On Target: Embedded Systems

CriticalBlue Joins the MontaVista Software Partner Program

MontaVista Software LLC recently announced that CriticalBlue has joined the MontaVista partner program and will make their Prism product available on MontaVista Linux 6 and MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition products.

This announcement continues to broaden support for both partners for multicore software development. CriticalBlue’s Prism Eclipse plug-in will be integrated into the MontaVista DevRocket integrated development environment (IDE) which will provide MontaVista customers the ability to “quickly analyze the potential benefit of new, high performance, multicore software platforms for their existing application code and develop new code and quickly tune it for operation on multicore processors, all within a single MontaVista DevRocket environment, and all in the familiar Eclipse framework.”

To read the complete announcement click here.

Complimentary Embedded Software and Tools Research Available

Did you know that we regularly produce complimentary research highlights and content?

You can access a number of documents from our research covering embedded software and tools technologies.

In case you haven't already - please Sign Up by Clicking Here.

Once you have registered, you can access any of the complimentary research available on vdcresearch.com and receive notifications of when new content is available for download.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on the research that we've posted.

Happy Holidays,

VDC's Embedded Software & Tools Practice

Update: Cavium Networks Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire MontaVista Software

 

Today, Cavium Networks announced  the completion of their acquisition of MontaVista.  The deal closed just over a month after Cavium first announced their $50 million offer for the embedded Linux market stalwart.

 

The press release also mentioned that Art Landro had been promoted from Executive Vice President of MontaVista's Worldwide Field Operations to President of the MontaVista Software unit. 

 

Absent from the press release – and from the management  page of MontaVista’s website – is any mention of Rusty Harris.  MontaVista reports that its former President and CEO has now decided to pursue new opportunities.

 

The rest of the management team - CTO and founder Jim Ready included - are still staying on with company.

 

With the closing of this third major acquisition of an embedded operating system vendor in just over 12 months (Symbian Ltd. and Wind River Systems – not to mention Mentor’s acquisition of Linux solution provider Embedded Alley), it will be interesting to see how these new OS market dynamics evolve in 2010 as the recovering economy revitalizes R+D spending and new product development.

 

 

Related Posts:

 

• Cavium Networks Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire MontaVista Software
• Cavium Networks Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire MontaVista Software: Part 2
• The WINDs of Change Reveal Embedded Linux Constants
• Welcome, Mentor Graphics. Seriously.
• UPDATE: Nokia to Acquire Symbian Ltd. – Can you hear me now?

 

What Tools are on Embedded Engineers’ Wish Lists?

 

With the holiday season now upon us in full force, we are constantly bombarded with commercials every time we turn on the television, the radio, or log onto the internet.  All of these advertisements are aimed at convincing us why we need a certain type or brand of product.

 

In light of these ubiquitous reminders of one of the pillars of capitalism, we thought it would only be appropriate to share more about what embedded engineers think about the different products that they are using.

 

As part of a recent survey, we asked engineers how likely they were to use their current brand of tools again on future projects.  Engineers could only rate the tool(s) that they were personally using on their current project.

 

 

So for what type of tool did engineers report the highest likeliness to reuse their current brand?

 

Proprietary language-based modeling tools – These are tools such as Esterel SCADE, The MathWorks MATLAB/Simulink, and National Instruments LabVIEW, among others.  These tools are typically intended to automate the process of designing and simulating dynamic systems and control applications that often interact with complex physical phenomena.  We also include stand-alone automated code generators commonly integrated with system modeling and simulation environments within this category.

 

 

How about the least likely to reuse their current brand?

 

Dynamic code testing tools – These are tools such as test coverage analysis, unit testing, integration/system testing, tracing, tuning, and other testing necessitating the execution of the program.

 

 

VDC’s View

 

A number of factors can influence an engineer’s likeliness to use the same brand of tools beyond just “brand loyalty” alone.  Changes in project requirements, budgets, as well as higher-level corporate mandates can alter tool selection.

 

However, the information is nonetheless palpable.  In the case of dynamic code testing tools, we believe that this speaks the relative maturity of the tools in that market as well as the parity of functionality offered by participants’ solutions.  Additionally, this is a class of tools where many engineers report using open source and in-house developed solutions, further underscoring the lower barriers to migration/substitution between these tools.

 

When considering the differences in the tools categorized within the proprietary language-based modeling tool sector, it becomes easier to infer the reluctance and/or difficulty in migrating to other solutions.  As the names of the tool category suggests, this market has its legacy in tools based upon proprietary languages.  Whereas many vendors have undertaken substantial efforts in recent years to ease the adoption of and migration to their solutions, the use of these tools, however, is often institutional and engrained as part of mandated development methodologies.

 

 

VDC explores these trends among others in further detail as part of our 2009 Embedded Engineer Tool Perceptions & Preferences reports.

 

These reports provide engineer-reported ratings of 180+ different tools across 15 tool categories for 10 different criteria.  These criteria include ratings of the tools’ impact on quality, time-to-market, and engineer productivity, among others.

 

For more information, please see the reports’ proposal, contact us directly, and/or read our previous blog posts.

• What Tools are (Not) Critical to the Success of Engineering Projects?
• Curious About What Engineers Think About The Development Tools They Use?

2010 Embedded Software & Tools Market Update & Outlook - Webcast Available

We want to thank everyone who attended our webcast, "Embedded Software and Tools Market Update & Outlook."  We hope you found the content both useful & interesting.  

In case you missed the live webcast, here is a link to its recording and slides.  Please note that registration is required to view the recording .

Please be sure contact us directly if we can help answer any questions you may have on the presentation or our thoughts on the 2010 embedded software and tools market in general.

2010 Embedded Software & Tools Market Update & Outlook - Webcast Today!

It is not too late to register for today's webcast!

During this complimentary webcast, we will discuss the challenges facing embedded device and systems manufacturers and their embedded solutions providers and offer our thoughts on how they will have to adjust given the current economic climate. Specifically, the webcast will address the following key questions: 

• How have economic conditions affected embedded software solution suppliers?
• What does the competitive landscape look like?
• How will supplier consolidation affect the market?
• How are multi-core requirements impacting embedded software development?
• What types of tasks are being outsourced by OEMs and what are the opportunities for embedded software solution suppliers and partners?

When?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 1:00 pm
Eastern Standard Time (GMT-05:00)

Click here to register

2009 Embedded Engineering Survey Data ~ Available Now!

With the increasing complexity of embedded software and hardware designs, the 2009 end-user data books provide insight into the behavior, opinions, and demographics of embedded engineers, the degree to which embedded system engineering tasks are converging, and key system engineering trends likely to impact embedded systems manufacturers and solution providers over the short and long term.

This end-user data is based on detailed Web survey responses collected in the late May 2009 to mid September 2009 time-frame from over 780 embedded systems engineers worldwide and offer an understanding about the dynamics of the embedded market as they relate to current and future product development trends. This detailed end-user data provides access to VDC’s extensive knowledge of the embedded developer community and is intended to provide insight into specific embedded developer communities’ current development and future project trends based on the individual report topics.

The Embedded System Engineering Survey Data is available in reports offering segmentations by:

• Operating Systems
• Development Tools
• Vertical Market
• Region
• Processor Architecture
• Engineer Type

What’s new? different? the same?

• Although these reports are organized into six volumes similarly to previous offerings, this year’s reports also include PowerPoint presentations, highlight key findings and offering some analysis around the results and broader market trends.
• We continue to ask many of the same questions as previous years for year-over-year comparison.
• For a full the Full List of Exhibits from the 2009 and 2008 Survey Data reports, click here and here.

Who should be interested?

Software (ESW, ESL, and EDA) and hardware (silicon and board) solution providers (whether currently engaged in the embedded market or not) should find this information of interest, as these reports provide valuable insight into the types of current and future requirements and methodologies that companies are using to engineer embedded systems.

 

This information can be used to assist companies in differentiating solutions, developing competitive strategies, and engineering products that better meet current and future customer requirements. In addition, the data can also be used to support key marketing and sales efforts.

Systems manufacturers and semiconductor suppliers will also find value in this data in developing an understanding of key system engineering trends that will impact their business in the short and long term, gaining a perspective on the embedded software and hardware market, and an understanding of the vendor options available to them.

What information are we collecting in 2010?

 

VDC will be launching an update to this Survey in the Q1/Q2 time-frame of 2010 as part of our 2010 Embedded Software Market Intelligence Service.

 

With the 2010 Service currently under founding sponsorship, early subscribers can provide input into what additional questions are asked of the embedded engineering community. 

 

We are also interested in your general feedback and suggestions, so please reply with comments!

For further information about VDC’s Embedded Software Market Intelligence Service contact:

Steve Balacco, Director, 508.653.9000 ext. 124, sbalacco@vdcresearch.com

Chris Rommel, Analyst, 508.653.9000 ext. 123, crommel@vdcresearch.com

Cyril Bernard, Senior Account Executive, 508.653.9000 ext. 142, cbernard@vdcresearch.com

Or

Visit our website.

Webcast: Embedded Software and Tools Market Update & Outlook

The successful use of embedded software and system engineering tools is a critical requirement for companies across every market segment. Although the recession is expected to continue to impact the market for embedded software and system engineering tools, systems manufacturers will persist in requiring new solutions that help them create, test and manage the designs necessary to power the next generation of embedded systems.

Software and solutions suppliers that can sharpen their focus, value proposition and solution package to address market pressures and constraints will differentiate themselves in this highly competitive marketplace.

During this complimentary webcast, we will discuss the challenges facing embedded device and systems manufacturers and their embedded solutions providers and offer our thoughts on how they will have to adjust given the current economic climate. Specifically, the webcast will address the following key questions:

• How have economic conditions affected embedded software solution suppliers?
• What does the competitive landscape look like?
• How will supplier consolidation affect the market?
• How are multi-core requirements impacting embedded software development?
• What types of tasks are being outsourced by OEMs and what are the opportunities for embedded software solution suppliers and partners?

 

Who Should Attend?

Marketing, Sales, Product Management, and BD Executives from:

• Embedded software solution suppliers
• Semiconductor and semiconductor IP suppliers
• Board/Hardware suppliers
• Professional services firms
• Embedded system manufacturers

 

When?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 1:00 pm
Eastern Standard Time (GMT-05:00)

 

Where?

Click here to register

What Tools are (Not) Critical to the Success of Engineering Projects?

 

We asked and the engineers have responded. 

 

Most Critical

 

Out of the 15 types of engineering tools we asked engineers to rate,

IP/Licensing/Compliance/Component Management tools (e.g. Black Duck Protex, Palamida, Protecode Build IP Analyzer, etc.) emerged as the highest rated tools.

 

These tools allow organizations to audit the lineage and licensing restrictions of the various open source software components they are considering integrating into their own commercial products.

 

Although these tools are used less commonly than some other types of tools we asked about, it is clear that the growing use of open source software within embedded projects is driving engineering teams to reevaluate the sources of and the ways in which they use “free” software. 

 

These tools can not only save engineers time doing this research themselves, but they can also help organizations limit software liabilities by preventing any future litigation, production line stoppages, or the “contamination” of their own proprietary software assets.

 

 

Least Critical

 

Project Management tools (e.g. Microsoft Project, Atlassian JIRA, TechExcel DevPlan, etc.) received the lowest rating for their criticality to the success of a project.

  

After seeing this result, our first reaction was the result must have been driven by the larger number of engineers versus that of project managers responding to the survey.  After further inspection, we found that project manager respondents had actually rated the tools lower than their potential subordinates!

 

So what is our take? 

 

First of all, it should be noted that Project Management tools garnered a mean score of 3.30 on a 5 point Likert scale – so they are still somewhat critical in the eyes of the engineering community at large. 

 

Secondly, we expect that you would be hard pressed to find many engineers (or project managers for that matter) that would be willing to acknowledge that a tool is/could be the key to their ability to manage their projects work - the experience levels and skill sets of the project team members (not to mention the other software development tools available to the team) are too important to the success of a project.

 

 

More information about what tools were rated and what questions we asked can be seen in our blog posting from November 30^th.

 

Stayed tuned to our blog over the coming weeks as we post more interesting findings from this research and provide more information about its general availability and packaging.

  

VDC Welcomes New Analyst to the Embedded Software and Tools Practice

VDC is pleased to announce that Jared Weiner has joined VDC as an Analyst within the Embedded Software and Tools Practice.

At VDC, Jared will be responsible for conducting market research on multiple projects within VDC's Embedded Software Intelligence Program where he will be working closely with Practice Director Stephen Balacco and Analyst Chris Rommel.

"Since 2000, the Embedded Software and Tools team has been providing our clients with accurate and detailed market intelligence. Every year, our clients demand more of both - and timely coverage of issues that are often very difficult to forecast," stated Stephen Balacco, Practice Director. "Adding Jared Weiner will enable the embedded team to meet the growing requirements with speed, accuracy, and ever-more valuable market intelligence and advice."

Prior to joining VDC, Jared was a research analyst at Eduventures, Inc., where he developed and conducted custom research projects for colleges and universities nationwide in the area of enrollment management. He has additional research experience in education and financial services.

Jared received an MBA from Babson College in 2007, and graduated from Bentley College in 2002 with a BS in Information Design and Corporate Communication.

To contact Jared at VDC:

Telephone: 508.653.9000 x:143 / Email:jweiner@vdcresearch.com