 Embedded Linux ConsortiumCompany Description:Our Vision...The Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) is a nonprofit, vendor-neutral trade association whose goal is the advancement, promotion and standardization of Linux throughout the embedded, applied and appliance computing markets. Members contribute dues and participate in management, promotion, implementation and platform specification working group (WG) efforts, in return for a growing market opportunity for all. The Mission... ...to make Linux a top operating system choice for developers designing embedded systems. The Value Propositions of ELC Membership... Founded to pursue promotion of Linux for embedded applications, the Embedded Linux Consortium is also standardizing an open, unified platform specification ("ELCPS"). The standards mission culminates more than a year of debate and negotiation by a dedicated Board of Directors acting on behalf of members. Why is the ELC adding standards development to the strategy? What can members expect to gain? Here are the leading responses of directors, officers and attendees from our ESC2002 San Francisco technical meeting: Membership at this moment in history is important because Linux is poised to earn the title of operating system market share leader for embedded applications. No one company can get us there. But a proactive consortium with energetic members can do the job through solidarity. An open, unified operating system environment will enrich the value chain, leading quickly to more development tools, middleware, applications and services. Products and services will become more affordable and more consumer-centric. Profitability will rise as consumers discover the benefits. Support costs for members will drop through the unifying mechanism of the platform, helping to generate early profits and sustain durable business policies. Members who support the Platform Specification will be the early adopters, earning due credit, image and reputation by being at the forefront of the creation and promotion effort. The ELC initiative gives both voice and volume to the overall membership, accelerating the destiny of Linux for embedded applications. ELC membership enables companies and individuals to join industry leaders in promoting and gaining traction with an important, open, multi-vendor platform alternative to proprietary environments (closed solutions limit freedom of action in meeting critical market needs). Members can submit their own solutions and seek ratification and adoption as a component of the standard. This is an important validation mechanism that helps engineering excellence seek its destiny on a level, fair playing field. The cost of ELC membership is less than the cost of starting a second embedded Linux project on a platform different than the first. The ELC is creating standards that will propel the middleware market for embedded Linux. If you produce or consumes middleware, the cost of membership will pay back dividends through earlier availability of timesaving or revenue-producing middleware. There are over 200 distributions of Linux, but only one ELC. By bringing leading companies together, the ELC’s single unified platform specification will eliminate market noise and confusion. Membership enables cost-effective cooperation with like minded companies in a focused environment. The ELC is poised to help achieve an historic watershed that has eluded the embedded computing industry since its inception more than three decades ago. An open, unified platform standard free from proprietary control is the objective. Membership constitutes the critical mass to make this possible. Support for the ELC’s missions will add stability and long life to the Linux operating system in embedded applications. Nothing will silence our critics faster, thus opening new business opportunities where fear, uncertainty and doubt kept us out before. Worldwide Headquarters:
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