Microsoft partners with automakers to change the future of driving with cloud-connected cars
CES 2016 was an exciting week where we got the opportunity to highlight a number of innovations with key automotive customers and partners. We made several strategic announcements with Volvo Cars, Nissan, Harman, and IAV around the work we are doing to enhance their connected car and autonomous vehicle strategies. These innovations centered on how Microsoft’s intelligent cloud, productivity tools, and personal computing technology are providing the technology platform for automotive companies to use to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and enable their cars to become companions and assistants to your digital life.
What made these announcements so significant was that they show the potential of how today’s massive digital transformation of the automotive industry can open up rich experiences for consumers and new monetization opportunities for automakers. Manufacturers are facing more pressure than ever to offer technology features that will attract the next generation of drivers. And that means they need to move from merely manufacturing and selling a car, to selling a mobility service, and an experience around that service. Microsoft is here to help automakers transform into a digital business, focusing on smart mobility technologies that deliver value-added services, personalized experiences, and productivity capabilities.
Microsoft’s role in enabling the intelligent car
Microsoft has had key technology partnerships in the automotive industry for many years and as the industry evolves, so too does our strategy. It’s clear how the business transformation that is taking place in the industry can benefit greatly from the power of the cloud and mobile technologies. And our differentiated platform—with tools like Microsoft Azure, Cortana, and Office 365—not only helps automotive companies further their brands and strategies, but also enhance the driver experience as well, all while maintaining privacy and security of customer data. As Peggy Johnson, Microsoft executive vice president of global business development said, “we are partnering to build mutual value, not to compete.” We saw that this approach of being a trusted technology partner to leading automakers was well received by the industry, as noted by influencers including Petri.com, ZDNet, PCWorld, and Business Insider, who said that “Microsoft is well positioned to keep providing the ‘stuff’ car manufacturers need to succeed.”
Reinventing productivity in the car
At CES, we showed off how technology can enable people to be more productive in their cars, how cars can monitor what’s happening in their surroundings to improve safety, and how cars can adapt to unique users to deliver a more personal driving experience. One example of this was how we are working with IAV to use the Microsoft platform to enable safe, highly automated driving through connected cars, infrastructure, and people. The driver can maximize their time in the car by being productive by doing things like checking email in Outlook or participating in a Skype call while the car is driving for them. You can take a ride with CNN to experience for yourself.
Connecting the smart car to the smart home
It was also interesting to note that while we have seen automotive showcases at CES in the past, this year’s show was the biggest I have seen in terms of the car being featured front and center across the exhibition and keynotes. And there was a high level of excitement from customers, especially around how quickly some of these technologies are being brought to the market.
CES also reinforced that the broader IoT world is taking off and with that, connectivity experiences for the consumer in the house are expanding into the car, with capabilities like pre-heating your car from inside the home and connected garage door openers. We’ve talked about smart services like how Nissan can remotely charge your vehicle using the Azure cloud, but now, this kind of functionality is becoming more intelligently integrated into people’s schedules, as well as activities and experiences within the home. This notion of the car becoming part of broader IoT ecosystem around smart homes and smart infrastructures is definitely helping to drive industry transformation.
The road ahead
These announcements extend the innovation we have been driving with our customers over this last year in terms of enabling new business processes and new customer experiences. We have shown how we are helping to transform business models with Delphi Automotive and Scania, change experiences in the car with Qoros, reimagine the car-buying experience with Volvo Cars, and enable new infrastructures to support the car with ABB. The hyper-scale enterprise cloud platform will be critical to deliver these innovations across the world.
Longer term, powerful predictive analytics, machine learning, and the utilization of data can also enable more advanced capabilities required for autonomous driving and new safety scenarios. And that will start bringing more opportunities for automakers to further monetize the time when people are in transit and more opportunities for consumers to be more productive while they are in their cars. These experiences can be enabled through the combination of automotive engineering advancements of forward-thinking automotive brands supported by Microsoft’s intelligent cloud, productivity tools, and personal computing.
We have a clear vision for the driving experience of tomorrow and we are working with leading automakers to make that driving experience more enjoyable and connected to people’s daily lives. This is more than building an intelligent car. This is about building a car that adapts to each user, knows their behavior, and can serve as a smart companion to the driver in order to deliver high-value services.
There’s definitely more to come. And we are delighted to be leading innovation with our customers and partners.
Twitter: @sanrav
