Itโ€™s no secret that embedded systems are becoming more complex, but what is not always evident is the growing degree to which they are driving secondary component markets. A recent EE Times set of charts described the growing influence of embedded systems on hard drive consumption, while another EE Times article argued that flash memory was increasingly driving or being driven by embedded designs. Even secondary components like batteries are increasingly being aligned with embedded systems sales, according to a third piece.

Component vendors have always known that the real volume action is in consumer and business devices, but the headline-grabbing wins for a long time have been in the PC markets. This attention has moved to the game consoles and other embedded systems as they have become more like โ€œrealโ€? computers. In fact, the lack of standardization in these devices has made competition for design wins much more intense. This is good news for device developers, who will enjoy better leverage against suppliers. The increased attention from the media is a nice ego-builder that also serves to fan these flames.

Larry Mittag