Microsoft and Toyota team for telematics

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 07 April 2011 10:57

IT Industry - Deals

Microsoft and Toyota have teamed up to work on an Azure-based telematics platform for the carmaker's next generation services.

The first fruits of a new partnership between Microsoft and Toyota are expected next year, when the latter's electric and plug-in hybrids will feature telematics applications running on Azure.



The two companies will be investing 1 billion yen ($US12 million) in Toyota Media Service, a company that will provide information services to other Toyota companies. The operation is expected to go worldwide by 2015.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer explained that the system will allow Toyota owners "to connect via the cloud to control and monitor their car from anywhere - safely and conveniently."

Functions will include switching on the heating or air conditioning while the vehicle is still plugged into mains power, using a GPS system to monitor the distance to the next charging station, using a smartphone to remotely check battery power or maintenance information, and controlling power management so that charging occurs when electricity is cheapest.

"Today's announcement of our partnership with TMC is a great example of how we continue to invest in the automotive industry and of our commitment to power the services that are important to consumers," said Mr Ballmer. "It further validates the power of the cloud, as the Windows Azure platform will provide the enterprise-grade, scalable platform that TMC needs to deliver telematics in its automobiles worldwide."

Toyota's perspective is on page 2.