ARM Announces Free Embedded OS Called MBED

ARM Holdings Inc., the company behind 99 percent of the world’s mobile chips, is pushing up the competitive food chain with a free operating system for embedded processors that aims to solidify its grip on the burgeoning connected universe and open a lucrative new revenue stream in the process. The pivot comes as arch-rival Intel Corp., which holds the same dominant position in the server market, moves to strengthen its own software capabilities to address evolving enterprise requirements.

ARM is positioning the newly revealed “mbed” platform as a common management layer for its Cortex-M family of microcontrollers, which includes 32 designs ranging from the barely-visible M0 to the powerful M7. Introduced just two weeks ago, the chip is geared towards smart cars and other sophisticated innovations at the top end of the new device categories emerging today that require significant processing power but suffer from similar space and energy constraints as products further down the computational hierarchy.

The purpose of mbed is to provide a standardized set capabilities for controlling and securing the full gamut of devices running on Cortex-M processors, from the tiniest of sensors to the most advanced smart cars. With three billion units shipped by manufacturing partners in 2013 alone, the series powers the majority of new-generation connected devices hitting the market, putting ARM in a unique position to deliver the interoperability that industry bodies like the UK’s HyperCat argue is essential for the continued growth of the Internet of Things.

But while that is consideration certainly a key driver behind mbed, ARM’s vision for standardization differs from that of the consortium (of which it happens to be a member) in that it doesn’t involve the competition. The operating system is meant to secure the British chip designer enough control over its fast expanding ecosystem – which constitutes a large and growing portion of the connected universe – to squeeze rivals out of the market.

After all, if Cortex-M continues along its current growth trajectory and mbeds gains enough traction, then the bulk of tomorrow’s devices will run on the operating system; especially in the likelihood that ARM decides to add support for its wildly popular mobile processors. If that success materializes, competitors like Intel will find themselves trying to sell chips that don’t fit into the overall management paradigm of the connected universe, which would significantly tilt the odds in favor of the British firm – perhaps even enough to give it a shot at the server market.

ARM has an incredibly long way towards realizing that ambition, but it’s already starting to prepare for the day when it might rule the Internet of Things. The company announced mbed in conjunction with a commercial software product that offers to help organizations manage their Cortex-M devices and make the data coming in from those end-points available for existing systems. ARM is venturing far beyond its traditional comfort zone, but the gambit has the potential to pay off in a big way.

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