SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2001 — Today at the Windows® Embedded Partner Readiness Tour event in San Jose, Calif., Microsoft Corp. highlighted the continued strong demand for Microsoft® Windows Embedded Products. The company announced that fiscal year 2001 revenue growth is up 180 percent, 1,500 new design starts have been established, the number of licenses shipped has tripled, and its total partner base in the Windows Embedded Partner (WEP) program has tripled to more than 1,000 members in 45 countries. Because of this strong market demand and partner growth, Microsoft also announced today it is establishing a new level in its Windows Embedded Partner program, WEP Gold, to identify best-of-breed members with the track record and expertise to deliver solutions using the Windows Embedded Family of products.
“The incredible momentum and success we are experiencing with our Windows Embedded products underscore the rapid change in the embedded marketplace to devices that require rich applications and services, and connectivity between PCs, servers and Web services,”
said Bill Veghte, vice president of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft.
“Because of this strong momentum and interest, we are establishing WEP Gold. The new program will help our OEMs and enterprise customers bring best-of-breed device solutions to market more quickly and cost effectively.”
Strong Market Response to Windows Embedded
Recent data shows Microsoft is seeing continued strong momentum from its operating system platforms and tools in the embedded industry across a broad range of device classes, including mobile handhelds, industrial automation and controls, thin clients, set-top boxes and server appliances, and vertical industries including retail point of sale, telecommunications and manufacturing.
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For fiscal year 2001, Microsoft’s embedded revenues are up 180 percent from the same period the year before, and the number of licenses shipped has tripled.
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For fiscal year 2001, Microsoft experienced more than 1,500 new design starts, spanning a broad range of customers and device designs.
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Since July 24, 2001, when Microsoft announced the availability of the Windows CE 3.0 Shared Source License to foster greater innovation and platform participation, there have been over 17,000 downloads of the Windows CE source code.
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Since the announcement on Aug. 13, 2001, of the beta 2 release of
“Talisker,”
the code name for the next version of Windows CE, customers have downloaded more than 13,000 copies of the
“Talisker”
Emulation Edition. In addition, nearly 1,500 beta 2 kits of
“Talisker”
and Windows XP Embedded have been ordered as part of the Windows Embedded Technology Preview Program, demonstrating strong demand for the next generation of Windows Embedded products. -
In just 12 months, the WEP Program has grown to comprise more than 1,000 silicon vendors, system integrators, independent software vendors, independent hardware vendors and training partners in 45 countries worldwide.
“Microsoft’s Windows Embedded family offers a range of operating systems and tools that provide developers and OEMs with the ability to tailor the technology components they require to build and bring devices to market quickly,”
said Al Gillen, research manager for systems software at International Data Corp.
“IDC’s recent embedded and handheld operating system market analysis shows Microsoft’s embedded business continues to gain market share measured by revenue, indicating growing popularity of its platforms in the development community.”
Windows Embedded Partner Gold Program
Building on the success of the WEP program, which has more than tripled its membership in the last 12 months, WEP Gold was created to enable customers to more easily identify companies that have demonstrated excellence in building and enabling Windows Powered solutions. WEP Gold membership identifies best-of-breed system integrators, silicon vendors, independent software vendors, independent hardware vendors and training companies around the world. (WEP Gold members are listed in the appendix of this release.) Customers can find more information on the WEP Gold program and its members at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ .
About the Microsoft Windows Embedded Family
The Microsoft Windows Embedded operating systems and tools provide comprehensive software platforms for building the next generation of intelligent, 32-bit connected Windows Powered devices that demand rich applications and Internet services for a wide range of flexible solutions. In addition, Microsoft offers a wide range of programs and services designed to meet the specific needs of Windows Embedded customers, industry partners and developers. Current shipping Windows Embedded operating systems include Windows CE 3.0 and Windows NT® Embedded 4.0. Next-generation Windows Embedded platforms currently in development include
“Talisker,”
the code name for the next generation of the Windows CE operating system; Windows XP Embedded, the componentized version of the Windows XP operating system; and Windows .NET Embedded Server, the componentized version of the next-generation Windows .NET Server platform.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
Microsoft WEP Gold Members
Systems Integrator Category
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3Soft Gmbh
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Accelent Systems Inc.
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Advantech Co. Ltd.
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BSQUARE Corp.
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DST Corp.
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Erim SA
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Hitachi USLI Systems Co. Ltd.
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Intrinsyc Software Inc.
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NMI Electronics Ltd.
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SitecSoft Co. Ltd.
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SYNNEX Technology International Corp.
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TecAce Solutions Inc.
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VenturCom Inc.
Independent Software Vendor Category
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BSQUARE Corp.
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General Software
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Gismosoft Corp. Intrinsyc Software Inc.
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Mettler & Fuchs AG
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NMI Electronics Ltd.
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SitecSoft Co. Ltd.
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TecAce Software Ltd.
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VenturCom Inc.
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winlinx
Silicon Vendor Category
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ARM Ltd.
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Hitachi Ltd.
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Intel Corp.
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MIPS Technologies Inc.
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National Semiconductor Corp.
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NEC Corp.
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Texas Instruments Inc.
Independent Hardware Vendor Category
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Accelent Systems Inc.
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Advantech Co. Ltd.
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Arcom Control Systems Inc.
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BSQUARE Corp.
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Cocom Group Inc.
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Cogent Computer Systems Inc.
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Intrinsyc Software Inc.
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Keith & Koep GmbH
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Komatsu Ltd.
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NMI Electronics Ltd.
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U-Blox AG
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Seiko EPSON Corp.
