By designing and engineering cutting-edge solutions with end-users in mind, automakers can manage the increasing tech complexity, ensuring a seamless and exciting automotive user experience. We sat down with Christian Seidl, our new Vice President and Head of Automotive Business Unit, to discuss what he’s looking forward to in his new position, intive’s strategic priorities, and the company’s role in the ongoing transformation of Automotive.
Congratulations on your new role, Christian! What excites you most about being appointed as the new Head of Automotive BU?
The automotive industry is undergoing the most significant transformation in its history and is poised to be even more disruptive over the next decade. This transformation will be driven by four major trends: connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing models, and electrification, commonly referred to as C.A.S.E. What excites me the most is that I can be a part of this journey. Enabling transformation via intive’s software competencies and shaping the future of the industry together with our OEM & Tier 1 customers is what inspires me every day.
What are the Automotive BU’s strategic priorities over the next 6-12 months?
In the upcoming months, we plan to focus on further development in line with the transformation we see in the business in all four of our automotive domains: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Body, Comfort & Connect (BCC), Cloud & Backend Solutions (CBS), and Human Machine Interface (HMI). This will put us in good state to successfully and sustainably co-create digital transformation together with our customers. To accomplish that, we want to keep attracting and retaining highly talented and motivated employees who will provide the best support to our customers all across the world.
intive’s Automotive BU has seen remarkable growth over the last five years. What past experiences will you lean on to build upon this success?
Over the past few years, we've learned how to scale quickly by setting up teams with the right skills and competencies at the right locations, which allows us to provide services and solutions to our customers when and where they need them. We know how to ensure high-quality and cost-efficient delivery through a proven and decentralized near-shore model utilizing traditional development approaches as well as agile methodology. All these experiences will not only benefit intive and our customers but will also allow us to be even more successful in the future.
We have seen rapid changes in the sector over the past few years. How do these changes affect automotive developments and requirements for vehicles? What's the biggest opportunity that you see for OEMs when it comes to new mobility concepts?
The truth is that the future is smart, interconnected, and individual. The smart car will become a central building block of a complex ecosystem that is used for more than just transportation. Essentially, the car is becoming a mobile device. As well as comfort, safety, and environmental responsibility, customers are expecting features like personalized shopping recommendations on the go, integrated payment solutions, information and entertainment while travelling, and any solution that enables and streamlines individual experiences. Fuelled by these developments, new car-related business models and revenue streams are emerging that OEMs can and should tap into.
What are the automotive industry's biggest pain points when it comes to this new era of mobility?
Along with the rapid changes and the ongoing transformation in the automotive sector, OEMs and their suppliers are facing new requirements. These requirements range from the demand for connected ecosystems through data-driven decision-making to cloud-based applications. What’s more, the new era of mobility cannot exist without electrification and automation, which are an integral part of its transformation. And, of course, we cannot forget about the need to ensure IT security and safety as well as keep societal responsibility in mind. Meeting these requirements with maximum cost-efficiency while ensuring required safety and security levels will be a challenge that all involved parties must tackle together.
What advice would you give OEMs to succeed in their digitization efforts?
Given the complexity and costs associated with enabling the software-defined vehicle of the future, no OEM will be able to do it alone. To see maximum success while mitigating risks and costs at the same time, OEMs should draw on the knowledge and specialized software capabilities of companies like intive and implement new collaboration models and partnerships outside of their traditional supply base.
What role do you see intive playing in leading the transformation in the automotive sector?
At intive, we believe in a design-led and human-centric approach. By designing and engineering cutting-edge solutions with end-users in mind, we help automakers manage the increasing tech complexity and remove barriers to guarantee a seamless and exciting automotive user experience.
How is intive equipped to help the automotive industry meet new requirements and solve emerging challenges?
We have extensive expertise in the technologies of the future, such as autonomous driving, AI and machine learning in the automotive industry, IT security, virtual reality, and embedded software. In all these areas, we can provide a specific service, as well as offer our clients end-to-end solutions covering all aspects from digital advisory, design, and engineering to CI/CD.
intive is already a company with more than 3,000 employees sharing deep industry knowledge across industries including Automotive, Media & Communications, Telco, Retail, and FinTech. That's what amazes me: the way we can use our competencies and expertise in various sectors to inspire our customers in the automotive industry and create innovative business models together.
Find out more about how we are driving digital excitement in automotive software development services.