Evolving Architecture Standards race on

On Wednesday of last week I had the chance to present at the Evolving Architecture Standards Conference in the UK. The event was focused on the ATCA, AMC and MicroTCA standards and gave delegates the chance to learn more about the evolution, capabilities and potential uses of these technologies.

Apart from presentations from representatives of Intel, Motorola, PICMG, Schroff and myself from Wind River, delegates also had the chance to take part in hands-on and tutorials lessons from Intel, Schroff and Wind River. There was also a day long exhibition featuring about 15 companies offering ATCA and MicroTCA related products.

Having spent some time talking to both delegates and exhibitors, there seems to be general agreement that ATCA based products are now emerging from the early adopter stage and gaining widespread support in the marketplace. The transition from innovation to adopted technology has been somewhat longer than some would have expected; maybe two years or more.

However, the consensus of opinion seems to be that MicroTCA will gain wide acceptance within a significantly shorter period of time. It is helped by the fact that the underlying technology (AMC) is well tested and readily available. MicroTCA will also benefit from a wider customer base across differing market sectors as evidenced by the wide range of registrants for last weeks conference who included representatives from industries such as Defense, Scientific research, Networking, Test Equipment and Industrial control.

The event was held at the excellent Williams F1 Conference Centre in Grove near Oxford and, at the end of the day, delegates had a chance to tour the Williams F1 Collection of more than 40 Formula One cars from past and present. If you are a Formula One fan like myself then this is one conference centre where it's definitely worth carrying a camera !