A small, US-based professional services and consulting company specializing in embedded Linux reports that its revenues grew by an order of magnitude in 2005, while its staff size tripled. Embedded Alley Solutions CEO Pete Popov says the company was also able to increase its level of profitability during the year.

Popov says demand for embedded Linux professional services is growing quickly, and that Embedded Alley now has about 10 employees and contractors. The company has done work on PowerPC-based Carrier Grade Linux products for Narad Networks and Nairvana, he says, along with MIPS, XScale, and x86-based work for a variety of customers in the consumer electronics and desktop PC markets.

For example, according to Popov, Embedded Alley develops ALSA drivers for SigmaTel, whose audio codec chipsets are used in x86 Linux desktops shipped by Dell, the largest US PC vendor.

Popov stated, “[We gained] over twenty new customers in 2005, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Embedded Alley is very well positioned to continue increasing its customer base in a rapidly growing embedded Linux professional services market.”

Growth includes prominent PowerPC developers

Embedded Alley last May acquired Embedded Edge, appointing its founder, Dan Malek, to the post of CTO. Malek is best-known in the embedded Linux community for porting LinuxPPC to Motorola's embedded processors, in 1996.

Malek stated, “[We] provide valuable architectural and systems engineering services across a wide spectrum of products.”

In August of 2005, Embedded Alley acquired further LinuxPPC expertise when it hired Matt Porter as Chief Architect. Porter maintains the Linux kernel for 400-series IBM PPC processors.

Porter adds, “Our clients rely on [us] to resolve requirements conflicts of cost, performance, power consumption, and flexibility.”

Embedded Alley is based in Santa Clara, Calif., and has an office in New Hampshire.

 
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