The term “Device Software Optimization” (DSO), introduced by Wind River in 2004, has been embraced by some and resisted by others. This comprehensive DSO special report chronicles the arrival, evolution, and growing adoption of DSO as an industry-defining term. Find out whether DSO is right for you and your company, and why.

A DSO timeline…

• Wind River steps up to Linux — [Dec. 01, 2003] — As background, it is important to note that Wind River began a strategic shift toward Linux and open source software in late 2003, after years of disparaging Linux as too large, and not deterministic enough for embedded systems. Wind River's shift toward Linux was driven by customers who increasingly asked for help leveraging existing, standards-based open source components in devices with rapidly growing networking and other feature requirements, it said at the time.
• Wind River introduces DSO — [April/May, 2004] — Wind River's new CEO, Ken Klein, introduced DSO in a speech at the 2004 Embedded Systems Conference. Klein predicted that connected, intelligent devices would drive near-term tech sector growth, and that new networking and feature requirements were greatly increasing the importance of software within the device industry. “Intelligent software presents a huge opportunity for device manufacturers; however, many of them have no real expertise in software development,” he said at the time, adding, “Companies need to develop a software strategy.” A press release associated with Klein's speech concluded, “Device software optimization enables companies to make their software a strategic weapon.”
• Wind River attributes earnings health to Linux, DSO — [May 18, 2004] — Wind River announced better-than-forecast earnings for fiscal Q1, 2005. In an earnings call, Klein credited the company's vow to make VxWorks more interoperable with Linux, its new open source tools strategy, and its “deeper commitment to making Linux viable for 'device software optimization' [DSO].”
• Klein reiterates DSO message at ESC 2005 — [Mar. 9, 2005] — Speaking as an engineer managing engineers that in turn manage about 500 other engineers, Klein first described how increasing feature requirements and complexity are causing widespread engineering failures. He then suggested strategies to avoid becoming “roadkill,” which include software re-use and sharing, embracing change, working with management, and staying open to new technologies. He concluded by reiterating that the increasing demands of a maturing industry require change, even in terms of industry labels: “'Embedded' software is not only invisible, since it resides inside something else, it's incidental to the value of the product it lives inside,” he says. “Call it 'device software,' though, and you're talking about the brains of the product, what makes it not just perform, but stand apart. Analysts describe 'embedded' as a $750M market with sluggish growth. The DSO market, by contrast, is headed toward three billion dollars a year — FAST. That market — exciting, burgeoning, ubiquitous — is the one where our shared future lies.”
• Klein distinguishes between “device software” and “embedded software” — [Apr. 06, 2005] — In an interview with CNET, Klein explained why he prefered the term “device software” to “embedded software.” He said, “Embedded software was incidental and invisible. When you call it 'device software,' you realize it's becoming the brains of the product.” He added, “The average OEM (original equipment manufacturer) — Siemens, Sony, Nortel, Motorola — they're spending 62 percent of engineering money on software. Whether they like it or not, they are in the device software business. It's software that's becoming the key differentiator, not the form factor, not the color of the plastic.”
• DSO gets buy-in — [May 23, 2005] — Following its annual, week-long developer and partner conference, Wind River announced that market research firm Gartner was about to help legitimize DSO by creating a “hype cycle” report on it. Gartner Research Director Theresa Lanowitz stated, “DSO offers a complete integrated development environment, and the ability to commercialize market-specific middleware.” Additionally, Wind River said that CMP Media was launching a DSO web site that would feature whitepapers from several vendors, in addition to Wind River.
• VDC analyst looks at DSO — [Jan. 04, 2006] — Embedded market analyst Chris Lanfear discussed DSO in his blog, writing, “Currently, the DSO converts are Wind River, Green Hills, Enea, Intel, and IBM, at least by my count.”
• Enea CEO Johan Wall hints at DSO industry association — [Jan. 19, 2006] — In a brief interview with LinuxDevices.com, Enea CEO Johan Wall defined what DSO means to Enea, and responded to rumors that a DSO industry association will be formed. He said, “[The companies participating in the DSO initiative] are leaders in the industry, calling for all other players to get together to form some kind of trade body, or at least to outline where this industry is going in the future. We've been in talks with several of the players in the industry, and we invite everyone to join us. There are, at this time, no concrete plans yet for a Device Software Optimization industry body, but we are certainly contemplating that.”
• “Father of DSO” clarifies the term and reveals its origins — [Mar. 28, 2006] — John Bruggeman, the chief marketing officer most frequently credited with coining the term DSO, revealed that the term actually emerged from a marketing brainstorming session attended by a variety of Wind River marketing officials. Asked how DSO differs from embedded software development, Bruggeman replied, “We don't think 'embedded' and 'DSO' are the same. We don't think it's marketing spin or name-changing. We think there's a fundamental shift in the marketplace, a shift driven by end users, or customers of devices. These customers have two fundamentally different requirements.” In this brief interview, Bruggeman outlines the “three key three tenets of DSO.”
• Developer “rebuts” DSO — [Mar. 29, 2006] — Embedded developer Christopher Stone questioned the need for the term DSO, writing, “The values of software reuse, open standards, and vendor diversity are honorable, but … they are not new values, so giving them a new name is questionable.”

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  ESC debuts “DSO World” — [Apr. 11, 2006] — ESC 2006 debuted the first “DSO World,” a focused technical track and expo pavillion touted as a conference within a conference, featuring “cutting-edge DSO technology solutions and strategies.” VDC embedded market analyst Chris Lanfear reported from ESC: “With a large white dome set up prominently in the middle of the show floor it was clear that Wind River Systems, encircled by vendor partners, was trying to make the point that there were two types of exhibitors at ESC — those inside the DSO World tent, and the rest of the embedded market. Half of their exhibit space was dedicated to an 8-panel movie presentation hall decorated with first-raised executives and the caption 'I am DSO.' Inside, a short movie explained how DSO [Device Software Optimization] has rescued the embedded market from the 'chaos,' 'frustration,' and 'complexity' of the days of old, and ushered in a new 'revolution' of 'interoperability' and 'OS choice.' There was no shortage of drama here.” Presentations from the ESC's first “DSO World” technical track are available for download in PDF form, here.

• Software reuse, DSO, and breaking old rules — [Apr. 19, 2006] — In this guest editorial, FSMLabs CEO Victor Yodaiken relates his company's experiences in the real-time Linux market to Wind River's efforts to reposition embedded software development as device software optimization. “Embedded software has become complex in the last two decades, and methods that worked in days when hardware was 90 percent of the complexity and value, when development times were leisurely, and where systems were neither networked nor complicated are now unbearably costly and ineffective,” Yodaiken writes. “As [Wind River CEO Ken Klein] and others have pointed out, much of the problem is that embedded development teams are spending time and effort on 'reinventing the wheel.' The solution is software reuse — or 'DSO,' if you like more complicated terms.”

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