Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems - VDC Research

Embedded Software & Tools Practice 

Chris Rommel – Vice President 

Steve Balacco – Director 

André Girard – Senior Analyst 

Jared Weiner – Analyst 

Executive Brief 

Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded Software & Tools Market 

Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems 

April 2012 

Volume 1 | Track 2: Embedded Software Engineering Technologies 

vdcresearch.com 

© 2012 VDC Research Group, Inc. 

Embedded Software & Tools 

0

Research Summary 

About this research program 

Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded Software & Tools Market 

Market Opportunities and Forecasts in 2011 – 2014 

The full research program includes: 

• Market Definition & 

Segmentation Maps 

• Market Estimates & 

Forecasts for 2011 – 2014 

• Competitive Position, 

Share & Direction 

The Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded 

Software & Tools Market research program 

provides granular data and detailed analysis 

on the biggest issues and trends in the 

embedded software market in order to help 

clients identify, define, prioritize, plan and 

attack the best market opportunities. In 

order to help clients fully apply the research, 

clients also receive Analyst Inquiry Time so 

that they may: get our Analyst’s commentary 

on specific decisions and strategies for their 

company, have a deeper-dive conversation 

related to a specific issue or trends covered 

in the research or a discuss the definitions, 

assumptions and methodologies driving the 

segmentation models and forecasts in the 

report. 

• Embedded System Engineer 

Requirements, Preferences 

& Investment Plans 

• Definition & Analysis of 

Key Issues, Forces & Trends 

This executive brief provides an overview of 

our coverage and analysis for this volume. 

The full research report offers deeply 

segmented data and analysis that is 

extremely actionable and we encourage 

you to contact us to learn more. 




1

Ways to Work With Us 

Our market research is the basis for the many other ways that VDC can help you to grow your 

business. Our clients rely on us to provide actionable insights that support their most important 

strategic initiatives including: corporate development projects, opportunity assessments and lead 

generation programs. 




2

Market Segmentation 

Segmentation of VDC’s research 

Geographic Regions 

• Americas 

• EMEA 

• Asia-Pacific 

Industry Segments 

Embedded Software & 

Tools Market Technologies 

• Embedded/Real-Time 

Operating Systems 

• Android & Linux in the Embedded 

Systems Market 

• Mobile Operating Systems 

• Virtualization for Mobile & 

Embedded Systems 

• Multicore Components & Tools 

• Safety & Security 

• Automotive/Rail/ 

Transportation 

• Consumer Electronics 

• Industrial Automation 

• Medical Devices 

• Military/Aerospace 

• Mobile Phones 

• Office/Business Automation 

• Retail Automation 

• Telecom/Datacom 

• Others 




3

Scope & Methodology 

To develop this report, VDC employed the following research methods: 

• Phone Interviews – VDC conducted phone 

interviews with executive managers, senior 

managers and product marketing managers at 

leading operating system suppliers. 

• Web-Based Surveys – An extensive survey 

was distributed to the embedded engineering 

community with the primary purpose of 

understanding the market’s interest, opinions, 

and trends. Developers surveyed to date 

include subscribers to eg3.com, Embedded 

Gurus, and Ganssle Group, as well as 

Research Now, and VDC’s internal developer 

panel. Entry into a drawing for an Apple iPad 

as well as guaranteed $10 Amazon.com gift 

certificate or choice of a $10 donation to 

FIRST (a charitable organization helping to 

promote the sciences to the next generation of 

engineers) for the first 400 respondents to 

complete the survey was offered as an 

incentive to respond. 

o VDC’s 2012 Embedded Engineering Survey is 

open and still in the field. Data collected from 

the survey will be delivered as part of Track 3: 

Embedded Systems Engineering Survey Data 

series of reports, as well as other reports 

within the Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded 

Software & Tools Market service year as 

required. 

• Secondary Research – Secondary sources 

of information include government trade 

statistics, financial documents including 10Ks, 

10Qs and annual reports, trade press articles, 

trade association statistics, websites, and 

business directories. 

• Data Analysis – VDC used SPSS, an 

industry standard statistical software 

package and Microsoft Excel for most of 

the statistical analysis and modeling within 

this report. These analyses were performed 

using proprietary VDC tools and techniques. 

• Foreign Exchange – VDC used oanda.com 

to develop a calendar year average for 

vendors who report their data in foreign 

currencies. 

• Calendar Year Revenue Adjustments – 

Because the full study analyzes shipments of 

software development solutions on a 

calendar year basis, vendors’ fiscal year 

revenues had to be adjusted accordingly. 

Adjustments were based upon internally 

developed metrics of industry participants’ 

monthly and quarterly revenue profiles. 




4

Market Overview 

Devices are coming – billions of devices are already here – and software is 

everywhere 

Embedded devices and systems have permeated 

where we live, where we work, how we travel, and 

how we communicate. Billions of devices shipping 

on an annual basis that span various applications 

include high availability, safety-critical, and security 

requirements. 

“At one time, embedded devices were something 

you found on the factory floor; now, everyone is 

using some form of personal embedded device: 

smartphones, tablets, etc.” 

- Embedded OS supplier 

Historically many of these types of devices would 

have limited resources with respect to processor 

performance, memory, and connectivity - creating 

islands of technology and disconnected data. The 

availability of more complex system/hardware 

architectures, more advanced software, and 

connectivity has created new scenarios for smart, 

smarter, and now as some would refer to as 

“intelligent systems” creating new experiences for 

business and consumers. 

For business, the opportunity is immense. 

Embedded devices located at the edge of networks 

can be linked to a cloud computing architecture 

and to the backend enterprise IT ecosystem upon 

which data aggregation and analytics can drive 

near real-time business decisions. It also opens up 

the possibilities for new types of applications to be 

created that can result in new value-add services. 

Embedded operating system (EOS) suppliers have 

long recognized the challenges faced by original 

equipment manufacturers (OEMs); 

• Development budgets under scrutiny; 

• Tight delivery timeframes; 

• New functionality; 

• Insufficient resources; and 

• A competitive landscape (Margins under 

pressure). 

However, EOS vendors must be vigilant and 

maintain flexibility in meeting evolutionary changes 

within device development platforms to meet 

customers’ requirements around security, support 

for new hardware architectures, embedded 

virtualization, cloud computing, and other emerging 

trends within the market. 

“We’re seeing less economic uncertainty than 

we have in recent years. While we’re seeing 

market activity pick up, economic and geopolitical 

hurdles remain. Despite this, the 

economic climate of recent years has only 

exacerbated the requirement to deliver time-tomarket 

and cost benefits.” 


Some EOS suppliers have begun to focus there 

attention and resources on enterprise markets 

specifically around secure solutions. Other 

suppliers have looked to divest certain aspects of 

their business and redefine their strategic direction 

with a focus on growing existing customers. Some 

are faced with uncertain austerity measures with 

military budgets worldwide and the potential for 

reduced spending on new electronic system 

projects. 

For these and many other reasons, the embedded 

software market remains a challenging 

environment for software solution providers and 

will continue to accommodate a variety of OSs. 

OEMs will need to determine what features and 

capabilities best meet their needs. 

Many EOS vendors have evolved from offering a 

discrete product to integrated and optimized 

solutions including development tools, middleware, 

professional services, and other key solution 

elements critical to their customers’ success. 




5

Strategic Issues, Trends & Market Drivers 

Roll-Your-Own (RYO) OS is the primary competition –internal OEM engineering 

organizations 

VDC has observed over the years that suppliers 

of commercial OSs will almost always cite rollyour-own 

OSs and OEM internal engineering 

organizations as their primary competition. 

“RYO is our primary competition. However, as 

software complexity continues to increase, 

companies are looking for reliable, fully tested 

and well-supported commercial platforms.” 


As the requirements for embedded systems have 

changed, OEMs face increasing levels of 

complexity from integrating new silicon 

architectures to the development and integration 

of in-house developed code, commercially 

available software components, and open source 

software. All of these issues present unique 

challenges to OEMs that demand a disciplined 

approach to developing, testing, and integrating 

software which represents the increasing 

importance of device software. 

“The advantages of an in-house OS is that it is 

usually well known and understood by the 

company using it. Free development tools can 

have the advantage of lower cost to application 

developers if the quality is adequate.” 


Embedded engineers responding to our surveys 

cite a gradual migration within their product 

development to increasing use of commercially 

available and supported OSs. RYO OS users are 

faced with the same market forces as the 

commercial user community in terms of increased 

product complexity in hardware and software, 

competitive time-to-market pressures, and the 

need to minimize inefficiencies across projects. 

The major roadblock in switching RYO OS users 

to commercial OS users continues to be cost, 

control, and inertia. Commercial OS vendors 

need to work closely as part of an education, 

relationship sell, to provide a compelling case to 

overcome these issues. 

“Engineering organizations need to look at their 

ongoing maintenance costs for supporting inhouse 

OS's/tools and see how that compares 

to the use of a commercial OS. The internal 

development cost to add new processor 

support, BSP support, SMP support, new 

features, and certification to an in-house OS 

can be prohibitive to the in-house developers.” 


As software complexity continues to increase, 

engineering organizations are looking for 

reliable, fully tested and well-supported 

commercial platforms that can enable product 

development to quickly adapt to key 

technology trends (i.e., multicore, virtualization, 

safety/security certification, etc.). Niche 

markets will continue to have a RYO need and 

it becomes a trade off as to when these niche 

markets become big enough for a commercial 

vendor to step in and fill the need. In working 

closely with RYO OS users, commercial OS 

vendors must gain their trust and give them 

reasons to change. 

OEMs, especially large companies who 

support multiple product lines, are increasingly 

using product line management techniques for 

software. In this case, companies are 

strategically architecting core assets for reuse 

across multiple products. A common OS, APIs, 

development tools, and middleware enable 

developers to focus on the application and 

enable the reuse of software code across 

different generations of products and product 

lines. OEMs will look to scale back the use of 

RYO OSs and consolidate on commercial OSs 

that offer broad functionality and scalability that 

can be used across a variety of products. 




6

Market Segmentation, Estimates & Forecasts 

Uneven market growth in 2011 – slower growth expected over the forecast period 

Worldwide Shipments of Embedded / 

Real-Time Operating Systems & 

Related Services 

2011-2014 

In 2011, growth in the market was uneven and 

the rate of growth below what VDC had 

forecasted from last year. Suppliers in the 

market expressed mixed views on the state of 

the market in 2011 and the challenges they 

faced during the course of the year. 

“First half of the year was still difficult with delayed 

projects but second half was much better.” 


(Millions of Dollars) 

VDC estimates that the market for 

embedded/real-time operating systems 

increased slightly more that 5% from 2010. 

Over the forecast period we expect this market 

segment to grow at a combined annual rate of 

less than 6% per year through 2014. 

OEMs have been affected by the global 

economy where companies have reduced 

staff, yet productivity expectations are 

increasing. The economic uncertainty tends to 

drive lower project costs (hardware 

consolidation, hardware platform choices, free 

tools and software, etc.) and cause project 

delays or cancellations. 

2011 2012 2013 2014 

“The embedded market has suffered extensively 

from the economic downturn over the last year. It is 

common for deals to take much longer to close than 

in years past. Customers are much more careful with 

their money these days.” 


VDC expects that the fast changing pace of 

technology and new functionality demands will 

continue to affect OEM decisions in a 

move to commercially available software 

platforms creating growth opportunities. 




7

About the Team 

For further information about VDC’s Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded Software & Tools 

Market – Track 2: Embedded Software Engineering Technologies, Volume 1: 

Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems report, contact: 

For Pricing Information Contact: 

Mike Collette 

VP, Sales & Enterprise Accounts 

508.653.9000 x112 

info@vdcresearch.com 

VIEW FULL BIO 

Embedded Software & Tools Team 

Chris Rommel 

Vice President 

VIEW FULL BIO 

Steve Balacco 

Director 

VIEW FULL BIO 

Jared Weiner 

Analyst 

VIEW FULL BIO 

André Girard 

Senior Analyst 

VIEW FULL BIO 




8

About VDC Research 

Market Intelligence for Technology Executives. VDC Research Group 

provides market research and advisory services to the world's top technology 

executives. Our clients rely on us to provide actionable insights to support their most 

important strategic decisions. The firm is organized around four practices, each with 

its own focused area of coverage including: automatic identification and data 

collection, embedded hardware, embedded software and enterprise mobility. 

Please visit our website at www.vdcresearch.com to learn more, or call 508.653.9000. 

AutoID & Transaction 

Automation 

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Embedded Hardware 

& Systems 

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Mobile & Wireless 

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Industrial Automation 

& Control 

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Embedded Software 

& Tools 

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Emerging 

Technologies 

ABOUT THE PRACTICE 




9

2012 Notice of © opyright 

The entire contents of Strategic Insights 2012: Embedded Software & Tools Market – Track 2: Embedded 

Software Engineering Technologies, Volume 1: Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems are proprietary to 

VDC Research Group, Inc. (VDC), and may not be distributed in either original or reproduced form to anyone 

outside the client’s internal organization within five (5) years of the report date without prior written permission 

of VDC. 

VDC has devoted its best efforts to obtain for and provide to its clients as accurate data as is possible. 

Nevertheless, we cannot be held responsible for incorrect information provided to us by vendors, users, or 

others that we interview. Nor can we be held responsible for forecasts of the future evolution of an industry, 

which, in retrospect, proves inaccurate. Our goal is to provide the best possible analysis of an industry, 

utilizing data obtained through a time-proven and rigorous research methodology, for our clients to employ 

in developing strategies to compete in an uncertain and ever-changing business environment. 

Trademark Acknowledgement 

Many names of companies, associations, technologies, products and product types, etc. mentioned in this 

report comprise Trademarks, either registered or non-registered, owned by various entities. These are too 

numerous to mention individually. VDC acknowledges that ownership of these Trademarks exist and 

requests that readers acknowledge this as well. 




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Embedded/Real-Time Operating Systems - VDC Research

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