PICMG frustration motivates European embedded vendors to form new standards consortium

Other

March 01, 2012

Frustrated buy what they say were long standards development processes within PICMG [PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group], leaders of different European embedded computing vendors formed a new standards consortium called the Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies or SGET, which was announced this week at the Embedded World show in Nuremberg, Germany. Founding member companies of SGET include Advantech, congaec, Data Modul, Kontron, MSC, and SECO.

"Our customers were tired of hearing that it takes three to four years to develop a standard through PICMG," said Dirk Finstel, chief technical officer at Kontron during a Kontron press conference this week. "SGET has simplified rules and shorter objection periods," enabling specifications to get passed more quickly.

The new consortium is not locked into just hardware, but will be able to adopt software standards as well, said Norbert Hauser, executive vice president of marketing at Kontron. "Our goal in next 12 months is to get a hundred members initiated and not just from Europe but the U.S. and rest of the world as well," Hauser said.

The SGET concept was formed late last summer when the sponsoring companies sat in a round table discussion and brainstormed about how speed things up for their customers and SGET was born, Hauser said. Less than five months later in January the consortium's purpose was defined, he added. "It all happened very quickly."

Initially the consortium will make inroads in forming standards for small form factors, single-board computers, IO boards, and more, said Carsten Rebmann of Advantech.

For more information, visit www.sget.org.