June 15, 2017—IBM is pairing with BMW to provide cloud-based data management for the automaker's recently launched connected car initiative to deepen its move into passenger vehicles, according to MarketWatch.
IBM is working to sign up automakers for its cloud-computing platform and stake a claim in the burgeoning market for connecting passenger cars with customized services based on real-time vehicle performance. Last year, it announced a similar deal with General Motors.
Connected vehicle data represent a rapidly emerging market for auto makers, which are cautiously moving to embrace the potential for revenue streams from service companies that are eager to tap into their large captive client base. For drivers, it opens the door to services tailored to their driving profiles.
The project with BMW, which is expected to start up this fall in Europe, lays the foundation for what IBM envisions as a global data hub that gathers information from many auto makers and matches vehicle owners with outside service providers such as auto insurers, repair shops and gas stations.
BMW officially launched its CarData program last month, which is designed to link some 8.5 million vehicles equipped to transfer data—and whose owners opt in—with third parties marketing customized and discounted products such as oil changes or insurance policies.
