BlackBerry wants to extend its platform outside of the “mobile realm.” To that end, the company is showing off a new solution for automakers to allow them to manage and deliver over-the-air (OTA) software updates to their vehicles.
Relying on BlackBerry’s existing infrastructure, the new Software Update Management for Automotive service facilitates machine-to-machine (M2M) communication directly between the automaker and the vehicle, making it seamless for automaker to provide software updates to vehicles in the field. In addition, with BlackBerry’s M2M service, car companies will also be able to add new apps to the in-vehicle infotainment systems, along with the ability to get the status of functional systems in a vehicle.
According to a Gartner study, 40% of US vehicle owners either “definitely want to get” or at least are “likely to get” the ability for wireless software updates in their next new vehicle. This in turn makes this capability the third most demanded automotive-centric web application and function.
The development of OTA services is described as a part of BlackBerry’s broader mobile computing strategy, which obviously wants to see BlackBerry OS running in as many devices as possible. We’ll see whether the Canadian company can pull this off…