Connected Cars — Prepare For The Next Computing Environment
<p>Persistent broadband connectivity, abundant sensors, powerful analytics in the cloud, and rapidly evolving technologies have revolutionized many industries, and the auto industry is no exception. “Broadband mobile connectivity is about to become default in vehicles, adding a new computing environment beyond office, home, and on-the-go,” writes Forrester Principal Analyst Charles Golvin in a new report, <a href=”/The+Connected+Car/quickscan/-/E-RES97161″>The Connected Car: Prepare For The Next Computing Environment</a>.</p>
<p>In a <a class=”newpage” href=”http://blogs.forrester.com/charles_golvin/13-07-22-the_connected_car_welcome_to_the_next_computing_environment” target=”_blank”>blog post</a>, Golvin explains that connected cars create opportunities for:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Carmakers. </strong>Beyond the core telematics offerings like emergency calling and automatic accident notifications, automotive OEMs have begun to offer connected entertainment like Pandora and information services like Google search. But they’ve learned the hard lessons of OnStar, and, rather than attempting to drive revenue with these services, they are using connectivity to give more reasons for customers to choose and stick with the carmaker’s brand.</li>
<li><strong>Mobile operators. </strong>Now that carriers’ future revenue growth is being driven by customers adding devices to their plan and bumping up the associated allocation of megabytes, cars fit nicely alongside smartphones, tablets, and other data-hungry devices.</li>
<li><strong>Application developers. </strong>The dominant use model for applications in the car is yet to be proven — whether built-in, running purely on a personal device, or via a bridge between the two such as the Car Connectivity Consortium’s MirrorLink technology. Irrespective of <em>how</em> they get used, applications will continue to be the innovative force that enables new experiences.</li>
</ul>
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<p>But, buffeted by weak global economic conditions and regulatory pressure to improve energy performance and safety, carmakers will face significant challenges as they seek to leverage this new environment. In the report, Golvin explores the four types of computing applications that the connected car will support, provides a 10-year outlook for each form, and highlights why data analysis and brokerage will be the biggest opportunity to create revenue. In addition, Golvin provides results from Forrester’s Asia Pacific Technographics<sup>®</sup> Consumer Technology, Travel, and Auto Survey, 2013, in which 8,978 individuals from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China, and India were asked about their interest in various connectivity features.</p>