Cabin Fever and Auto Show Trends.

Your Pick-Up Truck requires High-Tech;
 along with four wheel drive.

All work and no play makes for a dull entrepreneur and that was me before I decided to take a trip to the Chicago Auto Show this weekend.  There were plenty of vehicles to try out and see. I was also deeply impressed with the amount of affordable hybrid cars at the show.  However, what I noticed is that automobiles are becoming more connected and that means that software developers need to pay attention to how cars and software interact.  This means for a small and medium sized business must pay attention to the car and mobile device interface.  This week on the blog, I want to discuss how the future plays out in your new cars.

This winter in Chicago has been very hard with alternating sub-zero temperatures and snow during the last eight weeks.  Confronted with cabin fever, I attended the Chicago Auto Show.  Instead of going to the luxury cars and concept vehicles, I spent time looking at delivery vans, hybrid cars, and standard passenger vehicles to see what the latest trend were.  It was clear that the smart phone revolution has now joined the automotive industry.  When I viewed cars from Ford, Kia, Chrysler, Honda, and Mini all of them featured means to charge mobile devices and display information on a communal screen.  Even the working man’s stand-by, the Ford F-150 USB plugs for your smart phone.

This tells me that the mobile revolution which I am part of is not going to stop.  If automakers consider it a requirement to accommodate ways to charge and communicate with smart devices then you as a business person need to accommodate those tools into how you manage your business.  I had a great time and received a chance to meet the people at Connected World at the show.   I spent some time with their staff and it is clear that we have a shared goal and that is to understand how mobile technologies interact with homes and cars.

At E₃ systems we want to help you manage your small business better with mobile applications and tools to make your life easier.  Contact us today to learn more.

Cabin fever got me to the auto show but once there I was inspired because if the automakers of the world are on to something then I know that a small entrepreneur like me must also be riding the same wave.

Until next time.