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Your car holds the key to the future – and that’s data

Nobody can deny that data is the key to a business’s future. As the Internet of Things (IoT) is rolled out through new devices and networks, data collection and analysis is growing at a rate never before seen.

It’s hard to put a number on the exact amount of data being created every day, but it’s huge and unprecidented – experts are predicting a 4300% increase in data production in 2020 compared to 2012.

Every day we connect new devices to the Internet – be they Amazon Echos, smartwatches, sensors, lightbulbs or fridges. However, it may surprise many to learn that this trend didn’t begin with the smartphone. It began and continues with the car, says Laurence James, Products, Alliances and Solutions manager, NEMEA, NetApp.

As part of the 2000s boom of “The Sharing Economy” entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to monetise vehicle ownership and so the likes of Uber, BlaBlaCar and Zipcar were born. Driven by data, these companies have expanded rapidly and become household names, in no small part due to their monetisation of changing consumer lifestyles, and understanding the potential advancements enabled by technology.

These new data-driven businesses, however, fall outside the traditional automotive manufacturing ecosystem. That’s not necessarily to say that they spell the end of the existing industry, but eventually automotive manufacturing is going to fall into negative figures as less people purchase vehicles and people replace them less frequently. To prepare for this trend, traditional vehicle manufacturers need to consider changing their business strategies to find new revenue streams through value added services powered by data and technology.

With the rise of smart cars, autonomous cars, and even just the number of “normal” cars on our roads, the vehicle is now a treasure trove of data. Ranging from driving patterns that feed insurance profiles and predictions to traffic data, emissions data and car performance data.

Cars track a surprising amount of information like this completely in the background. In addition to this, smarter cars often have onboard computers, where apps and infotainment systems start bringing our favourite data-collecting services into our car – Netflix, messaging, navigation software and more. These all add further information around user preferences that are ripe for businesses to use.

Businesses can also begin to make the most of their commercial vehicles with new “smart” fleets. These can harness new data such as supply chain information, goods tracking, commercial transport routes and so on. All this data can be mined, and used to make shipping more economically efficient – making sure vehicles are at capacity and reducing the number of vehicles on the road, which, in turn, reduces fuel consumption.

The data created by “smart” everything is moving us towards a world where the interconnectivity of data, devices and systems can provide better products and services to end users, increase business efficiency, and positively impact broader society and the planet.

However, in order to make use of this data, companies will need to ensure they have a platform that can connect it all together, manage it effectively, and also facilitate advanced analytics and visualisation tools. This is crucial for turning data from a raw material into an asset that can actually lead to better business decisions. NetApp’s Data Fabric powered by its ONTAP storage operating system is one such solution that gives businesses and organisations this ability.

As more objects, devices and systems become “smart”, we will move into a world where data can create seamless experiences – from your car making sure you get personalised film recommendations to your fridge letting you know when there’s an offer on your favourite brand of chocolate. Businesses who can be on the crest of the wave will be able to reach a wider brand of consumers with a precision that even today, is hard to imagine. A future powered by data is on the horizon – and it started with the car.

The author of this blog is Laurence James, Products, Alliances and Solutions manager, NEMEA, NetApp

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