The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | DECEMBER 2015 19 TRUCKERLINE APP SEEKS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR FLEETS AND SHIPPERS TO HIRE DRIVERS Fleets and shippers looking to hire drivers may soon start to re- ceive links to secured driver profiles by email from a new app called TruckerLine. Outset Partners Inc. has developed the web-based platform and mobile app, which allows professional drivers to easily build professional profiles to manage their careers and better repre- sent themselves to prospective employers, brokers and shippers. TruckerLine enables drivers to quickly scan copies of their professional documents with their mobile device (CDL, resume, TWIC cards, insurance documents, etc.); while tamperproof documentation such as MVRs and driver-initiated background checks can be quickly ordered and delivered to their Trucker- Line profile. TruckerLine's approach is gaining the interest of carriers who see its unique potential, said Cashin. Core-Mark, a Fortune 400 supplier and marketer of Fresh and consumer package goods to retail industry, has partnered with Outset to develop a more ef- ficient way for carriers to recruit drivers via TruckerLine, while ultimately keeping the app driver-friendly. The TruckerLine mobile app is available for download in the Google Play and Apple App stores, and will be free for drivers, outside of small fees for optional background reports. Outset never provides carriers, brokers or any third-party access to driver information without explicit approval. To learn more about TruckerLine by Outset Partners Inc. visit www.truckerline.com or download it in the Google Play or Apple App stores. SMART HOME REVENUES TO REACH $100 BILLION BY 2020, DRIVEN BY AUTOMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES New data from Juniper Research has found that consumer spend on smart home services, including entertainment, health, energy and home automation will reach $100 billion by 2020, well over twice the estimated spend for this year, at $43 billion. Entertainment services such as Netflix and Spotify are play- ing a key role in boosting the smart home market size, driven by a universal appeal, and the low cost of services. However, emerging Smart Home segments, such as home automation, are expected to begin catching up, driven by falling hardware costs and increased consumer awareness. The new research, Smart Home Ecosystems & The Internet of Things: Strategies & Forecasts 2015-2020, found that numer- ous home automation subscription services, such as AT&T's Digital Life, have struggled to address the mass-market. Incre- mental unit-by-unit purchases, to personalise the home, are therefore the most likely entry point for the consumer. Nonetheless, the research found, that vendors such as SmartThings and Nest have successfully added subscription ser- vices to their hardware sales in order to generate 'lifetime value'. "Enabling services to generate recurring revenue on top of smart home hardware will be crucial for realizing the projected long-term success of this market" noted research author Steffen Sorrell. "However, tapping the developer community to inno- vate and address the wider market remains an issue." The research forecasts that the number of connected appli- ances in smart homes will rise to over 20 million by 2020. The market will continue to be characterised by high prices and a low value in connectivity. Consequently, while Samsung expects 100% of its portfolio to be connectable by 2020, consumers ac- tually using these features is forecast to remain relatively low. Other key findings: Voice control and other 'hands free' mechanisms will be- come the principle interface between users and devices in the Smart Home. The use of wearable devices to passively supply 'quantified self ' data to control Smart Home devices is likely to emerge as a key use case towards 2020. The whitepaper, Connected Homes ~ Getting Smarter, is available to download from the Juniper Research website to- gether with further details of the new research and interactive dataset. BUSINESS OPERATIONS N E W S