VDC finds Microsoft, Wind River in “dead heat” as #1 embedded OS
Mar 17, 2003 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — views[Updated Mar. 18, 2003] Microsoft and Wind River are currently in a “dead heat” for the top position in sales of embedded operating system software and toolkits, according to Stephen Balacco, embedded software analyst at Venture Development Corp. (VDC).
“Our results showed Microsoft slightly ahead of Wind River Systems — the difference between them is less than 1%,” noted Balacco.
In terms of the sale of real-time operating systems, on the other hand, Balacco said Wind River still maintains a “commanding market leadership position,” but noted that Wind River has been “as challenged as any supplier in this market space over the last two years in the face of a slumping telecommunications industry, where they have been highly leveraged for sales, as well as [from] increased competition from royalty-free and Linux OS vendors making inroads.”
While not disclosing specific market share numbers publicly, VDC provided the following list indicating the market share position in terms of sales revenue, for the leading vendors in the embedded operating system market . . .
- Microsoft
- Wind River
- Symbian
- Palm
- QNX
- Enea Data
- Green Hills Software
- LynuxWorks
- MontaVista Software
- Accelerated Technology (Mentor Graphics)
Included among key factors identified by VDC as impacting this market were . . .
- Increased focus and emphasis on bundling integrated development solutions that minimize unnecessary and repetitive development and allow OEMs to focus on their core competencies in differentiating their product through the application;
- Ability of OS vendors to adapt business models that are flexible in their pricing and terms and conditions in response to a changing set of market requirements spurred on by competitive market forces; and
- A telecommunications market that continues to struggle has affected investments in new projects.
Further information on VDC's study, titled Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems and Toolkits, is available here.
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