Microsoft, Toyota team up on cloud services.(Business)

Byline: Sharon Pian Chan; Times technology Reporter

Microsoft and Toyota are partnering to bring cloud computing to the car.

The two companies said Wednesday they are building services for Toyota 2012 hybrid and electric cars that will run on Microsoft's cloud platform, Windows Azure.

Toyota said its goal is to offer full cloud services to all Toyota customers by 2015.

Both companies together are investing $12 million (1 billion yen) in Toyota Media Service, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor.

"This investment is to build a global platform for next-generation applications that support in-car communications, GPS and information systems broadly and commonly known as telematics," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in a news conference broadcast Wednesday on the Web.

He was careful to differentiate the cloud partnership from the current generation of telematics such as On Star and Ford Sync, which provide services in the car. Because the next-generation services will be built in the cloud, drivers will be able to control information going into and out of their car with Internet-connected devices such as smartphones and a PC.

Because of Azure's reach, Toyota will also be able to offer these services in many countries. U.S. and Japan car buyers will likely be among the first to access the services because of the popularity of hybrid and electric cars in those countries.

With services that come out of this partnership, Toyota drivers could turn on their home heating and air conditioning from the car while driving home. They could use a smartphone to schedule when to charge a plug-in hybrid vehicle, taking advantage of times when energy costs are least expensive. They could use a smartphone to check the car's battery level and monitor how many miles they drive before recharging.

"It's a good win for Microsoft for the Windows Azure platform. It's another high-profile customer and a case study they can talk about," said Rob Sanfilippo, research vice president at Directions on Microsoft, an independent analyst firm in Kirkland. "The secondary thing for Microsoft is they are continuing to show presence in the automotive industry."

Microsoft built the platform for Ford Sync, which drivers can use inside the car for mapping services and playing music using voice-recognition technology. Toyota has a competing service, Entune. Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in the news conference that the Microsoft partnership will "reinforce and strengthen" Entune.

Ballmer has a deep connection to the automotive industry. He grew up near Detroit and his father was a manager at Ford.

Toyoda said his relationship with Microsoft goes back to 1998, when he partnered with Microsoft to start Gazoo.com, an Internet retail business that sold Toyota cars.

Toyoda began the news conference by thanking the U.S. and Microsoft for support after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

"Our deepest sympathy go out to everyone affected by this disaster," Toyoda said. "I debated whether or not to come here today, but I recently visited the most severely affected area and talked to some of its people. I came away believing that in addition to supporting the recovery effort, the best thing I can do for them in Japan is to provide hope and steady economic progress for the future."

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com

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