When passengers are flying at 30,000 feet, they trust the system to keep them safe without really thinking about the millions of lines of code working quietly behind the scenes. The same sort of unspoken agreement is beginning to take place between drivers and their cars, which are becoming smarter. Cars now are essentially computers on wheels that are powerful enough to run navigation systems, entertainment systems, and even essential safety systems and software updates wirelessly. In the next generation of the self-driving and interconnected car, the greatest feature to develop is a consistent, tangible trust in the people who own it, and the people who own and use it. This type of trust cannot be easily advertised, but rather, it takes a well-considered and mission-driven effort to ensure that things are reliable and safe.
Over more than twenty years working in automotive technology, Naresh Kalimuthu has seen this trust in action many times. Among the key achievements was the first connected infotainment system led by him in terms of quality assurance and deployment to a large Japanese automotive manufacturer. To him, it was not just about ensuring that the maps loaded properly, but it was about creating a platform that remained reliable, secure, and comfortable to millions of drivers. Naresh and his team had the car in essence, providing the vehicle with its digital heartbeat and the heartbeat needed to beat in perfect time. Such experiences led him to the conclusion that operational excellence is not a luxury in automotive innovation; otherwise, such a direction is easily undermined.
The expert’s approach faced even bigger tests when he led platform operations for connected vehicle programs with millions of cars in North America, constantly talking to servers. The challenge was to keep everything running smoothly 24/7 in a complex system. Implementing strict incident management and establishing an organizational culture in which everyone could see the value of their work allowed Naresh to avoid over 90% major system outages, and to reduce the time spent on solving major issues by more than 75%. To him, it was not only about tech wins but also honoring every promise made to all the drivers who are dependent on that technology.
A major challenge in the field is the clash between software’s fast-and-loose “move fast and break things” attitude and the automotive world’s no-fail approach, where safety always comes first. A bug in a phone app might be annoying, but a bug in a car system could have serious consequences. To address this, the strategist contributed in formulating a single process, which takes any big or small problem seriously. It can be a small malfunction, or it may be a possible back-end problem; the team finds, classifies, and solves things in a fast and efficient manner. In this manner, safety and reliability is never compromised because of innovation.
Looking ahead, the mission-critical mindset is shifting from just fixing problems after they happen to predicting and preventing them. Using AI and machine learning to analyze huge amounts of data from millions of vehicles, the goal is to spot issues before they turn into real problems. Picture a car that knows its battery is about to fail and tells the driver before they get stranded. Or a cloud system that knows to be overloaded on a server and diverts the traffic before anyone notices. This proactive care is what mission-critical actually entails, making things right even before anybody notices that there is something wrong.
Moreover, the trust that they put in the cars depends on the discipline and attention of the people behind the scenes, building and maintaining these systems. Technology will keep getting smarter, but it’s that steady, mission-focused mindset that will truly keep drivers safe on the road ahead.
In the future, the automotive sphere is destined to undergo a tremendous change due to the development of electrification, software-defined cars, connected cars, and self-driving. Further additions of artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and predictive analytics will make vehicles even safer, more reliable and user-friendly. With the increasing intelligence and connectedness of cars, the cybersecurity and data privacy challenge will become more significant to the manufacturers, making mission-critical operational discipline an essential factor. It is not just that the future will be more efficient and more sustainable, but more to the point, it will be mobility that can be highly trusted due to the strict commitment of the developers and operators of this highly sophisticated machinery.