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In collaboration with Joel Barbier
To stay aggressive, and to draw and retain staff, a rising variety of firms have adopted a hybrid work mannequin: designing the work expertise round and for staff, wherever they’re.
This means enabling staff to work equally successfully on the workplace, at residence, and — whenever you’re an automotive firm — on the highway.
Ford Motor Company has enlisted Cisco’s assist to just do this — deliver the hybrid work expertise to drivers and different automobile occupants. The firms are collaborating to supply next-generation buyer experiences in Ford’s newest battery electrical autos (BEVs), together with the Mach-E Mustang vehicle and F-150 Lightning truck.
The joint initiative contains integration of Cisco Webex into new Ford BEVs. In reality, the immersive, extremely collaborative mobile-office expertise could flip Ford BEVs into the very best place to carry a gathering. And, simply as you wouldn’t journey in a BEV with out your seatbelt mounted, Cisco has protected Webex with our full safety stack, together with Cisco ThousandEyes, Umbrella, Duo, and Meraki software program.
The partnership is the product of shut collaboration between Ford, the Cisco account crew, Cisco engineering enterprise entities, and Customer Zero.
“Allowing people to remain productive by using Webex in cars will unlock literally millions of hours for customers,” mentioned Ford Motor Company President and CEO Jim Farley.
Cisco Webex allows Ford to take mobile-office conferences to the following stage
Ford’s integration of Cisco Webex into its new BEVs makes it the primary auto producer to run native Cisco software-as-a-service in autos. While utilizing Webex, drivers can take full benefit of the beneficiant 15-inch show and high-end sound system featured within the Mach-E Mustang and F-150 Lightning BEVs, which give a completely distinctive, “always-on” hybrid work expertise.
To keep away from the potential for distracted driving, all Webex assembly features are accessed hands-free through voice instructions whereas the automotive is in movement. Once the Ford BEV is parked, nonetheless, drivers can benefit from the full Webex video collaboration expertise.
This initiative additionally extends the Cisco community into Ford’s new BEVs – basically offering a lifeline from every automobile again to Cisco. One characteristic – Webex Calling – assigns a singular cellphone quantity to every automobile, enabling connectivity from just about anyplace, whereas additionally permitting Ford to contact the motive force if mandatory. Webex will present optimum audio efficiency by leveraging the automobile’s modem and antenna – and thru useful options comparable to cabin noise cancellation.
Cisco safety software program makes every Ford BEV a safe “mobile device on wheels”
To change into and stay viable, hybrid work options should guarantee extremely safe connectivity from any location – together with electrical autos. For this cause, Ford might be incorporating Cisco’s full safety stack in its Mach-E Mustang and F-150 Lightning autos. This bundle will embody the next safety parts:
- Cisco ThousandEyes: Offers proactive community visibility/troubleshooting and dependable buyer/automobile community connectivity
- Umbrella: Provides DNS question safety; visibility into – and prevention towards – ransomware assaults; and risk intelligence
- Duo: Performs multifactor authentication, allows Hybrid Work Zero Trust (any automobile, any firm), and ensures a tool safety posture
- Meraki: Adjusts entry and enforces safety coverage based mostly on compliance, whereas additionally authenticating every person’s id based mostly on SM set up standing with Duo
… And there’s far more to return, with Cisco appearing as “Customer Zero”
As a part of their partnership, Ford and Cisco are instituting a fleet program that may assist make Cisco staff extra productive on the highway, whereas additionally decreasing their carbon footprint. As a end result, Cisco will provide BEVs for its inside automobile fleets beginning in 2023. What’s extra, 4,000 Cisco EMEA staff could have the choice to obtain a BEV as their firm automobile – making Cisco a large Ford buyer and offering an lively laboratory for testing the businesses’ joint options. (And our EMEA staff aren’t complaining, both).
The Ford-Cisco partnership will in the end embody the next further elements designed to strengthen any firm’s cell collaboration capabilities:
- Using Webex because the UI/UX for participating with roadside infrastructure. This operate has the potential to dramatically improve security by enabling Webex to convey alerts about highway circumstances, site visitors, pedestrians, roadside work zones, and extra.
- Leveraging the Webex Predict AI platform to allow interactions with the individuals who have the most important affect on success.
- Bidirectional vehicle-to-vehicle charging, permitting BEVs to distribute their cost to different close by autos. In addition, autos might be charged by connecting a particular plate on the underside of the automotive to inductive coils within the asphalt of a parking zone.
“In my 40-year career, I’ve never had the chance to improve products and invent new capabilities for customers after we launch the product,” defined Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. “Moving to a digital product and having software be the big differentiator is going to completely change the game for Ford.”
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