One of the most anticipated developments from the Internet of Things (IoT) rapid expansion is the concept of the “connected car”. Cars are already finely tuned pieces of digital technology. The average car already has the computing power of 20 personal computers and has over 100m lines of code processing 25GB of data an hour. Developing a cars ability to connect with the outside world and improve the in-car experience presents a huge opportunity for manufacturers and software providers.
The ultimate connected car will be a self-driving car, one that can analyse and react to the outside world to drive the users to their destination automatically. Whilst the technology exists the regulatory, safety and legal ramifications mean that it may be a few years yet before our cars will be driving us to work. In the meantime, cars are becoming increasingly connected; many manufacturers now offer built-in connectivity solutions and the ability to integrate existing smartphone technology within the car including multimedia, contacts and calendars.

Connected Cars and The Leasing Industry

Users can use their smartphones to track how they are driving and submit the information to their insurance companies who use this data to analyse their behaviour and offer discounts to those displaying lower risk behaviour. For the leasing industry, there are opportunities to use the real-time vehicle and driver information to manage the fleet and monitor the status of each vehicle. This will allow the optimisation of maintenance, procurement and asset management practices to maximise ROI and manage risk. It is the technology that is driving automotive development that has seen disruption in the industry. Car manufacturers now see themselves as technology companies and anticipate challenges from non-traditional manufacturing companies from the tech sector. Ford are working on the assumption that Google and Apple are working on a car Mark Fields of Ford told the BBC

Our working assumption is that they are And that provides us with the right motivation to make sure we stay very focused not only on the product but overall on the experience that the customer has interacted with the product and the services that we have.

Cars are being developed as connected devices, be that to the manufacturer to track performance and service history. As manufacturers overcome the barriers of short smartphone lifecycles compared to long car development times and the relevant regulatory and safety requirements we are going to see cars become more and more “connected”.

VIP Apps Consulting has extensive experience within the financial services industry with the knowledge capabilities and operational track, to help organisations implement the process changes, optimisation and innovation to realise the financial value in a customer driven market.

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