Professional Cloud ArchitectDemo

Company Overview —

KnightMotives is a car manufacturer that specializes in autonomous, self-driving vehicles, including Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), hybrids, and traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Although KnightMotives has advanced the in-vehicle experience in its BEV fleet, the hybrid and ICE vehicles have not yet adopted these new systems and are regarded poorly by critics and drivers. The absence of modern in-vehicle technology in hybrid and ICE vehicles has led to declining sales and customer satisfaction.

KnightMotives wants to modernize the consumer experience across all vehicles within five years. Artificial Intelligence provides a unique opportunity to transform the in-vehicle experience, as well as the shopping, buying, and service/maintenance experience. Investing in this new technology will require a global shift in financial priorities.

KnightMotives also wants to enhance its unreliable online ordering system. Systems that let customers build their vehicle online for acquisition through a dealer are not providing the data or reliability dealers require, causing a strain in the relationship between KnightMotives and dealers. Service technicians and sales staff require improved tooling to advance dealer success, including for built-to-order vehicles.

Solution Concept —

KnightMotives wants to move from manufacturing cars to creating a complete and compelling “automotive experience.” The strategy emphasizes delivering a consistent experience across all models, developing AI-powered features, producing new revenue through data monetization, adopting a digital focus to distinguish its brand from competitors, and creating better tools for mechanics and salespeople.

Existing Technical Environment —

KnightMotives's IT is primarily on-premises, with some applications on major cloud platforms. Its supply chain operates on an outdated mainframe, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is also outdated, making new promotions and dealer discounts hard to implement. Dealers have no budget for new equipment. Vehicles are fragmented across multiple code bases, with significant technical debt caused by supporting backward compatibility. Network connectivity to manufacturing plants and vehicle connectivity in rural areas are challenges.

Business Requirements —

Key business requirements include cultivating a personalized relationship with the driver and providing a cohesive experience across all models. Establishing a better build-to-order model will reduce time on the lot and offer transparency to both dealers and customers. KnightMotives also seeks to monetize corporate data to fund new technology investments, because its current AI infrastructure is obsolete and corporate data is still siloed. Security is a primary concern because of previous data breaches. Compliance with European Union (EU) data-protection regulations, especially for emerging autonomous platforms, is critical.

KnightMotives plans significant investments in fully autonomous-driving capabilities, with initial implementation aimed at regions with favorable regulatory environments. Employee upskilling, attracting top-tier talent, and improving communication between business and technical teams are also critical goals.

Technical Requirements —

• Modernizing the in-vehicle experience includes creating a consistent user experience (UX) that seamlessly integrates AI-powered features across all models, updating in-vehicle hardware and software in legacy models to support new UX features and AI capabilities, and ensuring dependable network connectivity—especially in rural areas—to support real-time AI features and data transmission.
• Network upgrades are required to support greater data traffic and improve connectivity between plants and headquarters.
• IT infrastructure modernization requires adopting a hybrid-cloud strategy to gain the benefits of both on-premises and cloud infrastructure, and progressively modernizing or replacing legacy systems to increase efficiency and agility.
• Autonomous-vehicle development and testing requires investing in leading AI and machine-learning technologies, building a robust simulation environment, and ensuring compliance with evolving autonomous-vehicle regulations.
• Data monetization and insights requires implementing a robust data-management platform, strict data-security and privacy measures, and scalable AI/ML infrastructure.
• Increased emphasis on security and risk management involves implementing a comprehensive security framework to protect against cyber threats and data breaches, developing an incident-response plan, and providing security-awareness training to employees.
• Delivering a delightful experience for dealers and customers requires improving the online build-to-order system; developing modern dealer tools to streamline dealer operations, including sales, service, and inventory management; and implementing a comprehensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track customer interactions, personalize experiences, and improve customer satisfaction.

Executive Statement —

KnightMotives is committed to improving safety and saving lives by using an extensive body of data—including driving, road conditions, behavioral studies, and crash-safety statistics—to create compelling digital experiences for drivers. Our AI consistently exceeds national safety statistics, ensuring that the distinctive and coveted KnightMotives experience is aligned across all vehicle models.

Michael Knight, KnightMotives CEO

For this question, use the KnightMotives Automotive case study. You are responsible for designing the network infrastructure architecture for KnightMotives's new Google Cloud environment. You need to design the new VPC topology. You want to provide guaranteed bandwidth and low latency between the plants and Google Cloud resources. What should you do?