The organizers of the 2011 embedded world Exhibition & Conference (March 1-4, Nuremberg, Germany) enjoyed a highly successful event, having hosted more than 19,000 attendees (up 4% year-over-year) and more than 800 international exhibitors (up 10%).
While both the number of attendees and exhibitors increased over 2010, so too did the industry-wide "business sentiment index". Certainly, among the dozens of business executives with whom we met at the event, overwhelmingly favorable comments were received during virtually all briefings regarding the global economic outlook for 2011 and 2012, particularly for the embedded ecosystem.
For instance, leading embedded supplier Kontron announced (1) a number of new relationship initiatives, (2) several new product introductions, (3) and estimated fiscal 2011 revenue growth of approximately 10%, reaching 540 Mio. Eur (or nearly $750 million at today's currency exchange rates).
As for ecosystem relationships, Kontron announced a cooperative arrangement with Softing Industrial Automation AG, a maker of hardware and software products for industrial automation and automotive electronics. The product integration arrangement allows Kontron to provide more quickly to its OEM customers application-ready design capability.
Kontron also announced it was named a Microsoft Windows Embedded Gold Partner, providing Kontron with faster access to future software versions, including product integration, platform validation, and migration solutions.
Kontron's multiple product announcements included a 6U CompactPCI processor board, CP6003-SA, based on the second generation Intel Core i5/i7 mobile processor technology. Sample units are now available and full production is scheduled for Q3 2011.
A second product announcement focused on the VPX ecosystem, as Kontron announced its 3U CPU board, VX3035, based on the second generation Intel Core i7 processor.
While there were over 800 exhibitors showcasing new embedded hardware products, software, and services, in VDC's view, Kontron is one vendor that remains steadfastly focused on its core competencies of standards-based development of innovative embedded solutions targeting a variety of industries.
If you attended the embedded world event last week and would like to comment further on the embedded markets, or if you would like to engage in a deeper conversation about emerging embedded platforms, please let us know.