JOIN FORCES ON VEHICLE CLOUD SOLUTIONS

Microsoft and Ericsson have announced that they will be joining forces to build an improved Connected Vehicle Cloud solution for the auto industry.

The collaboration will allow Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud to be built on the Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform (MCVP) which is currently running on the Microsoft Azure cloud. With about 10% of the connected vehicle market, the Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud is reported to connect over 4 million vehicles across 180 countries globally.

“The Ericsson and Microsoft partnership will deliver a comprehensive connected vehicle platform at scale to the market. Our integrated solutions will help automotive manufacturers accelerate their global connected vehicle solutions and offer a better experience for drivers and passengers,” said Åsa Tamsons, SVP and head of business area technologies and new businesses at Ericsson.

As announced, the new integrated solution will allow automakers to deploy and scale global vehicle services such as fleet management, over-the-air software updates and connected safety services, much easier and faster while reducing costs.

The partners also mentioned that the combined platform is tailored to fit vehicle manufacturers’ growing demand for scalability and flexibility with the capability of supporting any connected vehicle service.

“Together with Ericsson, we intend to simplify the development of connected vehicle services to help car makers focus on their customers’ needs and accelerate the delivery of unique, tailor-made driving experiences,” said Peggy Johnson, EVP for business development at Microsoft.

In January, rival cloud giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a multi-year, global agreement with the Volkswagen Group to build a cloud-based industrial digital production platform called the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud, that aims to transform the auto company’s manufacturing and logistics processes.

As this Microsoft and Ericsson announcement is coming at the end of the year, the pair have set 7 January to inaugurate the new partnership at CES 2020 event in Las Vegas.