Have you ever heard of an artificial brain in automobiles? Yes, they are real; in fact, they are small computers that control the major functions of the vehicle. The amount of hard work and data invested in making these parts is huge. Every new vehicle on the road with a new feature uses a new software built with an unending sheet of code. Since automobile companies are manufacturing both software and designs for every new product, it is more feasible for them to adopt DevOps and cloud computing.
The automotive industry needs these software development practices to optimize its workflow and enhance product quality. With so many new technologies being introduced in the vehicles, such as ADAS, autopilot, and much more, there is a need for a result-oriented software development practice. These practices not only help in optimizing the workflow but also enhance the roll-out rate of tested and durable products. DevOps and cloud computing have emerged as an integral part of the automotive industry and have delivered significant results.
DevOps in Automotive Industry
With so many automobile makers in the market, there is always competition in inventing a new feature that is unique and is appreciated by the customers. Every new feature has the technology behind it, along with long lines of code. Features like autopilot, ADAS, and automatic parking are stealing the limelight and are in huge demand. Automobile makers have to keep up with the demand of the user in order to keep up their sales going and retaining an impressive rate of customer satisfaction.
Apart from the four-wheel vehicles, a range of smart features has been introduced in the two-wheelers section as well. For instance, Harley Davidson motorbikes used to be known for their robust build and remarkable engine performance, but now, the time and technology have changed. Their bikes now come with intelligent computers that adjust the bike’s hardware as per the driving conditions. They now have features like auto-suspension, drive modes, traction control, and much more.
Automotive digital transformation is needed if the companies want to achieve faster time-to-market, reduced operating cost, streamline level of quality, and much more. However, the real challenge is developing a DevOps practice that fits like a glove with the industry’s various processes and technology. In the end, the automotive industry is not a software development company; but to satisfy the need of their target audiences, they need to develop new features based on various technology and sometimes face challenges with complex testing, deployment processes, and various rules and regulation.
DevOps in the Automotive industry helps in simplifying the process and test each product to the required level ensuring the final quality of the product is up to the mark. The reason it is important is that most of the road accidents on the road happen due to human error, either by the driver or by the engineers who have manufactured the vehicle. DevOps ensures the durability of the product by implementing a series of testing practices. There are various aspects related to an automobile where DevOps can be really beneficial.
Cloud Computing in Automotive Industry
With a number of features and functions being introduced in every other vehicle, the automotive industry generates a ton of data that is mostly hard to manage. That’s where cloud computing in the automotive industry comes into the picture. The automotive digital transformation has introduced a feasible way of production with astonishing results in terms of customer satisfaction and revenue generation. As per market research, the market of cloud-based solutions in the automotive sector is expected to cross the valuation of 68 billion US dollars by the year 2022.
Cloud technology does the work of unburdening the industry with the load of the huge amount of data being generated in manufacturing and during the usage of the vehicle. It migrates the data to the remote servers hence, making it easy to get access to the data without integrating a huge storage. It helps in maintaining uniformity in the quality of products of an automotive company around the globe. With cloud technology, updates and version control is extremely easy and feasible as it does not involve the traditional movement of the files. Cloud computing reduces the need to build huge physical servers to store data, building this server a lot of time. However, there is no such dependency of cloud computing on DevOps, but it helps in accelerating the overall process with its implementation along with DevOps.
How DevOps and Cloud Computing are Driving the Automotive Industry?
DevOps and cloud computing has become a necessary concoction for the automotive industry that simplifies the process and helps in yielding extreme results. It helps in saving time and effort and perform a range of testing to ensure the quality of the overall product. Here are some new trends and changes in the automotive industry that depicts the positive role of DevOps and Computing.
Enhanced Safety
You may have heard or experienced Tesla’s new driving assistance feature. It’s exciting. Isn’t it? This technology uses a neural network of sensors along with a set of cameras and next-gen technologies that sends a signal to the central computer of the vehicle about any obstruction in the way of the moving vehicle. The system then analyzes the threat and stops the vehicle automatically.
Now, think of a situation where signals are transmitted at a slower rate, or the central computer took a lot of time in processing the data; do you think the crash would have been avoided automatically? The answer is quite simple. With DevOps and cloud computing, these makers can integrate the software with iterative testing and update the same when needed.
Innovative Entertainment
Have you ever driven any automobile from the 1990s or 2000s? The entertainment system in those vehicles was only limited to either a CD player or in-built radio. However, vehicles of today have a much-sophisticated entrainment system with internet connectivity; you can access maps, stream movies, songs, and much more. The vehicles often come with a touch screen infotainment system. Users can control a variety of functions related to the vehicles through the panel. In some vehicles, it can be controlled by voice command. These technologies make the driving experience much richer and soothing.
Reduced Overall Cost
When it comes to cost, the implementation of cloud computing and DevOps have reduced it significantly. In the case of cloud technology, it has reduced the need to install big servers for data storage and processing tasks, but since the automotive industries use cloud computing, it saves a lot of money. On the other hand, servers do require timely maintenance, and by using cloud technology, industries have shifted the burden of maintenance to the service providers hence, saving a lot of money.
Apart from the maintenance cost, the companies only pay for the amount of the services or space that they use. DevOps in the automotive industry utilizes cloud technology to faster and easy access to the data and helps to expedite the overall process, which saves time and a lot of effort that requires investment.
Enhanced Security
With growing technology, a number of threats to security have been introduced in this digital world, and to tackle this problem, a combination of DevOps and cloud computing has been extremely successful. DevOps have a built-in security protocol that delivers protection against compliance and various other potential cyber-attacks. However, the level of security can be easily maintained by the development team of DevOps for the automotive industry.
It not only neutralizes any threat in the initial stages of development but also keeps an eye during the overall process to make sure the software is free from any kind of cyber threats. On the other hand, cloud technology allows the automotive industry to manage their precious data over remote servers, which ensures the security of data against any cyber threat or any natural disaster.
Overall System Performance
In the era of advanced technology, innovative features are extremely common in vehicles, but the main problem lies in developing them with ease and perfection. DevOps follows an agile methodology that allows automotive industries to easily adapt to the changes in the industry regarding any single vehicle model or any stage of development. DevOps in the automotive industry is constantly monitoring and improving the functions and operations of a finished product to deliver an optimum level of customer satisfaction.
Talking about continuous improvements, modern vehicles come with a lot of sensors and devices that have sophisticated pieces of software. They require periodic updates to function smoothly; with cloud technology, it has been possible to remotely update the software in these devices and keep the vehicle up to date. Any system in the vehicle, whether its infotainment system or GPS for navigation; they all require new updates and a coherent stream of data that allows them to function properly without any lag.
Apart from all the existing systems in the current vehicles, there are a lot more functions and advancements to come in the future. They would also require a continuous flow of data and regular updates, which involves the application of both DevOps and cloud computing.
Also Read- What is Cloud Business Intelligence and How It Helps Businesses Grow?
Impressed by the Concoction of DevOps and Cloud Computing? Want to Implement it?
The combination of cloud computing and DevOps have a lot to offer to the automotive industry, especially when software development is involved. The combo has a list of benefits to offer that not only save the operation cost but also enhance the quality of the production. The automotive industry can benefit greatly from a digital transformation that involves cloud technology. With a perfect implementation of cloud computing and DevOps, automotive industries can reduce the manufacturing to market, overall operational cost, and much more.
Matellio knows the importance of the combination of cloud computing and DevOps and has vast experience in developing DevOps and cloud computing-based solutions for various sectors, including the automotive sector. Our team of skilled developers and engineers knows every in and out of the DevOps development. We offer a customized solution that fits perfectly with your business needs and keeps you ahead of the competition. Discuss your unique idea with our experts over a 30-min free consultation call. Fill the form now!
