Need to be connected to your business wherever you are? No problem. At least, not if you’re a BMW driver. The popular automobile manufacturer has dived even deeper into their partnership with Microsoft, to bring drivers a whole new level of efficiency. After delivering Office 365 communication features to the BMW 5 series during the end of 2016, the company is now turning things up a notch with the much-loved Skype for Business application.
Thanks to the new upgrade, you’ll be able to seamlessly tap into Skype meetings from the comfort of your own car, without having to fiddle with your phone on the roads.
Integration with the iDrive System
The latest Skype for Business integration offered by BMW is going to be an element of the BMW “iDrive” system. It will allow any savvy business person to join in with online meetings directly, as well as ensuring that they can receive any alerts about upcoming meetings, get information when meetings are changed, and start meetings automatically without the need for any manual “dialling in”.
Customers with Microsoft Exchange will also be able to integrate their to-do tasks, calendars, and contacts with vehicle navigation and voice services, according to Microsoft.
To start off, the services will be rolling out across France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. However, if all goes well, BMW has no intention of stopping there. The hope is for them to expand into other markets too. After all, today, people are looking for the perfect balance between automobile excellence, and interconnectivity with all the applications and collaboration services needed in a business.
Looking to the Future
The new BMW and Microsoft collaboration is a prime example of the link that connected service providers and automakers need to start making when it comes to satisfying a demand for more smart vehicle features. Of course, there’s a delicate balance between productivity and dangerous distractions. It’s important for companies to be careful with their growth.
Additionally, the partnership is also laying the foundation for more long-term collaboration for in-car experiences that will become far more impressive when autonomous vehicles become more common. After all, Audi has already announced their decision to bring level 3 autonomy to their production vehicles in 2018.
When there are times during driving where a driver can focus on tasks that aren’t associated with operating the vehicle itself, productivity becomes simpler. We can definitely expect to see more partnerships like this one growing in the future.
