WindowsForDevices: Report Says Embedding Windows Costs Less than Embedding Linux

“Embedded development projects based on Microsoft’s ‘Windows
Embedded’ operating system platforms (specifically, Windows CE .NET
and Windows XP Embedded) are completed 43% faster and at 68% lower
cost, on average, compared with similar projects using Embedded
Linux, according to a report released today by market research firm
Embedded Market Forecasters.

“The study, titled Total Cost of Development: A
comprehensive cost estimation framework for evaluating embedded
development platforms, derives its quantitative conclusions
from a cost-based framework for comparing embedded operating system
development alternatives that was developed by the report’s author,
Dr. Jerry Krasner. ‘The ‘Total Cost of Development’ framework helps
embedded device manufacturers assess and estimate software costs to
enhance design results and minimize financial risk,’ said
Krasner.

“The report includes data from a survey of 100 manufacturers
using 32-bit processors in a range of embedded projects and
applications–50 using various implementations of embedded Linux,
and 50 using Microsoft’s Windows Embedded platforms (Windows CE
.NET and Windows XP Embedded). The devices and applications
included in the source data reportedly covered consumer
electronics, handheld computers, industrial controllers, network
gateways, point-of-sale kiosks, set-top boxes, thin clients, and
others. The report estimates ‘total cost of development’ for each
project by multiplying the average embedded design project
time-to-market by the software engineering team size and
cost…”

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