Natick, Massachusetts — (press release excerpt) — Driven by the growth of the Internet and the increasing ubiquity of embedded computing systems, the embedded market is exploding in terms of a proliferation of products and the number of complex applications. A recent market study by Venture Development Corporation (VDC) shows embedded developers paying less for Linux support compared to traditional… embedded operating systems as they try to compete in this increasingly competitive market.

VDC's research reveals that greater than two-thirds of respondents currently using Linux in embedded systems are paying less for support as compared to traditional embedded operating systems. Open source licensing offers embedded developers reduced development costs, reduced product costs, and the opportunity to get their product to market quickly.

In answer to the question, “Describe What You Are Paying for Linux Support Compared to a Traditional OS”, the responses were . . .

Less — 69.2%
Same — 23.1%
More — 7.7%

“Embedded developers are finding that consulting with the open source community is not a significant threat to their intellectual property and is useful in developing and supporting their embedded Linux projects” says Stephen Balacco, Embedded Systems Analyst at VDC.

“Whether it is to get the latest news on Linux, requesting or providing technical assistance, or seeking opinions on what to buy, embedded developers are logging into the community through such sites as Linux.org, RedHat.com, and LinuxDevices.com, as well as a host of other sites and news groups.”

The title of the new VDC study is Linux's Future in the Embedded Systems Market. Findings are based on surveys mailed and e-mailed to 13,000 developers of embedded systems, interviews with engineers, product managers and CTOs at leading software vendors and equipment manufacturers, and extensive secondary research. VDC research includes: a global forecast of revenue for products and services, segmented by region and vertical markets through 2005; global forecast of unit shipments for high growth vertical markets/applications; and makes recommendations for Linux OS vendors.

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