Their demo showcases a secure, managed connection between the in-car gateway board and the cloud-side gateway
Global IoT company Soracom has chosen this week’s Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) in Berlin to unveil a collaboration with the world’s largest car manufacturer Toyota that demonstrates a next-generation network architecture for connected cars to securely connect with its OEM cloud.
Soracom’s IoT OEM cloud for connected cars provides a platform that enables car manufacturers to integrate and manage IoT services across a variety of vehicles, regardless of the underlying hardware or communication standards. It simplifies the process of connecting cars to the cloud by offering a unified system to handle connectivity, data transmission and device management. In addition, the platform supports flexible integration with different telecom carriers and hardware, making it adaptable to various international markets and standards.
Earlier this month, the company unveiled its global strategy for the connected car industry and claims it is on a mission to help address the numerous connectivity and cloud management challenges the sector faces. The company is well positioned to do so given it is a connectivity solution that offers a global IoT platform with full MVNO capability. Its cloud-native cellular core supports global multicarrier coverage, private fibre peering, VPNs and integration with various cloud services without the need for SDKs.
In the fragmented world of connected car standards, where each manufacturer or region might use different systems for connectivity, navigation, or safety, this kind of technology is crucial. Car manufacturers can use the same IoT platform across different regions without needing to redesign their systems for each country or telecom provider. At the same time, Soracom’s platform supports multiple connectivity options (e.g., 4G, 5G, LPWAN), which is critical as connected car standards and networks differ from one region to another.
Competition for cars
Soracom is not alone in this space. For example, through its Azure IoT Central platform, Microsoft provides cloud-based solutions for connected cars, focusing on data management, analytics and seamless integration with existing vehicle systems. It also offers connectivity management and AI-driven services to improve vehicle performance and customer experience, competing directly with Soracom’s global connectivity features. As part of Vodafone’s broader IoT solutions, Vodafone Automotive offered telematics and connected car services tailored for OEMs. Given its global presence, it will also directly compete with Soracom in this space after its mega-IoT deal with Microsoft.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a suite of IoT solutions for connected cars, including connectivity management, data processing and integration with other AWS services. Like Soracom, AWS offers global scalability and security. Cisco offers its IoT Control Center (formerly Jasper), which provides connectivity management for IoT devices, including connected vehicles. It enables car manufacturers to manage cellular connections across global networks, offering scalability and flexibility similar to Soracom, particularly in the areas of eSIM management and global connectivity.
In addition, Telit offers IoT solutions for connected cars, focusing on data collection, connectivity management, and real-time monitoring. Its global network partnerships and support for various communication protocols make it a competitor in providing scalable and flexible cloud-based services to car manufacturers.
Partnerships matter
To ramp up its connected car presence, Soracom joined the AECC in May 2024. As a member organisation, it now works alongside mobile network operators, automobile manufacturers, communications and cloud service providers, and other related technology standards organisations and technical communities to establish new technologies and standards that advance the connected car industry.
Working in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation, a fellow AECC member, the company is conducting phased testing of its connected car authentication and secure network solution. Soracom is also collaborating with AECC’s global members on advanced R&D of next-generation solutions that enable connected cars to connect to the cloud securely.
“We are thrilled to work with Toyota Motor Company on this PoC,” said Soracom co-founder and CTO Kenta Yasukawa. “This collaboration represents a major step forward in enabling a seamless, secure, and long-lasting connectivity solution for automotive ecosystems that should help make the next generation of connected cars maintain a secure connection with their OEM cloud backend.”