I’ll take that Skype call from the car… the Volvo car
Through the wonders of Bluetooth connectivity, we’ve been taking conference calls (not to mention personal calls) through the car for some time now, but it seems Volvo and Microsoft are looking to shake things up. Given Microsoft’s assets that include Skype and Cortana, and its eye on the Connected Car market it makes sense to partner with a technology forward auto company like Volvo to bring “productivity solutions” into the car. We’re not sure if this will be the game changer it portends to be, but it does say that Microsoft is surely looking to compete with Alphabet/Google and Apple in one of the next Connected Society markets. If we eventually get a Knight Rider-like car that includes Microsoft productivity solutions like Skype, it could mean an even longer work leash or impact incremental office construction demand.
What do you do when your love of driving conflicts with your deep and abiding love of conference calls? That’s a question Volvo hopes it can finally answer, with the integration of Skype for Business directly into its 90 series cars.
Skype integration is a way of getting around the messier parts of joining conference calls, including entering long participant pin codes, and sometimes sequential button requirements that feed you through a chain of options before you ever even get to the meeting itself. Volvo and Microsoft are clearly doing everything they can to position this as a distraction reducer, rather than the other way around.
This is also just a start for the Microsoft/Volvo alliance, which also involves figuring out how virtual assistant Cortana might benefit busy drivers through voice recognition and intelligent recognition of context, along with insights derived from calendars and other sources. Even further down the road, Volvo is predicting an autonomous vehicle future where having productivity software available in the car makes even more sense.
Source: Volvo integrates Skype for Business in its 90 series vehicles | TechCrunch
