Embedded World Nurnberg: Eurotech Charting Course to Take Advantage of Embedded Market Migration

Solid meeting with a handful of Eurotech’s sales and marketing managers this morning.

We reviewed the new Catalyt and LP boards.  These are ATOM-based common modules deployable on a broad range of standard architecture platforms, including VME and PC/104.  These modules are fully documented with WRS Linux, Windows XPE and a range of Windows commercial OSes.

These boards are installed in a broadening range of applications.  Current shipments might be considered dominated by industrial markets.  This would make sense, as they are perfectly suited to serve as extensions for bridging proprietary legacy automation networks and Ethernet-standard enterprise networks with their protocol translators embedded in their Embedded Software Framework (ESF).

ESF is the MQTT-based joint development that Eurotech supported with IBM.  The main objective of ESF is to provide a framework for developers to build applications on by abstracting a range of connectivity and platform management services.

The boards are pretty cool, but, it is how they are positioned that is prompting this blog.  What makes them so interesting is not so much their hardware configuration ….. but rather the approach to value-adding software and systems integration services.

VDC Research recently surveyed more than 400 industrial managers and found that they were looking for exactly the kind of system extensibility that these platforms afford – without the need to forklift upgrade, or commit to a greenfield platform dedicated specifically to the capabilities enabled by the Catalyst and LP boards.

Eurotech is making their platform – including ESF -- with two strong value propositions:

1. Development license for ISVs and OEMs looking for a common development and deployment platform that is efficient for initial, often narrow, applications releases, but that can support the highest levels of performance on narrow application clusters or consistently, uniformly service an expanding range of functions.
2. Run time license(s) for cloud computing and managed services providers.   In many ways these platforms look like the IP generators that VCs were hoping they might find when the recession stunted the development of most of their ISVs.

In order to maximize and capture share of a unique segment of the cloud phenomenon, Eurotech will need to continue to execute and address a number of questions not yet on the boards of some of their peers:

1. Reinvent and Reinforce the Eurotech brand.  The company was built largely on an acquisition strategy.  The sub-brands need to be consolidated, and a vision of the new company articulated and reinforced.
2. Define a Profitable, Scalable Strategy for Emerging Markets.  BRICS are critical in a number of market segments.  How will this high-touch partner and customer firm cope?
3. Generate Pull in User Communities.  The most successful embedded suppliers are doing this more and more … the legendary inefficiency of the markets notwithstanding.

The team we spoke with relayed that Eurotech is acutely aware of the choices it needs to make during the next year or so ...

1. Operating system support priorities
2. Middleware, utilities development and tool chain partnerships
3. JAVA developers … how to get some small percentage of the thousands that support enterprise applications to support embedded mission critical

We have a sneaking suspicion Eurotech platforms and approach to market development and customer support could convert quite a few.