Ilya Bukshteyn, senior director of Windows Embedded Marketing at Microsoft, talks to Electronics Weekly about the main challenges facing embedded developers in 2009, what impact open-source software is having on the embedded market, and just how important the market is to Microsoft...
What are the main challenges facing embedded developers in 2009?
The current economic situation presents major challenges for embedded developers, but we continue to be optimistic about long-term prospects. Innovation has not gone away, and the embedded space still has large growth potential. Business leaders will need to further scrutinise their business models and go-to-market strategies to capitalize on the opportunities of the embedded market in a changed business environment.
Companies focused on squeezing every dollar from their projects and companies that demonstrate measurable returns will be successful in uncertain times.
What impact is open-source software having on the embedded market?
Open source is making an impact on the embedded market, and for development overall. Developers want to work in an open and interoperable way with partners and customers, and we feel that the Windows Embedded platform gives them that openness. Windows Embedded was the first Microsoft division to open its kernel 100% on its Windows Embedded CE platform. In 2008, we had more than 275,000 developers worldwide download Windows Embedded CE Shared Source.
There are still IP and integration issues with open source that many developers will need to consider as they start new projects.
In many cases, a developer will need to spend additional time making an entirely new and customised tool rather than merely refining an existing tool. This additional time and effort can have negative effects on time to market for a product. Using commercial software, where all required resources and expertise are immediately available, can avoid some of these seemingly minor points that later turn into larger issues.
What are the benefits of moving to 32-bit processor design even in lower cost embedded systems?
The main factor for using a 32-bit processor is to address the growing memory requirements of today’s devices. 32-bit processors do not require special memory techniques like segmentation to deal with larger memory spaces, making it slightly easier to program. This, in turn, reduces implementation costs.
Many 32-bit processors can be programmed in C/C++, making embedded software developers more productive and again reducing costs. Fast context switching is another benefit of the 32-bit processor.
How important is the embedded software market to Microsoft?
We believe the embedded market is quite important, as evidenced by our continued investment in this space. In February of this past year we announced a commitment to invest $75m for development, including the Microsoft Embedded Systems Development Centre (MESDC) in Germany. Through this organisation, we support local and global efforts for smart and connected service-oriented device development.
Windows Embedded is sometimes viewed as a feature-rich but costly OS - is this a fair view?
It is true that the Windows Embedded platform is feature-rich, but developers are also free to choose the specific operating system components they need to build their devices efficiently and best suit their business needs.
In terms of cost, there are different levels of available licensing, meaning developers of all sizes can use our platform with cost-effectiveness.
We have a shared success model where developers and organisations building devices only pay licensing fees when they ship devices. If you look at long-term investment figures, the total cost of ownership of devices running our operating systems is actually lower than open source operating systems because of our lower maintenance costs.
According to Embedded Market Forecasters (EMF), when compared to all of the major real-time embedded operating systems, including open source packages, developers using the Windows Embedded CE platform have smaller development teams, a shorter product start to shipment profile, fewer designs completed behind schedule and fewer cancellations. All of these factors lead to lower total costs across the device lifecycle.
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