The transition to cloud-based computing in the trucking industry is accelerating as carriers realize the cost savings and operational efficiencies that can be achieved, technology experts said.

Troubleshooting dysfunctional trucks from afar through the use of remote diagnostics can help carriers better manage their equipment, reduce vehicle downtime and cut maintenance costs, but sifting through all of that fault code data can be a challenge, several fleet maintenance managers said.

Wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication is playing an increasingly important role in the development of more advanced vehicle automation and driver-assist features. A possible federal mandate of the technology could accelerate that movement.

Certification of electronic logging devices has been left to the device manufacturers under the federal ELD rule.

Many software providers now “rent” their software to users who do their work through the vendor’s Web site. This is called an application service provider (ASP) model, and it is often offered as a less expensive alternative to buying a software package to be installed on the user’s own server.

More cross-border carriers are getting ready to file electronic manifests before the U.S. Customs and Border Protection makes such filing mandatory as early as August.