BMW and AWS (Amazon Web Services) announced today a strategic collaboration to develop new cloud technologies. The two companies will also work on commercial off-the-shelf cloud solutions for securely managing vehicle data. Their initial partnership began in 2015 around connected vehicles. In a press release, BMW says it “will retain full and exclusive control of data and complies with the data protection regulations applicable in the respective markets.”
Currently, the BMW connected technology is present in over 20 million cars across 50 countries. Today, the connected fleet of BMW Group vehicles already sends around ten billion enquiries to the backend cloud platform. Vehicle data and the way it is interlinked with the cloud form the basis for customer functions such as the My BMW App, driver assistance functions, optimized route guidance, over-the-air updates and hazard detection out on the road.
Of course, data protection and privacy is equally important. BMW says they set up a central access point for internal users of vehicle-generated data in 2017. Furthermore, BMW says customer data is protected and securely processed in accordance with data privacy requirements across all of their markets. In this latest collaboration, the BMW Group will again retain exclusive control of data. AWS provides cloud infrastructure and services without access to or insight into data generated by the BMW Group’s connected vehicle fleet.
Nicolai Krämer, Vice President Vehicle Connectivity Platforms: “We already have around 20 million extensively connected vehicles on the road today. When the ‘Neue Klasse’ is launched, our offboard cloud platform, powered by AWS, will process roughly triple the volume of vehicle data compared to the current generation of BMW models. Together with AWS, we will continue to create innovative solutions, allowing us to develop new, data-driven functions and make them available to customers faster.”
