Ford has announced this week the switching of its tech partner Microsoft to BlackBerry's QNX (QNX Software Systems) for its in-car infotainment on the next generation Sync system. Industry watchers have described it as a bold move. The reasons cited for the tech change centres on a few things - namely a poor user experience and less expensive licencing from the BlackBerry owned QNX.
To date, surveyed customers said the Microsoft touch screen tech wasn't as user friendly and often resulted in malfunctioning technology. So much so, that the influential J.D. Power rated the Seattle developed OS poorly in customer satisfaction surveys. It's clearly a win for Ford, but seen as a vital lifeline for BlackBerry after the Canadian company acquired QNX in 2010. Since then, its fortunes collapsed - losing 95 per cent of its market value.
Gartner, the highly respected Information Technology watcher, has given the announcement a solid thumbs' up. "This would be a huge boost of trust and confidence to have BlackBerry and QNX expanding into Ford," said Thilo Koslowski, Auto Analyst for Gartner Inc. It's not all unchartered territory for Ford, though. The QNX tech is already used in Ford vehicles today. "The QNX [platform] is a well-known, understood OS. It's proven," said Matthew Stover, analyst at Guggenheim Partners in Boston.
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All this though, is on the back of seven million Ford vehicles that are already using the Microsoft voice-activated software to link with their mobile device and select music. However, bold decisions like these are not untypical of Ford CEO, Alan Mulally - a man seen as the archetypical savour of the Blue Oval, by slashing costs and reducing a mammoth 97 different vehicle platforms down to just 25 since joining in 2006. Under Mulally, Ford achieved a notable turnaround, going from near bankruptcy to posting an $8.6 billion profit in 2013.