At CES 2017 in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced its connected vehicle platform built on the Microsoft Azure cloud and designed to empower auto manufacturers to create custom connected driving experiences.
Peggy Johnson, executive vice president, Business Development at Microsoft, describes Microsoft Connected Vehicle platform as “not an in-car operating system or a ‘finished product;’ rather it’s a living, agile platform that starts with the cloud as the foundation and aims to address five core scenarios that our partners have told us are key priorities: predictive maintenance, improved in-car productivity, advanced navigation, customer insights and help building autonomous driving capabilities.
Microsoft’s cloud will do the heavy lifting by ingesting huge volumes of sensor and usage data from connected vehicles, and then helping automakers apply that data in powerful ways, Johnson says.
Available as a public preview later this year, the solution brings Microsoft’s intelligent services from across the company right into the car, including virtual assistants, business applications, office services and productivity tools like Cortana, Dynamics, Office 365, Power BI and Skype for Business.
Video: Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform
Following the launch, Microsoft also announced new partnership for the connected car platform, with Renault-Nissan Alliance becoming the first auto manufacturer to commit to the Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform.
Nissan will use the platform to power its next-generation, connected vehicles with advanced navigation, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring of car features and more.
Earlier Microsoft also won partnerships with other automakers, including Volvo cars to integrate Skype for Business in Volvo’s 90 Series and BMW to support BMW Connected, the automaker’s personal mobility companion service, to develop a scalable platform based on Microsoft Azure technologies.
editor@infotechlead.com
