Today, two prominent embedded Linux providers — LynuxWorks and ISDCorp — disclosed plans to merge. In this interview, LynuxWorks chairman Inder Singh speaks with LinuxDevices.com founder Rick Lehrbaum about the significance of the merger to the two companies, the benefits to embedded Linux customers, and how the idea for the merger… emerged.

RL: How would you describe the main benefits of the merger?

Singh: It increases the resources we have on the services side for the Linux business. Also, ISDCorp already has [Linux] ports to some architectures that we haven't released yet, including MIPS and ARM. They also have some very good relationships with some of the MIPS and ARM semiconductor companies, whereas we've been working more with Intel and Motorola. So, between us, we are covering all the microprocessor vendors with very good relationships.

RL: There seems to be a lot of synergy between LynuxWorks and ISDCorp.

Singh: There are a lot of complementary strengths between the two companies. Their people . . . their business focus . . . they are all very complementary and very consistent with the LynuxWorks strategy. There's very little overlap.

RL: It seems that ISDCorp has had a strong focus on semiconductor suppliers, rather than on the large number of OEMs designing embedded systems. On the other hand, LynuxWorks has a strong sales and support channel and a broad OEM customer base. Is that what made the combination seem especially desirable?

Singh: Yes. You wrote a nice article on the move towards system-on-chip (SOC) based [embedded Linux] systems. I also saw the market going that way, and envisioned LynuxWorks working really closely with those SOC suppliers. The ISDCorp folks have been doing some of the very things I was planning to have us focus on. That was one of the main things that attracted me. Because I was planning to do exactly that, and they were already doing it. So there were the relationships and the momentum. Also, they have some people from the semiconductor industry already there, on their management team.

RL: Will you be retaining the ISDCorp brand?

Singh: We'll be transitioning some things over time. We'll be integrating our products, and we'll be focusing heavily on Blue Cat as a brand and architecture. But we will continue to offer many of the services that ISDCorp is offering. They also offer embedded services for other operating systems — VxWorks, WinCE, HP/UX, etc. — so it makes sense to keep that part of the business relatively autonomous.

RL: How many people are employed by each organization?

Singh: ISDCorp has around 50 people and LynuxWorks has around 200, counting contractors.

RL: How did the merger between LynuxWorks and ISDCorp come about?

Singh: A few months ago, I heard about them from a couple of people and took a look at their website. Then, I picked up the phone and called Reza (Soliman-Noori). A couple of days later, we more or less decided we were going to do it.

RL: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Singh: I'm very excited and the synergy is very good. The most important thing is momentum. We want to move very fast, and it's a fast moving market. Getting out there quickly and getting the products and the customers locked in quickly is really important. Between us (ISDCorp and LynuxWorks), we're doing very well. Unfortunately, the biggest customers don't let you talk about their projects until they start shipping product — but we've got enormous momentum!

RL: Congratulations, and thank you very much!

Related stories:
LynuxWorks and ISDCorp announce merger
ISDCorp and ARM announce strategic agreement
Embedded Linux for ARM-based system-on-chip
ISDCorp announces Royal Linux support for MIPS
“Royal Linux” for ARM RISC based embedded systems
ISDCorp Unveils ARM 7 Linux 2.2 Port
LynuxWorks' $35M funding spotlights embedded Linux momentum
Intel adds LynuxWorks to “applied computing” partner list
Lynx + Linux = . . . Lynux
Lynx+Linux — a Dual OS Strategy

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.