Bosch Rexroth Opens Its Telematics Stack to Partners, Starting With Owasys

Off-highway OEMs will get Linux-based gateways, device management and over-the-air updates from a partner ecosystem instead of a single in-house offer

As construction machines become software-defined, the telematics box is no longer an accessory. It is the channel for diagnostics, remote access and new functions delivered after the machine leaves the factory. Bosch Rexroth has decided it will not build that channel alone.

The company is expanding its IoT and telematics portfolio for mobile machinery through partnerships. Together with partner companies, it will develop telematics units, remote access and over-the-air (OTA) updates. The first partner is Owasys, a telematics specialist, and more partnerships are planned.

From BODAS Connect to an ecosystem

Bosch Rexroth already offers off-highway manufacturers its BODAS (Bosch Rexroth Digital Application Solutions) range of mobile electronics, including hardware, software and the BODAS Connect telematics and IoT portfolio.

The new approach should give OEMs a wider choice. “With this new approach of expanding the IoT and telematics portfolio together with partners, manufacturers of off-highway vehicles will have access to a significantly wider selection of telematics solutions in the future, which are more scalable and efficient than our previous offering,” said Martin Sykora, Head of Sales Mobile Electronics at Bosch Rexroth.

For machine builders, the stated benefits are practical: rolling out new features across a fleet, modifying information and keeping machines compatible with attachments.

What Owasys brings

The two companies are not starting from zero. For more than five years they have worked together on Open Linux-based platforms used within the BODAS ecosystem. Under the expanded partnership, Owasys contributes telematics hardware and device management: Bosch Rexroth customers get access to Owasys Linux-based telematics gateways, integrated with Rexroth’s existing digital tools.

The collaboration continues to cover remote access, diagnostics and OTA software updates for Bosch Rexroth electronic control units. In plain terms, fewer service visits to reflash a controller and less downtime when software changes.

“Software becomes increasingly central to machine performance and lifecycle management,” said Dámaso Orbe, Sales & Marketing Director at Owasys. “This partnership will help reduce development complexity, accelerate deployment, and lower operating costs.”

A pattern, not a one-off

Owasys is the second step in the same direction. In April 2025, Bosch Rexroth signed a strategic partnership with Trackunit to combine its firmware and software update expertise with the Trackunit ecosystem, targeting functional upgrades and easier service via OTA for construction machines.

The message to OEMs is clear: Bosch Rexroth wants to remain the control and hydraulics backbone of the machine, while letting specialists compete on the connectivity layer. With further partners announced as “planned”, more names are likely to follow.