Where the rubber meets the road: tire company morphs into IT provider

More evidence of how cloud and service technology is helping to blur the lines between IT providers and consumers: Michelin Group, the tire manufacturer, says it is rolling out a series of cloud apps to serve businesses that manage vehicle fleets. 

Accenture announced it is collaborating with Michelin Group to create a new business – Michelin solutions, supporting the "MICHELIN solutions brand." The new operation will deliver mobility solutions to customers through the use of the Accenture Cloud Platform and a range of solutions offered on a pay-per-use basis.

Michelin solutions' mobility-enabled applications are targeted at business customers who manage fleets of vans, trucks and earthmoving equipment, Accenture says. "These solutions will help manage areas such as fuel efficiency, tire management and vehicle productivity solutions."

In July 2013, Michelin launched its first solution, called EFFIFUEL.

(HT to CloudPro's James Stirling for surfacing this story.)

Who will be the key IT or software providers of the 2010s? Thanks to their ability to build and deploy private cloud and mobile apps, many traditionally non-IT companies are evolving into software providers in their own right.  There are now countless examples of enterprises making the leap, inclucing insurance companies, banks, and aircraft manufacturers, who see the opportunity to digitize their knowledge and expertise -- as well as monetize data center capacity -- to launch new business lines.