There is a good, albeit rather general, rule that applies to the management of a successful business: focus on what you do well, then do it better than everyone else. There are numerous examples of how companies have been very successful by following this approach.<\/p>\n
But the world of embedded software is commonly an exception …<\/p>\n
To start with, I can cite some examples of good practice:<\/p>\n
Have you heard of Nokia? Of course you have. It has been a dominant force in the mobile handset market for years. But you may be surprised to hear that it has actually been in business since the mid-19th Century. It made a diverse range of products from rubber boots to gas masks [my Finnish friends will probably correct me on the details]. It was a very well known name in Finland, but hardly heard of elsewhere. Then it focussed on an emerging market and became a household name everywhere.<\/p>\n
What about the car makers like Ford? They have been traditionally very successful [I will draw a veil over the last few years!]. They have done that by focussing on what they do [did] outstandingly well: building cars. They do not make their own paint – they source it from a paint manufacturer, who supply against a clear specification. The same goes for the glass for the windows, the windows themselves, the tires, much of the electronics and even major components like gearboxes.<\/p>\n
Developers of embedded systems are not all bad. Hardware designers are very adept at design reuse – employing off the shelf devices or licensing IP. So why are software developers less keen? Surely they can take a “black box” approach to the use of standard “components” and simply rely upon their specifications. As systems become ever more complex, it makes sense to leave development of specialist technologies – like operating systems<\/a>, protocol stacks<\/a>, graphics<\/a> – in the hands of experts.<\/p>\n Bottom line: concentrate on your core competencies and let others focus on theirs.<\/p>\n