Re: Pricing ...
These messages are actually rather typical compared to the type of fretting I hear among WIND customers.
WIND has been referred to as "the upcoming Microsoft of the Embedded OS World" sometimes not in the best of lights. On occasion I've used, and been amused by, variations of this discription of WIND myself.
If a company needs a COTS (I)RTOS, there is still just a small handful of RTOS vendors to choose from and WIND still enjoys a considerable lead over their competitors.
WIND is quite adept at knowing the pain-thresholds of its customers. WIND has been inflating the prices of the OS/tools each year. Some customers have indicated that they are now seriously considering alternatives, roll-yer-own and pSOS among them.
These alternatives are sometimes the best answer, given the constraints of a particular product. However, time to market, extensibility, portability, reliability, etc... all the good things that WIND is specializing in within a market segment that is destined to grow enormously, bodes well for WIND.
Until a credible competitor forces WIND from their current perch, WIND will be able to afford to lose some of these customers and still continue to cherry-pick the most lucrative and strategic fruit.
Unlike the WINTEL duopoly, embedded systems are a disparate bunch of u-processors. Within such a splintered market segment, the barriers to entry force even INTS to continually burn resources playing catch-up to WIND. Now imagine what it would take for a new kid on the block? On the other hand, this also requires WIND to stay on their toes. As WIND has proven over time, they continually keep the pressure on to maintain their lead.
The more one scratches beneath the surface to understand this market segment, and WIND's position, the more he/she will recognize the significance of WIND's growing dominance.
Cheers,
Ronald |
