IoT & Embedded Technology Blog




Automating the Manual: AI-driven Requirements Management

by Brendan Bradley | 3/11/2024

While ambitious goals to utilize generative artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the writing of code have gained popularity with recent advancements in AI, engineering functions elsewhere within the software development life cycle (SDLC) may prove to be better suited for near-term deployment of AI. User competency issues and security vulnerabilities remain considerable barriers to widescale use of generative AI coding tools. Learn more

Key IoT & Embedded Takeaways from Intel IFS Direct 2024

by Dan Mandell | 2/24/2024

The first Intel Foundry Direct Connect event took place this week and VDC Research was on hand to learn about the biggest implications to the IoT and embedded market. There were several key announcements made during the event on February 21st including the launch of Intel Foundry – Intel’s System Foundry approach to enable full-stack optimization for the AI era. Bleeding-edge process technologies are typically most focused on datacenter/hyperscalers, HPC, digital models, and enterprise AI applications. Learn more

The Drive to Standardize Automotive Software Updates

by Brendan Bradley | 1/30/2024

With the growth of the software-defined vehicle (SDV) and advancements in electrification across the mobility space, over-the-air (OTA) updates have emerged as the go-to method for both the maintenance and enhancement of in-vehicle software and features. Both innovators such as Tesla and NIO, as well as their legacy counterparts in GM and Honda, have adopted OTA as a way to remotely improve customer satisfaction, delivering new capabilities and features to vehicles as well as carrying out critical functional fixes or security patches to vehicle drivetrains and infotainment systems. Learn more

Proceed with Caution: The Need for Careful Automotive OTA Update Management

by Brendan Bradley | 1/24/2024

Initially adopted within the mobile phone industry and spreading across the consumer electronics market, over-the-air (OTA) updates have emerged as an effective solution to maintaining IoT systems and devices in the field, enabling the remote deployment of feature enhancements and patches to device firmware, software, configuration, and operating system (OS). Learn more

Securing the Road Ahead: Self-Driving Cars & Cybersecurity

By nature, autonomous cars amplify cybersecurity stakes. If hackers compromise a self-driving car’s internal computing network, its safety critical components (brakes, gas, transmission, headlights, etc.) can become exposed. Fully automated fleets will be prime targets for ransomware hacks. In the future, crucial freight and trucking infrastructure will depend on automated systems. Learn more

Overcoming Local Hardware Constraints Via the Cloud

by Brendan Bradley | 11/13/2023

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced numerous complications for embedded projects, resulting in severe delays in production times. Government-mandated lockdowns and similar company policies resulted in many engineering teams suddenly working remotely from home. With no contingency plan in place for such an unprecedented set of circumstances, many distributed teams were left with little to no local access to the physical hardware they required to continue development of their projects. Learn more

Funneling Funds into the Cloud

by Brendan Bradley | 11/9/2023

Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) have focused their sights – and their wallets – on the cloud-native development market, seeking to reap the rewards of the potential for an industry-wide shift among software developers as they transition from traditional local development towards development performed in the cloud. Learn more

Digital Twins Get a Leg Up with Other Technologies

by David Daniels & Dan Mandell | 11/2/2023

Engineering organizations are investing their time and resources looking into a variety of technologies to streamline the product development process while increasing innovation, eliminating waste, reducing costs, maximizing resources, and limiting their carbon footprint. This will allow businesses to gain competitive advantages and win industries. One of those technologies, digital twins, share growing synergies with other technologies, such as generative AI, 3D interface design, Internet of Things (IoT), metaverse, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). Learn more

PTC & Pure-systems: Enabling Efficient Agile Engineering

by Brendan Bradley | 10/5/2023

On October 4th of 2023, PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) announced the acquisition of Germany-based pure-systems, a leading vendor of product line engineering (PLE) tools through its pure::variants solution. PLE solutions provide variant management capabilities to manufacturers, enabling them to efficiently share engineering assets across product families, greatly reducing development time and costs. Learn more

SBOMs & the Shifting IoT Regulatory Landscape

by Joe Abajian | 9/26/2023

Cybersecurity concerns loom over the increasingly targeted healthcare sector and other connected industries. Attacks can cost health networks millions of dollars and compromise patient care. Beyond healthcare, downtime of manufacturing lines, utilities, and other connected infrastructure can be devastating. As a result, law makers, industry participants, and standards organizations and consortia are rapidly shaping IoT’s security future. Learn more

Arm Reinvigorates IPOs, Embedded Market a Pillar of Value

by Dan Mandell | 9/15/2023

Arm (NASDAQ: ARM) launched its IPO on Thursday (September 14th) with an initial price of $51, opened trading at $56.10, and ended the day at $63.59. This translated into a fully diluted valuation of roughly $67.9B while raising nearly $5B for SoftBank, still 90% owner of the company. Arm is the largest company to enter the public markets this year, which has seen a dearth of IPO interest amid economic uncertainty. Learn more

The Cyber Trust Mark: Furthering IoT Security Initiatives

by Brendan Bradley | 8/7/2023

On July 18th, the White House announced the rollout of a new program targeting IoT device security. Under this new initiative proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and expected to go into effect in 2024, IoT device manufacturers will be able to voluntarily enroll in and apply for the “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark”. The program will enable manufacturers to place this stamp of approval on their devices, advertising to consumers the sound security features found within. In order to achieve this certification, manufacturers will need to address basic security concerns that have plagued the IoT. Learn more

LiveWorx 2023: A Cloud-Native Future

by Brendan Bradley | 5/19/2023

During his keynote speech at LiveWorx 2023, PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) CEO Jim Heppelmann emphasized the company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) strategy, laying a roadmap for a widespread cloudification of the company’s portfolio. Learn more

PTC LiveWorx: Unlocking Value Through Service Lifecycle Management

by Paige Ludl | 5/19/2023

This week, PTC hosted its LiveWorx event, a trade show and convention focusing on digital transformation and product lifecycle innovation, in person for the first time in four years. PTC covered a plethora of company-specific and industry-wide topics, including recent acquisitions, product updates, agile product development, the industrial metaverse, and service lifecycle management (SLM). SLM is a crucial aspect of product lifecycle management (PLM) and PTC’s lifecycle management platform strategy, as SLM helps OEMs and service providers maximize service revenue by utilizing a product’s engineering and manufacturing information for service planning and implementation. Learn more

Key Factors Fueling PKI M&A

by Brendan Bradley | 5/8/2023

Public key infrastructure (PKI) has long played a critical role in the security of the Internet. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the exponential growth of systems and devices connecting to the Internet and communicating with each other, a need for unique, comprehensive, and adaptable PKI solutions has been spurring a flurry of M&A activity within the PKI market over the past few years. Learn more