Compete Corner

Posted By Mark Pendergrast
Senior Product Manager

Let’s face reality. For our customers and partners, every day comes with lots of choices – from deciding on which component to use for their motherboard, to what application to build/deploy, to which markets and opportunities to pursue to build their business. It’s no different in picking which operating system to use for their specialized device. There’s a rich selection of alternatives from which to pick, including many flavors of Linux, Google’s Android, and of course our broad set of options in the Windows Embedded family. However, like many things in business, this preponderance of choice offers both opportunities and also challenges for the market. On the one hand, it gives customers and partners many options from which to pick and choose for their specific needs, but it can also be overwhelming. Making a poor choice could add cost, delays, and complications that hadn’t been anticipated.

It’s in this light that I hope to provide some value from The Compete Corner here on the Windows Embedded blog. As the compete lead for the organization, my role is to ensure that our customers, partners and internal teams have the full and accurate picture on the value of the Windows Embedded solutions and help them make good decisions with Windows Embedded as their OS choice. And of course all of this in interest of spurring healthy competition.

So as an introductory topic to cover for this blog, just what is our overall value proposition for Windows Embedded? How do we stand out in this rich market of choice? And why should you care? At a high level, our differentiating value revolves around 4 key pillars, specifically:

• Domain Expertise > Windows Embedded offers a variety of solutions tailor made for specific vertical applications, such as the Windows Embedded POSReady for retail and Windows Embedded Automotive for in-car infotainment. With over 15 years experience providing operating system solutions for specialized devices, the extended Windows Embedded organization understands and meets the unique requirements of this dynamic market with vertical specific solutions. That’s why we exist. We’re focused exclusively on your needs.
• Sales , Service & Support > A good example of our commitment to the intelligent systems market is reflected in our sales and support policies. Unlike many competitors, we stand behind our products over the long haul – providing 10 year product lifecycle support and we aren’t just focused on the latest release. Furthermore, from a sales perspective, our pay-as-you-go licensing model is directly tied to manufacturers’ success, and not arbitrary and possibly expensive annual service contracts.
• Enterprise Ready > Microsoft’s strong track record in the enterprise carries over to the intelligent systems market as well, with our product solutions meeting key big business needs including security, access control, management and of course connectivity to back end Windows Server infrastructure. Support for Active Directory, Domain Join, Group Policy and IPv6 are proof points for this.
• Rich Ecosystem > A final, but no less important component of our competitive value proposition is the rich support of the extensive Windows Embedded ecosystem. From system integrators to design houses, from distributors to software developers, the Windows Embedded Partner Program provides strategic, technical and business assistance for customers in the intelligent systems market. Where there’s a need, there’s a resource available to help.

On future posts from the Compete Corner, look for me to dig deeper into these topics and additional ways our solutions can provide value. In the meantime, let us know what you think about Windows Embedded’s competitive positioning. We’d love to hear from you.