BMW Group collaborates with AWS for new cloud technologies

The BMW Group and AWS (Amazon Web Services) have announced a strategic collaboration in which the companies will jointly develop innovative cloud technologies with the goal of fully utilizing the data potential of future vehicle generations. In addition, the two companies are collaborating to create commercial off-the-shelf cloud solutions for securely managing vehicle data. The collaboration continues the two companies’ collaboration in the field of connected vehicles, which began in 2015. As with all previous collaborations, the BMW Group retains full and exclusive control of data and complies with local data protection regulations.

BMW has a connected fleet of approximately 20 million vehicles in over 50 countries, including the Middle East. Every day, the connected fleet of BMW Group vehicles sends approximately ten billion queries to the backend – the IT infrastructure in the cloud for operating and managing the connected vehicle functions. Customer functions such as the My BMW App, driver assistance functions, charging-optimized route guidance, over-the-air updates, and hazard detection on the road rely on vehicle data and how it is linked to the cloud. Vehicle data is also important to the company because it is used for specific purposes such as improving and enhancing customer functions, quality management, and after-sales processes.

Data protection is a top priority.
In 2017, the BMW Group established a central access point for internal users of vehicle-generated data in order to keep up with the rapidly growing number of connected vehicles. As a result, the BMW Group took steps to ensure that customer data is protected and securely processed in accordance with data privacy requirements – across all markets in which the company operates. The BMW Group will retain complete control of data in this latest collaboration. AWS provides cloud infrastructure and services while retaining no 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.”

Creating innovative, digital experiences.
I In the future, a self-service portal will allow BMW Group developers working on data-driven improvements to customer functions, for example, to obtain the necessary data on demand with just a few clicks. The portal will run efficiently and smoothly thanks to the use of AWS services and reliable infrastructure, allowing BMW Group engineers and data experts to focus entirely on data content and quality. Furthermore, data is made available to third parties — subject to customer consent.