...by ARM and PowerPC chips, and Wind River not only has a long list of potential customers, but also the programming tools that could help them use Atom.
In a May meeting, Doug Davis, general manager of Intel's Embedded and Communications Group, said that embedded computing is a multi-billion-dollar growth opportunity.
"This will let us do it a lot faster if we can get the software expertise along with the Atom processor to hit some of these markets," said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos. "Everything is becoming more computer-like and more internet-savvy. That's the growth we're trying to aim for."
Here, Wind River's customer base will come in handy.
"Any phone call made any time, anywhere to any place crosses our software somewhere along the route," said Wind River's Bruggeman. "If you get on [a] flight today or tomorrow, it's very, very likely the navigation system, landing system, autopilot system...is based on our software. If you're driving a car, our software was used in the car or the robot that produced that car."
No promise of success
Of course, Intel's power and technology doesn't guarantee success in entering new markets. The company largely withdrew from an attempt expand into communications and networking technology, for example, and it sold an embedded computing processor family, XScale, in 2006.
What makes Atom different from XScale is that Atom uses the x86 instruction set found in Intel's core product lines. That means much of the software and software technology from the PC market carries over to embedded computing. Intel hopes to spread x86 from high-end servers to mobile phones, but for the latter category must reckon with chips using ARM's architecture that are built by Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, and others.
Right now, Atom is the challenger to the incumbent ARM and PowerPC chip families in embedded computing, Bruggeman said, and Wind River as a part of Intel won't drop its existing work with those other chip families.
"This move was about creating a software franchise in the embedded and mobile space. If you're going to create a franchise in this space, you have to support multiple architectures," Bruggeman said, noting that Wind River will report not to a hardware executive but to Renee James, general manager of Intel's Software and Services Group.
"Intel's traditional embedded business (based on legacy Pentium processors) already generates more than $1 billion in annual revenues. Further, Intel said it has 300 embedded design wins and 1,500 design engagements with the eight Atom-based embedded SOCs it has under development," wrote FBR Group analysts Berger and Pikover.
But that doesn't guarantee Intel success, they said. Intel's embedded computing strategy is "somewhat of a 'show-me' story given the firm's many largely unsuccessful attempts at growing various chip businesses outside of its core processor and chipset markets."
Adding a serious software portfolio, though, dramatically changes Intel's approach to embedded computing. Not only does Intel get a new revenue stream, new expertise, new customers and new sales and support staff, it also gets an opportunity for much fuller relationships with customers. Selling a company a chip is one thing, but selling them a chip, an operating system and the developer tools to make a product work requires much closer and deeper ties.
Intel is betting on Moore's Law carrying computing to many, many more devices. It's not clear what share of Intel's PC and server dominance will carry over to an embedded computing market that's fragmented among many players and DIY operations. But with Wind River in house, Intel is in a much stronger position to lead a wave of consolidation.
