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SPECIAL REPORT: Microsoft-funded report claims embedding Linux costs more than embedding Windows

Jul 16, 2003 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — views

[Updated Sep. 11, 2003] — A report released in July, 2003 by market research firm Embedded Market Forecasters (EMF) claims embedded development projects based on Microsoft's “Windows Embedded” operating system platforms (specifically, Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded) are completed 43% faster and at 68% lower cost, on average, compared with similar projects using Embedded Linux. The study, titled Total Cost of Development: A comprehensive cost estimation framework for evaluating embedded development platforms, derives its quantitative conclusions from a cost-based framework for comparing embedded operating system development alternatives that was developed by the report's author, Dr. Jerry Krasner.

The report includes data from a survey of 100 manufacturers using 32-bit processors in a range of embedded projects and applications — 50 using various implementations of embedded Linux, and 50 using Microsoft's Windows Embedded platforms (Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded). The devices and applications included in the source data reportedly covered consumer electronics, handheld computers, industrial controllers, network gateways, point-of-sale kiosks, set-top boxes, thin clients, and others. The report estimates “total cost of development” for each project by multiplying the average embedded design project time-to-market by the software engineering team size and cost.

Origin of the report

The development of the cost measurement framework and the writing of the report appear to have been largely funded by Microsoft. Krasner said Microsoft paid him to develop the framework and analyze the data, and that the report is based on data collected by an undisclosed, but “reputable”, third-party market research firm.

“Microsoft paid me for my time to develop the framework and to analyze the data from a very reputable, very large, third party,” Krasner said.

Krasner said Microsoft approached him about producing the report because he had been publishing anecdotal evidence for some time that indicated that the total cost of using Linux in embedded projects was much higher than was generally understood.

Krasner said his sense that using embedded Linux might be more costly than using embedded Windows grew from a number of conversations with company executives who were disappointed with their experiences with using (or trying to use) embedded Linux in their development projects. In attempting to quantify those executives' concerns, and provide what he felt would be a better way to show the true project development costs, he developed the “Total Cost of Development” framework, Krasner said.

Executive summary — download of full report

An executive summary of the report along with a link to download the full report (free, but requires registration), is available here.

Also, be sure to read this news item which includes additional background on the study including a subsequent comment by Dr. Krasner, the author of the report, about the funding of the report.

LinuxDevices.com Responds!

  • Developer rebuts MS-funded embedded Windows vs. Linux study — Embedded developer and Jerry Epplin rebuts the EMF report. “The Microsoft-funded study reported by Dr. Krasner is flawed on just about every level we examine it,” Epplin notes. Story
  • Reflections on the EMF embedded Windows vs. embedded Linux report — LinuxDevices.com founder and editor-in-chief Rick Lehrbaum offers his “reflections” on the EMF report and its findings. Story

Other Updates

  • RTC Magazine editorial set (Sep. 11, 2003) — The following collection of three editorials on the topic originally appeared in the Aug. 2003 issue of RTC Magazine:

  • EMF redux — Linux or Windows, that's the question (Sep. 2, 2003) — Software Development Times editor Edward J. Correia provides further perspective — and debate. Opinions critical and supportive of the EMF study are cited. Story
  • VDC whitepaper compares Linux, Windows embedded development (Aug. 11, 2003) — Venture Development Corp. (VDC) released a whitepaper with its own data comparing embedded development based on Windows Embedded and Linux software platforms. The data, which was gathered as part of VDC's Embedded Software Strategic Market Intelligence Program over the past several years, compares average number of developers per project and time-to-market for the two embedded software platforms. The whitepaper includes tables, graphs, comments, and conclusions by VDC analysts Chris Lanfear and Steve Balacco. Story
  • Microsoft/EMF position statement regarding sources and access to databases (Aug. 1, 2003) — LinuxDevices.com received a two-page statement from Dr. Jerry Krasner, author of the EMF report titled “Total Cost of Development”, in an email titled “Microsoft/EMF position statement”. Story
  • Windows device development faster, cheaper than Linux? (Jul. 17, 2003) — The Register's John Lettice offers his perspective on the Embedded Market Forcasters report. Lettice suggests some alternative interpretations of the study's data: “By happy coincidence the report was funded by Microsoft, and will no doubt therefore be playing its part in Redmond's current 'get Linux' campaigns, but nevertheless it should not be dismissed out of hand – its numbers do have a certain validity, and warrant examination, although the report may not ask all of the right questions . . .” Story

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But please, before you jump into this discussion, read the full report! You can download it from the EMF website (requires free registration).

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