RTC Magazine

RTC: By and large, the embedded computer business has been going gangbusters over the past two or three years with compound growth in the communications, commercial, medical, security and industrial sectors growing at better than double-digit rates. Only certain areas of the military have seen programs delayed and business flat if not down. Here at RTC, we happen to be bullish about the industry and believe that the industry will continue to enjoy this kind of growth. Do you believe the industry is going to keep going in the right direction? What market segments do you envision growing at the fastest rate? Why?

Milrod: At BittWare, we’ve also experienced tremendous growth the last few years. But unfortunately, I predict that the overall rate of growth for the COTS board market will slow considerably in 2007, and maybe even through 2008.

My belief is based on the turmoil in the industry regarding next-gen systems standards. Without a clear successor to VME or CompactPCI, I think many COTS customers have adopted a wait and see approach—I know I would in their shoes.

Until one system architecture or spec emerges with the critical mass to attract multiple vendors, healthy competition and longevity, why bet the farm on any of these “better mouse traps?” Of course, most customers will continue to play with new systems concepts and technologies in their R&D labs; but they will be, and should be, very tentative with respect to actually developing new systems and/or products.

Countering this negative development is the fact that “the show must go on.” For many customers, this means continuing to buy and build the older VME, CompactPCI, or PCI based systems. This scenario should provide board vendors with some safe, decent margin continuing business from established design-wins. Other customers, such as the Military and commercial communications, need to get new technologies deployed whether or not the standards are safe. These early adopters might provide significant rewards to board vendors who have taken great risks and find themselves in the right place at the right time with the right stuff, but the success may still be short-lived if a different standard emerges victorious in the long run.

Ultimately, either of these scenarios means that we should see some really serious catch-up growth once one or two standards cross the chasm, enabling customers to safely release their pent-up demand for next-gen systems. Until then, I think both vendors and customers will have to proceed cautiously.

RTC: I noticed that your product listing includes AMC cards. Does BittWare see a current market in this area or do you believe that market is still out in the future? How far? Have you been seeing AMC applications outside of the communications sector? Where?

Milrod: Well, I never said I was very good at taking my own advice! Seriously though, this is a great example of BittWare proceeding with caution—while still attempting to lead. Thanks to some large lead customers who really wanted our high-end signal processing solutions on AMC, we’ve been able to blaze new trails without taking undue financial risks. As a result, I think we’ve been able to have our cake and eat it too. Without compromising our core competencies, customers, or existing design-wins, we’ve still been able to invest in some new, high-risk technology, and have given ourselves a chance to be in the right place at the right time with the right stuff.

As an AdvancedTCA module, AdvancedMC is not very compelling; but as a new, independent form-factor for use in MicroTCA systems, I’m thrilled with this format and excited about its potential. I strongly believe that switched fabric-based, small form-factor boards are the future of the COTS board market, and right now AMC in MicroTCA is the only game in town. We’ve done well with this format, and are forecasting significant growth for 2007. While it’s true that the bulk of our current AMC customers are commercial communications, we are seeing a lot of interest from the military and industrial markets as well.