For years, scores of Silicon Valley doomsayers predicted digital technology would lead to massive disruption within the auto industry and bring the sector to its knees. But by embracing and investing in new technologies, automakers have to a large extent disrupted themselves.
Today, even the most casual observer can see that the strategy has paid off.
Demand for vehicles loaded with the most technologically advanced features is white-hot. Autonomous and electric vehicles are all the rage. Modern automobiles are often compared today to data centers on wheels. That’s not hyperbole. At Western Digital, my employer, we estimate that more lines of software code exist in automobiles today than in fighter jets.