MontaVista is among several companies betting that money can be extracted from the embedded OS market using Linux, a clone of Unix used chiefly in servers. Linux, unlike proprietary Windows and Unix, may be freely changed or distributed by anyone and is developed in the open by volunteers and several companies. The best-known Linux company--and the first to go public--is Red Hat, which launched its embedded push through its acquisition of Cygnus Solutions in 1999. Cygnus sold services and programming tools key to cracking the embedded market and enjoyed relationships with several chipmakers. Red Hat's priority is chiefly on Linux for servers, though, especially as chip company spending cuts have hurt its embedded effort. Lineo, though, was the first to try to enter the embedded Linux market. Its early aggressive growth, with several acquisitions, has been followed by a withdrawn initial public offering and layoffs. Other embedded Linux contenders include LynuxWorks, Coollogic, Finite State Machine Labs, TimeSys and Applied Data Systems. But MontaVista, with 155 employees at six locations worldwide, has established a solid presence. "We're becoming one of the larger embedded operating-system companies at this point," Ready said. "The big kahuna is Wind River. Most of our focus is how we blast away at Wind River." The company has two main markets: consumer electronics, especially set-top boxes, and telecommunications networking gear. It's shying away from handheld computers, a market where Microsoft has some influence. "The closer you get to Microsoft, the more dangerous things get," Ready said. About a year ago, MontaVista projected it would need $20m in third-round funding to carry it to an initial public offering. The company actually raised $28m, bringing its total funding to $60m, most of which hasn't yet been spent, Ready said. The company's software was used in more than 250 new designs in 2001, said Sheila Baker, MontaVista's vice president of marketing. The deals earned the company from $10,000 to more than $1m each. Customers include Ericsson, Sony, IBM Microelectronics and Nokia. IBM hired the company to bring Linux to its PowerPC chips and their cousins for network equipment. Nokia is using MontaVista software on networking equipment for carrying both voice and data traffic using the Internet's communication standard. MontaVista once called its flagship product Hard Hat Linux, but decided to drop the Red Hat-like name in an effort to simplify branding. The name change will begin with version 2.1, which is expected the week of 28 February, Baker said. MontaVista Linux and its accompanying packages work on six major chip designs--those from MIPS and ARM Holdings, which are licensed widely to other companies; Hitachi's SuperHitachi; Intel's x86 and StrongArm/XScale; and IBM and Motorola's PowerPC. The company makes its money by selling development tools and several accompanying software products that often bring in royalties. MontaVista also offers professional services and training. Some people have speculated that the heart of Linux, called the kernel, will split into two versions, one for servers and one for embedded systems. Ready, though, doesn't see any reason for such a move. "We have not seen any particular reason whatsoever to not be hand in hand with kernel.org (where the Linux kernel is available for download) and the core Linux developers," Ready said. And efforts to make Linux work better on big multiprocessor servers turns out to benefit MontaVista's needs for quick-response embedded systems.
For all your GNU/Linux and open source news, from the latest kernel releases to the newest distributions, see ZDNet UK's Linux Lounge.
Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Linux forum.
Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.
