Imagine reading some random company's wikipedia page because you wanted to know more about - maybe Kellogg's, I was reading that recently because I was curious about the history of cereal. As a reader I just flatly do not care if they won some award I have absolutely no context on, and I have no idea if this award matters in the slightest.

As for the tag, the awards section isn't really the reason I'm not comfortable removing it. The body of the article hasn't really changed since @Spintendo tagged it. I am not sure which parts of the article they objected to, pinging them in to see if they have thoughts. Rusalkii (talk) 02:15, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

On the awards section, generally I would agree. But in this industry, where most transactions are business to business, you have fairly large companies (Geotab is among the largest telematics companies in the world by both revenue and subscriber count) with fairly low numbers of customers (since contracts tend to be large) and therefore fairly limited public discourse. Analysis from market intelligence firms such as ABI, therefore becomes a crucial part of any evaluation by potential customer businesses which I would assume would make the bulk of the readership of this article. This is why I think having the awards section might be helpful in this case.

Spintendo seems to be inactive. How do we proceed on resolving the issues that might have brought up the advertisement banner? Minura at Geotab Inc (talk) 17:14, 25 September 2024 (UTC)