1. How is software adding value to automakers’ products? As the smartphone market continues to expand, another industry has begun getting “smarter” with software and apps: the automobile industry. Ford, BMW, and other automobile companies are enhancing their vehicles with on-board software that improves the customer experience, and the auto industry is working on technology that will allow cars to be managed via the cloud.

Automakers are finding that software is a way of adding more “value” and freshness to their products without having to invest so heavily in new vehicle production. It takes Ford Motor Company, for example, about two and a half years to plan, design, and build a new car. Design and production, including metal stamping equipment and assembly line setup, must be finalized long before the car rolls off the line. But the auto makers can create a new software interface for a car within months and update it again and again over the life of the car without much lead time. This enables Ford and other auto makers to significantly improve the driving experience and add new features to cars years after they are built.