Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) and Microsoft Corp have announced the formation of a strategic partnership and plan to build a global platform for TMC’ next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure platform. Telematics is the fusing of telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles that includes GPS systems, energy management and other multimedia technologies. The two companies plan to participate in a 1 billion yen (approximately $12 million) investment in Toyota Media Service Co, a subsidiary of TMC offering digital information services to Toyota automotive customers. The partnership of the two companies plans to help develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform that includes Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Azure beginning with TMC’s plug-in and electric hybrid vehicles in 2012.
TMC is conducting trials in Japan of its Toyota Smart Center pilot program as part of its smart-grid activities to achieve a low-carbon society via efficient energy use. The Smart Center pilot program plans to link people, automobiles and homes for integrated control of energy consumption. As electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles become more popular, TMC believes that such systems will rely more on telematics services for achieving efficient energy management. The Goal of TMC is to establish a complete global cloud platform by 2015 that will provide affordable and advanced telematics services to Toyota automotive customers around the world.
Microsoft and Toyota Partner on Next Generation Telematics-Image via CrunchBase
“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 Microsoft CEO Steve 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.”
More information on the announcement and partnership is available at the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/newscenter or the Toyota USA Newsroom at http://www.toyotanewsroom.com.
