Microsoft and Toyota Tie Up in Telematics Biz

Taipei, May 5, 2011 (CENS)--The automotive sector is also embracing cloud computing. Microsoft Corp., global-leading software giant, and Toyota Motor Corp., world's top automaker, recently announced a strategic partnership and plan to build a global platform for Toyota's next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure platform.

Telematics fuses telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles, able to encompass GPS systems, energy management and other multimedia technologies.

As part of the partnership, the two companies plan to participate in a 1 billion yen (approximately US$12 million) investment in Toyota Media Service Co., a Toyota subsidiary that offers digital information services to Toyota customers.

The two companies aim to help develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform, which includes Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Azure, starting with Toyota's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012. Toyota's goal is to establish a complete global cloud platform by 2015 that will provide affordable and advanced telematics services to Toyota customers globally.

As part of its smart-grid activities, aimed at achieving a low-carbon society through efficient energy use, Toyota is conducting trials in Japan of its Toyota Smart Center pilot program, which plans to link people, automobiles and homes for integrated control of energy consumption. Toyota believes that, as electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles become more popular, such systems will rely more on telematics services for achieving efficient energy management.

Microsoft has a long history of delivering platforms and services to the automotive market, including in-car infotainment systems built on the Windows Embedded Automotive platform, in-car mapping services with Bing and the Microsoft Tellme voice application, and many other consumer solutions.