On Target: Embedded Systems

VDC Research is attending Embedded World 2015!

Contact us ASAP to schedule a meeting VDC will be making the trip across the Atlantic again this year to visit the largest embedded technology tradeshow of the year, Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany. Last year, the conference boasted 26,700 visitors and 856 exhibiting companies!. While we are at the conference, we welcome the opportunity to meet with attending vendors to learn more about their embedded solutions and any show-related (or other recent) announcements. You can arrange a meeting time with VDC by contacting us directly. For meetings contact: André Girard, Senior Analyst, IoT & Embedded Technology, [email protected], 508.653.9000 x153;... Read more →

PTC Acquires Atego, Broadens ALM Support for Product Development

What happened? PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Atego, a leading developer of model-based systems and software engineering applications based in the UK, for $50 million in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed in PTC’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2014, which begins in July. According to PTC’s press release, Atego had approximately $20 million in revenue over the course of the past 12 months, and the company expects it will achieve approximately $5 million in revenue from Atego in PTC’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2014. VDC’s View Several recent acquisitions by PTC have targeted... Read more →

Agile2013: VDC Research is heading to Nashville - Music City!

The M2M Embedded Software team is excited to be heading to Nashville to attend Agile2013 (#agile2013). The growing adoption of Agile methodologies is one of the most important developments in the software lifecycle management solution market since VDC started covering it in 2000. Despite origins in the enterprise/IT software development world, iterative software development methods have also taken hold in the embedded market. In fact, nearly 50% of embedded engineers we surveyed in 2012 used Agile and Iterative methods. As embedded systems continue to evolve, organizations still relying on traditional development methodologies are struggling to keep pace with their software... Read more →

Controlling In-Vehicle Innovation with IVI Design

Automotive differentiation is no longer driven by gears and grease. Electronic systems now control most aspects of a vehicle’s operation and the software within those systems has risen to account for an increasing share of their functionality and differentiation. Today, software content growth in the automotive industry continues to outpace most other embedded device classes. In no automotive sector is this trend more acute than in IVI. The culture of conservatism, rooted in automotive’s safety-critical requirements, that has traditionally characterized the domain must adapt. The recent financial crisis imposed an unparalleled catalyst for such change. Entire supply chains followed the... Read more →

Hardware-in-the-Loop: Not Just for Auto & Aerospace

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) is a simulation technique that allows for the rapid development and testing of intricate, real-time control systems. Since such testing can be done without the creation of a physical prototype, HIL reduces product-related development costs and time-to-market, while increasing the overall quality and reliability of embedded control systems. Given the relative complexity of developing a HIL platform, this technology has traditionally been relegated to the development of capital-intensive equipment in the automotive and aerospace industries. However, the energy industry has recently taken notice of the benefits of HIL. With global concerns stemming from the pollution emitted by coal... Read more →

ALM Connect Executive Day and EclipseCon, March 2013

ALM CONNECT EXECUTIVE DAY VDC was excited to attend the ALM Connect Executive Day, which was run in parallel to EclipseCon 2013 in Boston this week. The objective of the executive day, to provide a platform for software delivery executives to discuss modern ALM practices in the context of business problems, is tightly aligned to our Software & System Lifecycle Management Tools research. The day brought together leaders from ALM suppliers, ISVs and consulting firms to discuss how ALM is evolving in response to the changing software delivery environment. The M2M Embedded Software team investigates many of the same questions... Read more →

Model That MIMO

Wireless networks have been pressed to rapidly evolve as ever greater numbers of subscribers utilize mobile devices to transmit an increasing volume of data. In fact, Cisco projects the number of mobile-connected devices, driven by a combination of personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, will exceed the world’s population by the end of this year and that mobile data traffic will expand at a CAGR of 66% through 2017. Technologies such as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) and other multiple antenna techniques have emerged in response to this increased demand for wireless network throughput. MIMO systems employ multiple antennas at both the... Read more →

VDC to Present Embeddy Awards Live at Design West

Want to see the latest technologies and tricks for embedded engineering? Head to Design West next month in San Jose, CA! Contact us ASAP to schedule a meeting VDC will be attending the Design West/ESC conference from Tuesday April 23 through Thursday April 25. At the show, we will be presenting our 9th annual Embeddy Awards. The winners will be announced Live during Thursday's morning keynote session. So how can your company win the Embeddy award? To be considered, First, fill out this on-line form: http://svy.mk/WU0abA You must also schedule a meeting with VDC to discuss the announcement that you... Read more →

It Gets Better

The same end-of-one-year reflection that inspired our embedded software Top 12 of 2012 (part 1 and part 2), encouraged us to take a look back at a metric we continue to track: schedule performance. In VDC’s 2012 developers survey, 35.3% of the respondents said their current project was behind schedule. Just last year over 40% reported schedule slippage. So perhaps 35% is an improvement; but it’s hardly a statistic worth boasting. With an average of twenty five embedded engineers per project, any delay can be detrimental to development budgets, not to mention the reputational damage. Despite an understanding that adherence... Read more →

The Embedded Software Beat

A Q&A with Stefan Skarin, Chief Executive Officer, IAR Systems Group AB. This interview is the fourth in a series that we look to conduct during the course of 2012 with embedded software solution providers to share their views on their company, products, and state of the market. VDC was fortunate to catch up with Mr. Skarin in advance of the ARM TechCon where IAR Systems will be announcing and demonstrating new products. VDC: IAR Systems is a long-time supplier of software development solutions to the embedded market. Can you briefly introduce the company to our readers? Skarin: IAR Systems... Read more →