In 2019, two years after DXC Technology was formed by the merger of CSC and the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, it went for the big-ticket acquisition of Luxoft - boosting its end-to-end digital transformation and engineering capabilities plus boosting its industry competencies – one of which being automotive. DXC has always maintained good performance in our research – especially in Industry 4.0 and the manufacturing space when it comes to execution (depth and breadth, industry-specific solutions, relationship management, and so on…) but was not widely seen as an innovative player in automotive research and development. DXC’s recent acquisition of CMORE Automotive, a German services provider dedicated to the development and validation of AI-driven mobility systems will help boost its autonomous drive end-to-end portfolio. CMORE will strengthen DXC’s automotive European base (currently 45% of its Industry 4.0 clients live there) and will also provide the means of taking this innovation to automotive clients from other geographies. DXC must continue to expand its narrative, showcasing the integrated capabilities of Luxoft and CMORE, alongside other acquisitions, to promote a vision that the market can grab on to. Meanwhile, automotive executives should continue to seriously consider DXC for their end-to-end innovation needs as DXC invests, builds, and melds its vision and capabilities with historically strong delivery.
The acquisition of CMORE complements DXC’s automotive engineering capability – further accelerating its autonomous driving solutions
Luxoft has been focusing on autonomous driving for quite a long time. In 2015, Luxoft partnered with QNX Software Systems (a subsidiary of BlackBerry) to focus on advanced driving technologies, including road scene reconstruction and augmented navigation, which can enable semiautonomous driving. In 2018, Luxoft acquired Objective Software which provides automotive engineering services and IP based solutions for autonomous vehicles, Advanced Driver Assisted Systems (ADAS), and high-accuracy positioning among others. Luxoft is also a key partner of Microsoft and its Connected Vehicle Platform to accelerate the delivery of connected vehicle solutions and mobility experiences and in January 2020, Luxoft and LG Electronics announced an automotive joint venture to advance the deployment of the production-ready digital cockpit, in-vehicle infotainment, rear-seat entertainment (RSE) and ride-hailing systems based on the webOS Auto platform. The recent acquisition of CMORE Automotive, a German service provider specializing in the development and validation of AI-driven mobility systems, will further enhance the overall autonomous driving capability of DXC. Therefore, by acquiring CMORE, Luxoft continues to build talent into the DXC family with data-driven development, design, testing, and validation capability, as well as scale, in autonomous driving (AD) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for “Level 3 to Level 5 autonomous functions.”
“We are excited to be a part of the Autonomous Drive team [at Luxoft] and looking forward to accelerating customers’ in-car series projects with end-to-end AI-driven development, testing and validation of AD/ADAS solutions at scale.
Richard Woller, chief executive officer, CMORE Automotive.
DXC is already engaged with automotive clients for driverless car development. For example, in 2019, DXC Technology has signed an agreement to support BMW’s autonomous vehicle development.
Providers are tussling for a position in the automotive sector
The automotive sector is brimming with activity as it moved to AD, electrification, and augmenting of the in-car experience:
- One of Accenture Industry X.0’s many recent acquisitions—German automotive software developer ESR Labs—aims to bring a start-up mindset to its global reach and experience, as automotive firms call for their partners to act like start-ups (where Bosch Service Solutions has seen success)—Agile, design thinking, spotting new customer-centric business opportunities—but also have the global scale to match. Other providers like HCL and Wipro, to name but a few, are also in the game analyzed in this report.
- Concentrix and Infosys (covered here) are both leading positions in the market for automotive sales, marketing, and aftermarket services.
- NTT DATA and TOYOTA partnered recently to take the latter’s mobility platform to the wider market.
- Capgemini going in hard on two counts, beefing up its SAP 4S/HANA services for automotive suppliers, while also doing so through a joint venture with Audi, to keep up with the changing demands of the ecosystem, alongside the big-cheque Altran acquisition that brings in automotive capability.
Go-to-market pitches will have to be pinpoint perfect (in the German automotive sector more than most!): they must not only create new, targeted business opportunities and better customer experiences but also clearly link to tangible growth and improved bottom lines. Providers must prove these benefits in their established success stories if they’re going to cut through the competition.
The Bottom Line: Build an ecosystem to gain expertise in autonomous driving technology
Autonomous driving technology is very complex as it includes a combination of advanced software algorithms and hardware. DXC has taken the right approach in gaining expertise in this space by combining capabilities from targeted acquisitions and expanding both deep industry and technology-specific partnerships.
