Volvo Cars adds Microsoft's Skype for Business to its 90 Series cars

Volvo Cars adds Microsoft's Skype for Business to its 90 Series cars, heralding a new era for in-car productivity, Volvo Cars announced in a press release on Thursday.

Skype for Business is actively used by millions of people at work around the globe.

Volvo Cars is the first carmaker to launch such an in-car productivity tool.

In Volvo's 90 Series cars people will be able to view their upcoming meetings and participant details, and join meetings with one click via the large centre display.

"Skype for Business represents another big step forward for our in-car connectivity and communication offer. With the dawn of autonomous cars we see a future where flexible in-car productivity tools will enable people to reduce time spent in the office. This is just the beginning of a completely new way of looking at how we spend time in the car," said Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, Vice President of Consumer Connectivity Services at Volvo Car Group.

Volvo said its partnership with Microsoft also includes the exploration of using Cortana, Microsoft's intelligent personal assistant with the express intention of adding seamless voice recognition and contextual insights to support peoples' daily lives by actively predicting their needs.

"Volvo Cars is leading the way in its recognition that the nature of work is increasingly mobile. People need to be productive from anywhere, including their cars," said Ben Canning, Director of Product Management for Skype for Business at Microsoft.

Volvo Cars, which was acquired by Chinese automaker Geely in 2010, employs nearly 29,000 people worldwide. Enditem