Windows CE-based Device Life Cycle Cost When you choose Windows CE, you achieve low device life cycle costs by effectively meeting increasingly rapid time-to-market objectives, while managing predictable device life cycle development, support, and maintenance costs. In July 2003, a third-party research firm, Embedded Market Forecasters (EMF), published Total Cost of Development: A Comprehensive Cost Estimation Framework for Evaluating Embedded Development Platforms. The report is the first study of its kind in the embedded industry to compare the total cost of development on different embedded operating system platforms. The report, commissioned by Microsoft, analyzed the results of a development experience survey of device manufacturers using Windows CE and embedded Linux.
According to the EMF model, the total cost of software development for any embedded device design can be considered as the sum of three separate costs: total fixed development costs, associated costs, and runtime costs. Table A below provides a description of each cost component.
Table A – Factors That Influence Total Cost of Development
Total Development Costs
Fixed costs that are associated with developing a product from design start to product shipment as a function of three variables: time-to-market, software engineering team size, and software engineering team cost. | .gif) | Associated Costs
Variable fixed costs that are associated with the tool chain, support, and maintenance costs for a design. Whether during development or after product shipment, these costs vary depending on development team size or vendor terms. | Runtime License Costs
True variable costs that are directly associated with the shipment of every device for the operating system and any other separately licensed software components. |
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Considered as a whole, these costs describe the software-related device life cycle cost of an embedded design. By incorporating these factors from the market data that is summarized below, you can gauge and compare the expected software-related costs that are associated with the selection of an embedded operating system for a particular project, product lifecycle, and volume expectation. |
The EMF study measured total development costs by multiplying the average number of development months that were required to finish the project by the average monthly cost of each software engineer. Developer months were calculated by multiplying the software development team size by the length of the project in months. As shown below in Table B from the EMF study, Windows CE designs required an average of 68 developer months, which translated to a total cost of development averaging $510,000 per project. In the same study, embedded Linux designs required an average of 203 developer months, which translated to a total cost of development averaging $1,888,000 per project. | Table B – EMF Total Cost of Development Data
| Total Cost of Development Factors | Windows CE | Embedded Linux | Windows CE Advantage | | Time-to-market (months)* | 8.2 | 14.3 | 43% | | Software engineers for each project (number) | 8.3 | 14.2 | 42% | | Developer months | 68.1 | 203.1 | 66% | | Cost per developer per month** | $7,500 US | $9,300 US | 19% | | Total cost of development*** | $510,000 US | $1,888,000 US | 73% |
Source: Krasner PhD, Jerry. Total Cost of Development: A comprehensive cost estimation framework for evaluating embedded development platforms. Embedded Market Forecasters, July 2003.
* Time-to-market duration of time between when software development for the device design began and when the embedded device was released to manufacturing
** Based on averages for device manufacturers who are located in North America and includes overhead for employment.
*** Total cost of development = time-to-market * cost / developer months
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Analysis of interviews of respondents who develop similarly complex designs indicated that, relative to embedded Linux, Windows CE enabled more rapid time-to-market with smaller development teams due to the following: the ability to build an image by component addition; rapid prototyping through emulation; a parallel, rather than serial, development process; and the benefits of using a single, GUI-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with more familiar and powerful application development tools. Industry recruiters attributed the gap in compensation to the greater availability and familiarity with Windows CE and its Win32 API set, compared to the smaller developer set that is familiar with embedded Linux. Note that pay rates vary across the globe, and the compensation data in this report is specific only to North America. |
As defined by the EMF model, associated costs are partially fixed and partially variable costs, and they fluctuate significantly between projects and vendors. Associated costs include development tool, support, and maintenance costs. Table C below summarizes findings from the EMF survey, which gathered pricing data on the wide range of support and maintenance terms that are offered by a variety of embedded Linux distributors. | Table C – Associated Costs
| Associated Costs | Windows CE | Embedded Linux Average | | Tools | $995 US per copy per developer (unlimited number of projects) | $3,899 US per copy per developer per year | | Operating system and tool maintenance* | No cost* for 5 years | $2,000 US per developer per year | | Support** | $99 US per incident (Web)
$245 US per incident (phone) | $1,000 US per developer per year | | | | Total associated costs ¥ | $6,660 US | $56,697 US |
Source: Krasner PhD, Jerry. Total Cost of Development: A comprehensive cost estimation framework for evaluating embedded development platforms. Embedded Market Forecasters, July 2003.
* Windows CE maintenance is subject to other restrictions. The maintenance period is based on the product release schedule and can be extended to at least 10 years with a fee. Embedded Linux prices ranged from $750 US to $10,000 US per developer per year.
** Windows CE tools include two free support incidents. Embedded Linux support fees ranged from $500 US to $2,500 US per developer per year.
¥ Total associated costs is based on a sample project involving three developers, five year device lifecycles, and three phone-based support calls per year. Embedded Linux distributors who use a subscription based model that bundles tools, support, and maintenance costs together yield a five year cost averaging over $250,000 US. |
Windows CE includes a rich set of applications and technologies that are often not included with other embedded operating systems: media player, Web browser, remote desktop (RDP) client, desktop synchronization, voice-over-IP (VoIP) application interface layer, device management client, digital rights management, MP3 decoder, MPEG-4 decoder, Windows Media Audio and Video 9 Series encoders and decoders, real-time kernel, Windows Error Reporting, 3D rendering, a wide variety of networking protocols, and many others. You can license all, or a subset, of these features through one of three SKUs. Windows CE offers three types of run-time licenses that provide increasing levels of functionality: - Windows CE 5.0 Core: Includes almost all of the Windows CE operating system and networking stack.
- Windows CE 5.0 Professional: Includes all of the Windows CE core features, as well as a wide range of additional applications and technologies.
- Windows CE 5.0 Professional Plus. Includes all of the above, as well as a range of file viewers.
If you use other embedded operating systems, you must often purchase each of these applications and technologies separately from a variety of vendors. Each additional application or technology increases run-time licensing costs well beyond that of the base operating system and also compounds vendor management costs. Vendor management costs vary by company, but they can cost anywhere from $10 to $50,000 US per vendor per year. |
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