Telematics Update talks to David Levine, director of next-generation services for ITIS Holdings

What does your company do?

We’re a pan-European traffic and travel information service provider. We deliver the highest quality traffic and travel information right across Europe. That means if you are driving one of our customers’ cars, you can expect the same high quality and driving-experience whether you’re in Germany, the UK, Italy—wherever. You’ll know where the jams are and how to navigate around them.

How do you differentiate your offerings from your competitors?

We are a traffic information company and are focused 100% on providing the highest quality information. We are map and device independent, which means we can work with everyone in the industry without there being any conflicts. We are continuously innovating and are proud to have been the market leader in GPS and cellular floating vehicle data technologies. We are fortunate in that we have amazing customers who continuously work with us and push us to raise standards and make the whole navigation experience the best possible.

What partnerships are you currently forging?

We’re currently engaging with strategic partners across both the public and private sector throughout Europe and in particular Germany. Having recently won a deal to deliver advanced real-time traffic information to BMW vehicles right across Europe from 2011, we’re working hard with BMW AG to deliver this important milestone.

Which trends will impact the industry the most in the coming years and why?

The move away from very high-end performance vehicles towards more energy-efficient vehicles is easily the largest trend on the horizon. You need look no further than the product announcements from Frankfurt, Geneva and Detroit as evidence. Everyone is looking at how to make their vehicles perform more efficiently, mainly through hybrid and electric.

As the understanding of the impact traffic congestion has on fuel consumption and carbon-emission increases, even greater emphasis will be placed on the quality of traffic information. You can imagine a vehicle knowing it’s about to enter a jam and reducing the torque in advance. You can only do that with almost perfect information. It’s exactly those opportunities we plan to be at the centre of.

Which gadgets/gizmos/cars are on your current wish list?

3G iPad, without a doubt! I travel a lot in my job and am a voracious reader so it’s right up there. Also, I’m a self-confessed Apple fanboy with a MacbookPro as my work machine, an iMac for the kids, an iPhone and various iPods. Apple restores the childlike wonder and magic to gadgets that was missing for years.

Cars—I am absolutely in love with the BMW 5GT. It’s an exquisite design that just shouts out to me. And having spent 18 months working with BMW, I know how important quality and driver satisfaction is to them.