by [follow-up set]
Apparently it would be difficult for Linux to top the list as it is by
revenue. Perhaps WRS should charge unreal royalties like CE... At
least it is proof that Microsoft know how to make money.
fwiw,
Bill Pringlemeir.
"http://www.embedded.com/story/OEG20030321S0033"
Microsoft, Wind River lead in embedded OS sales
By Charles J. Murray
EE Times (03/21/03, 04:01:31 PM EDT)
PARK RIDGE, Ill. A new study places Microsoft Corp. (Redmond, Wash.)
at the head of the pack in revenues earned from the sale of embedded
operating systems and bundled software in 2002, with perennial market
leader Wind River Systems, Inc., dropping to the second spot.
The authors of the study added, however, that Wind River continues to
hold "a commanding market leadership position" in the specific area of
real-time operating systems, which it has long dominated.
The study , compiled by Venture Development Corp. (VDC, Natick, Mass.)
reflects revenues earned from the sale of real-time and non-real-time
embedded operating systems. Because it includes non-real-time
operating systems, the list of revenue earners includes such companies
as Palm, Inc. and Symbian, Ltd., which sell operating systems for
personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile handsets.
VDC analysts said they broadened the scope of the new study because
the embedded market is changing so rapidly. "Five years ago, there was
a much smaller circle of companies supplying embedded operating
systems," said Stephen Balacco, VDC's embedded software analyst and an
author of the study. "But many of the [embedded] devices that are
being built today don't necessarily have hard real-time requirements."
Hard real-time operating systems, which are characterized by
deterministic, low-latency performance, have traditionally made up the
bulk of the embedded systems market. Such systems have typically been
used in aerospace, military, industrial automation, telecommunications
and automotive applications, as well as in other safety-critical
applications that require fast response times.
In contrast, non-real-time operating systems are increasingly being
used in consumer applications like set-top boxes, mobile phones, web
pads and PDAs.
Wind River, which has traditionally dominated the embedded OS market,
emphasized last week that it has not lost its status as the biggest
player in the real-time embedded segment. "The inclusion of revenue
from the handheld market changes the picture," said Anders Kamperin,
marketing manager for Wind River Systems. "If you looked at the
embedded market five years ago, you wouldn't have seen Palm or Symbian
near the top."
The study placed Symbian in third and Palm in fourth in the revenue list.
Worldwide Shipments of Embedded OS's, Bundled Products, and Related
Services, segmented by Leading Vendors for 2002.
1. Microsoft
2. Wind River Systems
3. Symbian
4. Palm
5. QNX
6. Enea Data
7. Green Hills Software
8. LynuxWorks
9. MontaVista Software
10. Accelerated Technology
(Mentor Graphics)
Balacco said, however, that the study's results show how far Microsoft
has come since its embedded reorganization in May 2000. "When they
created a platform group for embedded appliances, they sent a signal
to the industry that they were establishing a long-term commitment to
embedded," he said. "This study shows the results of that commitment."
Wind River, meanwhile, has been affected by the downturn in the
telecommunications market, which Balacco said once made up almost 60
percent of the company's business. "There's no doubt that Wind River
has felt the effects of the telecom slowdown," Balacco said.
In the past three years, Wind River's revenues have slipped from $438
million to $351 million to $249 million, a Wind River spokesperson
said. Balacco said VDC's study, titled "Embedded/Real-Time Operating
Systems and Toolkits," proves that embedded suppliers need to be
flexible if they want to meet changing market needs. "There's pressure
on vendors to continue to examine and modify their business models,"
Balacco said. "They need to be able to adapt to new market forces."
--
Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other eight are
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