Driving tomorrow: Connecting with the future at IAA
The IAA Conference 2019 kicks off September 11 in Frankfurt. Show organizers bill the event as all-new, a position reinforced by the slogan, “Driving Tomorrow.” It’s a claim that’s on-target. For starters, more than 200 CEOs, visionaries and inspiring figures from the auto industry, high-tech sectors, science and politics will hold talks, panels and debates across four stages within the first three days alone.
There will be expert insights into how our lives will change, enabling technologies on the horizon, and of course, what digitalization and connectivity means to the automotive realm.
For Ericsson, those first days with our peers are the highlight. We’ll help drive the discussion with a presentation from Vice President and Head of Connected Vehicles, Claes Herlitz, about how connectivity and automation is transforming transportation. It’s a must-see session, especially for those who missed his keynote address at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit.
The fact is, our cars are now more than just cars. They’re also smartphones and personal sound systems, they lead us with maps and traffic reports, they’ve become personal assistants. The connected vehicle can tell us what it needs before it needs it and can notify drivers of things out of their direct line of sight. For example, innovative ADAS safety systems can warn drivers of nearby cyclists to avoid collisions, even when cyclists are not visible to the driver or the car. They can also alert drivers in the path of an emergency vehicle to clear the way so first responders can arrive to their destination quickly and safely.
Yet, connected vehicle trends change quickly and increase demands on vehicle manufacturers. We’re talking about a network-aware bundle of data on wheels, connected to the road, cloud and every other car. It does present real challenges, but the market potential offers equally real, seemingly limitless possibilities.
Underlying it all must be a specialized digital service platform to make connectivity easy and simplify the management of connected vehicle services. Only this will advance innovation and the rollout of new services.
Survival and success
McKinsey & Co. estimates the connected vehicle services market will hit $1.5 trillion USD by 2030. New connected vehicle services are no longer just “nice to have,” they’ve become table stakes if vehicle manufacturers want to survive, vital if they want to rise along with this megatrend.
Through our experience in 5G network technology, and the connected vehicle platform we understand how startups and established automotive brands alike can use technology to get ahead. The first step is collaborating with a strategic partner to create a connectivity foundation on which to grow, a task many find frustratingly difficult. We simplify this by separating the software from the hardware and moving complexity to the cloud, alleviating that back-end burden, while providing customers with a better ability to compete.
This helps in three key ways:
- Vehicle manufacturers spend so much time focusing on their core business that is it difficult to find moments to focus on innovation for connectivity and harnessing real-time data. They need a platform that can support them in efforts to create new revenue streams, cut time to market and build customer loyalty in order to stay ahead of competitors.
- Security, identity management, global data legislation, and 24/7 operation of connected services worldwide are necessary, but time-consuming concerns. A cloud-based platform for connected vehicle services frees vehicle manufacturers from having to handle such things.
- Connectivity gets tricky, contracts unwieldy and bandwidth becomes expensive when vehicle manufacturers release cars around the world. Vehicle manufacturers are not experts in these areas, nor should they need to be. With the right technology provider – experienced in cellular connectivity and connected vehicle solutions – legwork can be eliminated.
While working with Ericsson, vehicle manufacturers can capture a 90% saving in resources spent on maintaining the back end of their connected vehicle platform. And not only does that save costs by eliminating operational challenges, there’s no need to hire additional skill sets for an in-house program.
Show and tell
Our cellular expertise, connectivity management and Connected Vehicle Cloud comes together to create a one-of-a-kind ecosystem. Available as a service, we help vehicle manufacturers spend more time innovating. We have expertise in managing the connectivity needed for connected vehicles and the software that makes it work globally.
A video presenting the strategic pillars of Ericsson Connected Vehicles
For instance, we enabled Volvo to enhance overall customer experience, service delivery and overcome data legislation and storage hurdles. We teamed with LYNK & CO to create a connected vehicle platform with an application programming interface open to third party developers. We helped ScaniaOne, define, orchestrate and expand their ecosystem in order to explore new business models and revenue streams.
During the IAA Conference, our efforts are going to be set on demystifying the management lifecycle and deployment of connected vehicle services. We’re ready to connect you to auto’s future and drive your success. Visit us at the IAA Conference in Frankfurt.
We’ll show you how to get there.
Read our new Executive Guide to Connect Vehicle Cloud to learn how we’re helping vehicle manufacturers innovate, make connectivity easy and manage the complexity for connected vehicles.
