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After working on various projects together, Microsoft and Renault-Nissan Alliance have announced their partnership recently. The two companies have decided to operate together for bringing the new connected-car services Renault-Nissan’s next-gen connected vehicles.
A new Azure-based cloud platform for car manufacturers is being launched by Microsoft to use cloud for powering their own connected car services. The public preview of the latest Microsoft connected vehicle platform is expected to be revealed later this year.
According to Microsoft’s EVP for business development Peggy Johnson, this platform is not an in-car operating system or any kind of a finished product. It sets the foundation with the cloud which aims to address five important setups that are important according to the company’s partners. These preferred settings invovle improved in-car productivity, predictive maintenance, advanced navigation, customer insights, and help constructing autonomous driving capabilities.
Along with Azure, Microsoft is also working with BMW to develop their BMW Connected platform. This year BMW and Nissan also presented in-car integrations with Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant at CES. This means that future cars might be using Cortana tp power the voice-enabled services. But apparently right now these all are just experiments.
The approach of Microsoft to bring intelligence to most of its services has repeatedly been placed forward over the past year. The opening up of Cortana to third-party developers shows the company’s aim to bring the connected car platform to a logical next step.
Regarding Google/Alphabet self-driving car unit that was revealed a week ago, Johnson stated that Microsoft is not building its own connected car but it is helping automakers to create connected car solutions that apt to their brands without a glitch. This will help the automakers to understand their customer’s unique requirements and to set apart their products while generating viable revenue streams.
Via: Tech Crunch
