Driving connected-car innovation: the future is now
It’s an exciting time to be in the automotive industry. Technology innovations connected by the Internet of Things (IoT) have now made it possible for automakers to truly revolutionize how they engage with consumers, changing the relationship between them and with the car itself.
I recently talked about how IoT is driving transformation in the automotive industry, with connected vehicles and connected-car services as the future of the industry. And it’s happening now! It’s creating long-term relationships with customers in ways never before possible—long after the original purchase—and creating new revenue streams.
In a guest blog series on Microsoft’s Business Matters blog I dig deeper into the connected-vehicle opportunity and look at some exciting connected-car innovations and examples that are happening today.
In my first post I talk about how automakers can innovate connected cars with Microsoft technology. We are devoted to helping automotive companies use their brand and data to create new service-centered business models that will give them those ongoing, personalized customer relationships. I also share what Qoros Automotive has accomplished by tapping into Microsoft’s cloud platform, providing an industry blueprint with its forward-thinking, award-winning connected car.
In my next post, I share how drivers with older cars—those without factory-installed, connected-car telematics—can take advantage of current innovations, without waiting and saving for a new one, through Delphi Automotive’s DelphiConnect. Read how Delphi Automotive makes any car a “connected car.”
In fact, the Delphi story is so captivating, Alex Davies just wrote up a nice piece in WIRED about it. The story frames the landscape for the potential “aftermarket” opportunity for customers, showing how Delphi Connect is one of the leaders in this emerging market. By using Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing service, Delphi is able to scale up without the need to invest in its own computing infrastructure, or develop the data analytics know-how to maintain all of its customers’ data. It’s a great article that really shows off Delphi Connect’s strong success, and how this system is part of a larger move into automotive software for Delphi.
And in my third blog, I switch gears and look at the tremendous value of connected vehicles for industries like long-haul transport when any disruptions can mean a major impact on the bottom line, highlighting how one global transportation company Scania is using data and the cloud to bring trucking into the digital era.
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Twitter at @MSFTmfg
LinkedIn: Sanjay Ravi
Twitter: @sanrav
