14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is always looking to expand its software and services beyond the traditional desktop, and cars seem to the next destination, as the company has already signed deals with several manufacturers, including Volvo, to bring certain features, such as Cortana, behind the wheel.
And this year at IFA in Berlin, Microsoft has announced a new similar collaboration with Mercedes, this time trying to provide drivers with seamless productivity even behind the wheel.
Specifically, select 2017 Mercedes models launching in the first half of the next year will come with support for Microsoft Exchange, which opens the door for a wide array of tasks that can be performed even without a traditional computer or smartphone.
Connected to the car’s infotainment system, Microsoft Exchange servers can transmit data such as appointment locations, contacts, and meetings. The car’s navigation system can then automatically determine the best route to reach your appointment while the vehicle can prepare calls to contacts.
Baptized In Car Office, the new feature can manage your calendar entirely and can notify of upcoming meetings or even mark them as completed once you leave a specific destination where a meeting was supposed to take place.
Microsoft’s investments in the automotive market
Ever since it launched Windows 10, Microsoft has continuously been looking into ways to expand in the automotive market, and the company has already signed deals with several important players in this side of the industry.
Earlier this year at CES in Las Vegas, Microsoft signed a partnership with Harman to install Office 365 on its infotainment systems, once again aiming for better productivity behind the wheel.
At the same time, the software giant is also working on making Cortana available in cars, with the personal assistant already capable of performing activities that can boost productivity.
The biggest problem, however, remains the driver distraction that all these systems could bring, but Microsoft and its partners claim that they’re always looking into ways to minimize it.
“Drivers want an immersive, and personalized experience in the car. Increasingly, that includes strong demands for richer productivity. This collaboration will bring these functionalities to market with, importantly, great reliability, security and minimal driver distraction,” Harman said earlier this year during Microsoft’s CES keynote.