Business owners that use Vehicle Tracking Systems to monitor their fleet vehicle activities rely heavily on the GPS Tracking Software. This software is crucial to operation of the system. Although many people would argue that the GPS device itself or wireless communications network is just as important, the GPS Tracking Software takes what would otherwise be raw data and turns it into useful information.

There are, historically, two types of GPS Tracking Software – client-based and web-based. Client-based GPS Tracking Software was typical of early Vehicle Tracking Systems. Prior to the maturation of the internet, client-based software was the most efficient way to display GPS Tracking data. The highly detailed digital maps processed much faster on a local machine. What takes only fractions of a second to load a digital map today through the interent would have taken minutes some years ago. The programming language like Visual Basic, that was used to develop the client-based GPS Tracking Software, is well-known and realatively easy to program. This allowed for programs to be developed quickly.

The other type of GPS Tracking Software is web-based. Today, this has become the defacto standard. It is well superior to the client-based typeof GPS Tracking Software for a number of reasons. First, since it is located on a web server, it can updated with enhancements transparent to the end-user. With client-based versions, the new software updates would have to be downloaded and installed manually. A second advantage of the web-based GPS Tracking Software is the high performance and unique feature set of the underlying program language. Software like Javascript and Ajax make it possible to have advanced features like programmatic updates of layers over static pages. For instance, think of a map that stays the same while the icons representing the location of the vehicles change as they move about. Finally, the other major benefit of web-based GPS Tracking Software is that it can be accessed from any internet-connected computer from any where in the world. This multi-user friendly software can be used at home or overseas while on a business trip just as easily as it is used in the office.

Whether the GPS Tracking Software is client or web based, it is loaded with features designed to give the business more control over its fleet vehicles and mobile workforce. For starters, it will show where the entire fleet is in real time. Typically, the map will update every one to two minutes with the latest vehicle location information. Detailed information can be obtained on specific vehicles such as breadcrumb trails showing the route the vehicle has taken throughout the day, speed, stops with addresses and duration, and excessive idling. Most GPS Tracking Software has the ability to print reports and provide alerts. Alerts can be made on over speed and geofence violations, which is a virtual geographic boundary around an area.

Whatever the type, the return on investment of most GPS Tracking Software is well worth the investment. Many systems provide returns in less than six months.