Aliaksandr Kuushynau is Head of Wialon at Gurtam, a fleet digitalization software company that connects 4 million fleet vehicles worldwide.getty​For years, the automotive industry has been a world of "walled gardens," where vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) held all the keys to vehicle data. Fleet owners and operators had to rely on either OEM telematics subscriptions or third-party telematics hardware for crucial information about their vehicles' performance.​But for fleet operators, the real challenge has never just been getting hold of this information—it has been making sense of it. Fleet data is notoriously fragmented, scattered across proprietary OEM portals, various vehicle brands, aftermarket telematics devices, APIs and separate business systems.Now, a major regulatory shift in Europe is about to change how this data is gathered. These walled gardens are officially being pried open, as the EU Data Act came into force in September 2025 and becomes strictly enforceable in September 2026. This signals the end of data monopolies: OEMs must make data available to fleet owners, in standardized formats and at “quality equivalence,” lowering the barriers for using independent telematics platforms. ​Fleet owners and operators now have the legal right to access the data generated by their connected vehicles, such as battery status, error codes and trip data, breaking the exclusive control previously held by OEMs. Third-party sharing is also enforced, and fleet operators can now instruct manufacturers to share this data with third-party service providers (telematics vendors, independent workshops, insurers, etc.) of their choice. ​​The Data Ownership Shift: From 'Tenant' To 'Owner'​The EU Data Act addresses a growing tension in the industry: who truly owns and controls vehicle data. In the past, fleet managers often had to pay for proprietary OEM telematics subscriptions just to view the data their vehicles generated. The EU Data Act establishes that data follows the user, not the manufacturer. If a company owns, leases or rents a connected vehicle, they have a legal right to access all usage data generated by that product.​Corporate fleets can now bypass proprietary OEM portals and demand that data be sent directly to a third-party service provider (like an independent fleet management system or an AI analytics tool) under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.​​Impact On Company Fleet Operations​Company fleets can now move away from fragmented, disparate data ecosystems and toward centralized data hubs.​This is a game changer for mixed fleets, which contain different brands, different vehicle categories and often a mix of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs). Managing such a complex reality is now made significantly easier, as data from all a fleet’s vehicles can be channeled and unified into a single dashboard. ​Easily integrating these various data streams can help fleet managers build a clear, unified picture of their fleet performance. This also enables fleet optimization in several key areas, including the following:• Predictive Maintenance Independence: Fleets are no longer tethered to the OEM’s authorized repair network for diagnostics. They can share real-time health data with independent workshops, fostering competition and lowering maintenance costs.• Insurance Leverage: Data can now be an effective tool for procurement. Fleet managers can use historical wear-and-tear data to negotiate better residual values and insurance premiums, rather than relying on generic estimates from insurers or leasing companies.​Changes In Data Acquisition And UsageThis open access does not mean the end of specialized telematics hardware; rather, it marks the beginning of a true multi-source data ecosystem. Dedicated telematics devices, advanced sensors, in-cabin video solutions, driver identification tools and high-fidelity fuel monitoring systems provide critical, real-time operational capabilities that factory OEM data alone simply cannot cover.Direct OEM data can act as a powerful complementary stream, and fleets can increasingly utilize cloud-to-cloud transfers to pull baseline manufacturer data (via standardized formats like JSON) alongside their existing hardware setups. ​This shift may move the industry's focus from data ownership to data utilization. The EU Data Act gives fleets control over their data, but greater access does not automatically solve the fleet management challenge. The real hurdle now is making sense of these massive, growing volumes of information. To adapt and thrive in this new era, fleet managers and operational leaders must shift their focus from data acquisition to data readiness. Having the legal right to raw data means little if your organization lacks the framework to utilize it effectively. As the regulatory landscape opens up, there are three essential practices fleet managers should prioritize:1. Audit And Map Your Data Ecosystem: Conduct a comprehensive inventory of all data sources across your fleet, from OEM cloud portals and aftermarket hardware to fuel cards, driver apps and maintenance software. This will help identify where fragmented data is currently slowing down decision-making.2. Adopt An Aggregation-First Tech Strategy: Instead of managing multiple isolated dashboards, transition to an open-architecture platform capable of ingesting, normalizing and harmonizing multi-brand OEM streams alongside your existing telematics hardware. Your software layer should serve as a single, centralized source of truth, enabling quick and accurate decision-making. 3. Shift From Reactive Tracking To Outcome-Driven Analytics: Define clear operational objectives, whether that means reducing EV charging overhead, negotiating lower insurance premiums through historical risk metrics or establishing predictive maintenance schedules with independent workshops. Raw metrics must directly inform daily operational decisions.​Ultimately, the conversation around fleet data has fundamentally matured. The EU Data Act has successfully removed the technological and legal barriers to entry, but the real competitive advantage will belong to the organizations that move fastest from receiving data to acting on it.​​Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?