How smart is your transportation system?

Enrique Bolivar

April 21, 2020

Smart transportation solutions are driving us into the future. Move your passengers further to connected experiences with Rainbow and Location-Based Services.

Whether you are dealing with planes, trains, automobiles or ships, did you know that however “smart” your system may be, that you probably could make it smarter?

How is smart transportation changing the world?

Around the world, an increasing number of innovative connected devices and internet of things (IoT) devices are being used in the transportation industry. These devices all have a substantial, positive impact on a customer’s experience. These intelligent transportation devices allow businesses and customers to remain connected, from wherever they might be.

However, making the transportation environment more intelligent is about more than a customer’s experience with end devices. The precise integration into existing operations and APIs can actively reduce the number of accidents in the transportation environment and keep people safe as they explore the world.

When combined – IoT, machines and processes – create a more effective business workflow.

What makes a seaport smart and thrive?

In a seaport environment, the extensive process of unloading and loading cargo, clearing customs, and transferring products to other modes of transportation requires constant collaboration. As seaport businesses move into the age of digital transformation, companies need to find a way to connect more of their processes.

Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) platforms allow seaports to embed collaboration solutions into their business applications using API technology. This ensures that seaport employees, stakeholders and operators can collaborate and connect via real-time communication to transform project outcomes. With CPaaS, seaports can keep teams informed in real-time about the status of certain cargo, as well as changing dispatch times. Companies will also be able to support mobile workforces, integrate their tools with customer relationship management (CRM) applications, and implement strategies for better customer service on an end-to-end basis.

What’s important in the air transport industry?

In the air transport industry (ATI) sector, it’s the passenger journey, rather than the management of cargo, that’s most important to businesses. The journey includes everything from the moment the customer starts to travel to the airport, to their experience with security and beyond.

The digital transformation journey in the air transport industry is focused on moving passengers from “disconnected to connected” experiences. CPaaS integration allows for real-time collaboration and communication in business applications.

With CPaaS, there’s even the option to provide better interactions and experiences for people with reduced mobility by providing them with chatbots for service automation. When used with location-based services, ATI offerings can also help passengers find their way to kiosks and boarding areas within an airport without asking a staff member for help.

What can CPaaS deliver to the rail industry?

In today’s digital world, we’re always connected. Passengers also expect to have the option to remain connected during journeys too. Because of this, a lot of transportation companies in the bus and rail environment are beginning to implement Wi-Fi and other tools for their users.

Access to connectivity is just one of the ways that rail companies can transform the passenger experience in the modern world. At the same time, CPaaS means that business leaders can implement real-time communication functions like voice and messaging into applications that support customers. Rail companies can offer apps that allow passengers to get real-time information about the status of a train or ensure that passengers can quickly get information about tickets. This is accomplished by improving passenger service through a virtual counter to provide on-line support at the ticket buying process when the standard counters are crowded. The passenger can access the staff via multimedia communication services in a multi-language option through a chatbot service.

Passengers that have issues regarding reduced mobility could use the API-enhanced applications in a business environment to access special assistants from within the application directly. At the same time, these customers can be advised of special access routes that might make a journey even easier.

How is Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise supporting the growth of smart transport?

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) has had a significant impact on the smart transportation environment.

ALE’s solution for smart transportation is based around its CPaaS offering, Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow. Rainbow CPaaS delivers a host of creative communication and collaboration techniques for your organization, optimizing business processes and improving the customer’s experience.

Rainbow combines processes, staff, and machines to offer process automation, proactive decision-making and more. The IoT adoption and CPaaS integration via Rainbow can significantly improve operational efficiency in the transportation sector. Contact center agents use devices, such as smart assistants, that allow them to have contextual conversations with their customers. While in the back-office, artificial intelligence (AI) drives better business decisions with in-depth analytics.

The Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar LBS  provides indoor location solutions, geolocations, and wayfinding based on Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Wi-Fi infrastructure. The combination of services allows for better collaboration between stakeholders.

In the Air transportation industry, Rainbow CPaaS can help simplify operations by combining many of the diverse technologies that are essential for safe and efficient flights. Rainbow can even offer airline companies the option to communicate with passengers and deliver contextual and personalized information about their journey. Rainbow can work alongside airline mobile apps or kiosks to provide real-assistance through video and voice calls too.

As a relationship engine, Rainbow enables seamless communications between business processes, organizations, and IoT devices, improving daily flight manager operations. Through constantly-connected communications, flight crews can share real-time information, improve scheduling and more.

Even in the rail transportation industry, CPaaS through Rainbow can improve the decision-making process, optimizing maintenance procedures, and boosting schedule performance. Ensuring coordination and better collaboration between all the stakeholders and processes in a transportation environment means that every transportation environment runs more smoothly.

An efficient operation is the backbone of a transportation operators’ daily schedule. Optimizing operations and collaboration between different stakeholders is vital as maintenance operations are mission-critical. The downtime service is a major disruption, so assisted remote maintenance through smart glasses with Rainbow CPaaS integration offers the capability to reduce downtime operations. It also improves collaboration between experts and technicians in the field, as well as provide a secured, assisted and remote task guidance via multimedia communications.

ALE has a solution that will make your transportation sector smarter, whether you are dealing with planes, trains, automobiles or ships. For more information contact your ALE representative today.