Microsoft connected vehicle platform helps automakers transform cars.Traditional automakers, many of whom accompanied in an era of unbelievable disruption nearly a century ago, now face disruption themselves from four modern forces – connected, autonomous, shared and electric cars. The setup and scale required to build a connected car are very much complicated, expensive and it will need many resources.
In last Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced the Microsoft connected vehicle platform, a set of facilities built on the Microsoft Azure cloud and designed to empower auto manufactures to create custom driving experiences. It is not an in-car operating system or a “finished product;” it’s a living, agile platform that starts with the cloud as the foundation and targets to address five major scenarios that Microsoft’s partners have told them are key priorities. They are predictive maintenance, improved in-car productivity, advanced navigation, customer insights and help to build autonomous driving capabilities. Renault-Nissan is the first auto manufacturer who got bonded to a platform to build connected cars.
Microsoft’s cloud will do the main activity by consuming huge volumes of sensor and usage data from connected vehicles and then helps vehicle makers apply that data in powerful ways. Available as a public preview later this year, it brings Microsoft intelligent services from across the company directly into the car, including virtual assistants, business applications, office services and productivity tools like Cortana, Dynamics, Office 365, Power BI and Skype for Business.
Today, the car is not a media of traveling between two places but it is a hub of activity for daily life. People are looking for cars that have connected experiences, time-saving and make their life easier. While safety and security are major requirements, Microsoft can help make a person’s work day more efficient. For example, let’s think about Cortana effortlessly connects you whether you are at home or in your car.
Auto manufacturers embrace Microsoft’s technology
Microsoft’s strength in building a global cloud at large scale is the main reason the Renault-Nissan decided to work with Microsoft, becoming the first to engage with the platform. Nissan announced that through this vehicle platform, the partnership with Renault-Nissan alliance, a platform will power next generation, connected vehicles with advanced navigation, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring of car features and more.
Using our platform, auto makers and suppliers can benefit from the billions of dollars Microsoft has already invested in the cloud. Azure offers more than 200 services available in 38 worldwide datacenter regions with strong measures for security and privacy regulations.
Ultimately, Microsoft aspires to empower all industries and businesses not only to survive trouble but to seize it as an opportunity.
