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Microsoft Office Coming to a Roadway Near You

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Male distracted driver on cell phone study dangerous driving

Smartphones have made technology more convenient than ever, with messages, apps, and a river of information right in your pocket. However, it is impossible to deny that the adoption of smartphones has also made it more difficult to escape the office at the end of a workday. If the phone is paid for by an employer, that means getting constant alerts throughout the day and night when new mail comes in, and valuable vacation time interrupted by office problems and concerns.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, Harman Connected Car Systems and Microsoft Productivity Services announced that they would be collaborating to create a mobile productivity platform that would allow drivers to participate in office activities while driving to or from the office.  The partnership will allow personal assistant software to connect with parts of Microsoft Office 365 services and Skype to allow drivers to keep track of their work emails and join conferences from the road.

In their press release, the companies claim that this development is to allow drivers to be more productive while they’re on the road. The connectivity software might be the most beneficial to sales professionals who are constantly on the road between meetings with clients. To more office-bound employees, however, it could be seen as another intrusion into their time off the clock. Time will only tell how this technology will be applied to production cars and how common it is on dealership lots.