Vehicle networking and on-demand inventory management through cloud computing a disruptive architecture vision

Together with an explosive growth of the mobile applications and emerging of cloud computing concept, mobile cloud computing (MCC) has been introduced to be a potential technology for mobile services. Mobile services have now stretched to Machine to Machine (M2M) communication where MCC plays an important role by integrating the cloud computing into the mobile environment and overcoming obstacles related to the performance, environment, security and scalability of traditional mobile computing platforms.

The aim of this paper is to provide an architecture vision for building a cloud based setup for a Vehicle Networking Service Provider (VNSP) SAAS platform covering passenger vehicle segments (e.g. car, motor-cycles etc.). The objective of this platform would be to facilitate the Vehicle Manufacturer (VM) by predicting just in time and place inventory required by its dealer and distributor network across the geography for servicing of the vehicles on road. This would not only facilitate the dealer/distributor community in better requisition and management of inventory at their end but also would significantly reduce VM's working capital through efficient and need based distribution of inventory. This in turn would enable the VM to provide an enriched customer experience to the vehicle owners. This solution is envisaged to be primarily M2M in the space of Vehicle Telematics that can leverage the power of Cloud Computing through effective collaboration between vehicle owners and vehicle manufacturers/dealers using the backbone of Mobile Network Operator (MNO).