Microsoft Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) on Wednesday announced that they have forged a strategic partnership and plan to build in-car digital information services using Microsoft's "cloud computing" platform.
The two companies said they plan to invest 1 billion yen (about 12 million U.S. dollars) in Toyota Media Service, a Toyota subsidiary that offers digital information services to Toyota customers.
Their aim is to develop and deploy telematics applications on Microsoft's Windows Azure "cloud computing" platform, with the plan to start with Toyota's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
According to the two companies, telematics is the fusing of telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles, including GPS systems, energy management and other multimedia technologies.
"Today's announcement of our partnership with TMC is a great example of how we continue to invest in the automotive industry and of our commitment to power the services that are important to consumers," Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"It further validates the power of the cloud, as the Windows Azure platform will provide the enterprise-grade, scalable platform that TMC needs to deliver telematics in its automobiles worldwide," he added.
Toyota said it plans to build a complete global "cloud computing" platform by 2015, which will provide services to its customers around the world.
