Embedded software execs say outsourcing is the answer

— More than half embedded software (ESW) executives say they outsource or plan to outsource many of their activities, including software testing, maintenance of ESW legacy code, and new ESW development due to a shortage in talent.

This is one of the findings from a survey of 90 executives worldwide and in-depth interviews with industry leaders in the ESW industry sponsored by Accenture and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit in the Spring of 2006.

As a result identifying and contracting with high-quality outsourcing partners is the most serious human-resource management issue that the executives expect to face during the next three years.

Interoperability testing across the value chain is a great challenge facing the industry say the execs but deep collaboration among partners during product planning and development addresses many ESW development challenges. Nearly half (46 percent) of survey respondents say speeding up the time it takes to bring products containing embedded software (ESW) to consumers is the top management challenge with ESW development often chronically behind schedule.

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