Verizon’s $2.4bn (€2.14bn) acquisition of Dublin-based Fleetmatics represents not only a major win for the Irish software sector but a continued shift by telecom companies feeling the pinch in traditional business sectors.

US communications giant Verizon has agreed to buy GPS vehicle-tracking company Fleetmatics Group in an all-cash deal valued at $2.4bn (€2.1bn), vaulting the telecom giant deeper into the automotive-technology market.