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| Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer. (Photo: Microsoft) |
With GM, Microsoft's help dramatically improved the automaker's cycle time for bring cars from the drawing boards to production, Ballmer said.
Microsoft also has had a five year IT partnership with Delphi Automotive Systems of Troy, the No. 1 automotive supplier that was created out of GM's captive parts divisions.
"Delphi faced a number of challenges to find customers outside of General Motors and looked for a number of IT solutions," Ballmer said. Delphi was able to set up a computer system that linked its shop floor back to its business managers and increased the efficiency that the company interacted with its suppliers. Now, Delphi schedules more than "3 million parts per day on a very automated IP system, which I think they would tell you has dramatically improved their inventory turns and their agility," he added.
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| Microsoft Windows Automotive 4.2 software platform presentation. |
For in vehicle use, Microsoft launched its Windows CE platform eight years ago to run on small devices that required low power, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), cell phones, and embedded software for vehicles. The system was "scalable" so it could be repackaged to meet the needs of different automakers, including Honda, Citroen of France, Fiat of Italy, Toyota, Volvo, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and BMW.
Microsoft just announced in March that it will be releasing its Microsoft Windows Automotive 4.2 software platform, built on Windows CE, which will be configurable for in-car computing systems. This software will be able to support a variety of functions, from voice-enabled commands, and linking to portable electronic devices that motorists bring into their cars, from PDAs to cell phones to lap tops, so the car becomes the hub to connect these devices together using so-called Bluetooth technology (short range radio frequencies). This type of telematics technology would allow, among other things, a driver to dial a cell phone via voice commands and hear the other person "on the line" through the car's stereo system.