Tata Communications partners Microsoft for connected car space

The two companies aim to enable automotive manufacturers to offer consumers seamless and secure driving experiences through this partnership.

The Microsoft sign is shown on top of the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 19,2018. (REUTERS)

Tata Communications has announced it is working with Microsoft to help speed up the development of new innovative connected car applications.

By combining the IoT connectivity and network intelligence capabilities of Tata Communications' "MOVEa platform with Microsoft's "Connected Vehicle Platform", the companies will enable automotive manufacturers to offer consumers seamless and secure driving experiences.

"In the not-too-distant future, you won't view your car as a mode of transportation, you'll view it as a mode of entertainment - and the opportunities that this opens up in areas like video streaming, retail, advertising and insurance are immense," Mr. Tim Sherwood, Vice President, Mobility and IoT, Tata Communications, said in a statement late Wednesday.

Microsoft's "Connected Vehicle Platform" combines Cloud and edge services with a strong partner network to empower automotive companies to build connected driving experiences.

There will be additional capability to equip vehicles with encrypted vehicle-to-cloud connectivity globally through the Tata Communications' "MOVE" platform to address key challenges that complicate the creation of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications.

This integration means that players within the connected car ecosystem - from manufacturers, dealerships, insurers to fleet operators and others - will be able to bring to market new value-added services more quickly and cost-effectively, and ensure that they offer drivers reliable, consistent user experiences, anywhere in the world.

"The integration will make analysing data from vehicles easier for car manufacturers across all services and allow them to complete software updates quickly. It will also help service centres maintain vehicles more effectively," said Tara Prakriya, Partner Group Program Manager, Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform and Mobility, Microsoft.