CES is the First Car Show of the Year.

At the recent CES electronics show in Las Vegas, there were many auto related new product introductions.  Some from auto manufacturers and others from software vendors like Microsoft.  Surprised?  You shouldn't be.  With telematics and autonomous vehicles, we are right in the middle of a big convergence.  In fact, CES has turned into the first car show of the year.

For example, Microsoft is bundling its Cloud Services to make cars smarter.  The company that started down the path 10 years ago with Ford and the sync. now is putting Cortana, Azure IoT Hub and other services are included in a new suite for productivity on the road.  Microsoft wants to help make cars more intelligent, and it unveiled a new suite of services Thursday to do so. The Connected Vehicle Platform brings together a smorgasbord of services from Microsoft, including Azure IoT Hub, Cortana Intelligence Suite, Microsoft Dynamics and many others. In addition, Office 365, Skype for Business and Cortana can be integrated with the platform.  Renault Nissan is the first company to power its connected cars.  They recently announced that they would bring Cortana's virtual assistant to the connected car as well.

Not to be out done, Hyundai announced a concept that illustrates how autonomous technology could extend beyond public roads and permeate into our homes.  The Mobility Vision concept blurs the line between home and car, according to the South Korean company. It previews a future where an autonomous car is programmed to park itself right next to the living room and literally become part of the furniture. The driver’s seat is mounted on an arm that pivots and extends into the living space, where it replaces a sofa or a chair.  And soon you'll be able to talk to your Hyundai from your Google Home device.