TOKYO, Nov. 17, 2004 — MontaVista Software Inc. today announced that NEC System Technologies, Ltd.; Toshiba Information Systems (Japan) Corporation; and ELT, Inc. will resell MontaVista® Linux® in Japan. These established resellers will distribute MontaVista Linux products, including the company’s embedded operating system (OS) platforms, along with front-line technical support, and other services. In addition, they will offer their own highly reliable and flexible products and services to companies that require comprehensive solutions with integrated middleware and software applications.
“MontaVista currently serves customers in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and India, as well as in Europe and the U.S., and we continue to expand our presence to address increasing worldwide demand for our embedded Linux products,†said Hitoshi Arima, Vice President, Japan, MontaVista Software, Inc. “By collaborating with NEC System Technologies, Toshiba Information Systems, and ELT, MontaVista will be able to better serve software developers in Japan and expand the range of competitive products and services it can offer to its customers.â€
The embedded market in Japan has been growing rapidly along with increasingly stringent development requirements for high performance, rich functionality, expanded applications support, and network-ready capabilities. Japanese manufacturers are seeking to develop new complex systems and products, faster and at reduced costs. Since MontaVista Japan KK was founded in 2000, embedded Linux has been gaining popularity in Asia Pacific. In 2003, the Fuji-Keizai Group, a leading provider of market and industry information, reported that MontaVista Linux garnered almost half (46.3%) of embedded Linux projects in Japan while MontaVista Software represented almost two-thirds (63.4%) of the embedded Linux market revenues in Japan. Now, the company has decided to collaborate with these three established resellers, and to leverage their broader presence in Japan to expand MontaVista’s channel capacity and take advantage of recent market trends.
“As the development of embedded devices becomes more complex, customers are seeking products and integration from companies with a proven record and the advanced technologies to build high quality products. Toshiba has a reputation for providing comprehensive support for the development of embedded devices. Our experience incorporates application development, operating system design, middleware, hardware, and software porting, “ said Mr. Hiroshi Kiyuna, General Manager of Embedded Systems Sales Division, Toshiba Information Systems (Japan) Corporation. “Together with MontaVista, we will offer high quality and efficient integration for customers who require a wide range of applications with advanced functionalities. In addition, Toshiba now distributes the most advanced graphical solution for embedded systems, Qt/Embedded; a product that is also supported on MontaVista Linux.â€
“Adopting Linux in embedded devices, which are increasingly in demand today due to the arrival of ubiquitous-network society, will enable us to respond better to the demand for devices with more variety as well as higher performance,†said Kiyoshi Ikeda, General Manager, Servers Software Division in the Platform Operations Unit of NEC System Technologies. “NEC System Technologies has developed rich technological capabilities and skills on Linux through active utilization of Open Source software in the field of enterprise systems. In this recent collaboration, we will take full advantage of our experience to provide a wide spectrum of Monta Vista Linux-based solutions, thereby enhancing and expanding business in the embedded market.â€
“We have been a strategic partner of MontaVista Software and its Japan subsidiary since its founding, and we are very pleased that our partnership is now even further extended,†said Mr. Hide Sakamoto, CEO and President of ELT. “We are proud of our No.1 position in the industry in Japan for MontaVista Linux based system integration, having more than 100 systems deployed. Our offerings, which include an embedded Linux development environment, and a wide range of middleware supported on MontaVista Linux, gives us a significant advantage. As a MontaVista Software sales channel, we will continue to offer high quality services to our customers.â€
About MontaVista Software
MontaVista Software provides an Open Source platform, allowing system designers to innovate across a wide range of inter-connected intelligent devices and communications infrastructure. MontaVista enables software developers with a commercial-grade Linux-based operating system. MontaVista Linux is a universal development platform that helps customers differentiate their products and get them to market faster at lower overall development costs. MontaVista Linux is the preferred choice of some of the world’s largest corporations.
Founded in 1999, by real-time operating system pioneer James Ready, and headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Sunnyvale, Calif., MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading venture capital firms and strategic corporate investors. For more information about MontaVista Software, please visit http://www.mvista.com.
About ELT, Inc.
ELT was founded in May 2001 as a total solution supplier for embedded Linux. ELT is offering an integrated development environment, hardware debugging environment, application development platform that embedded Linux users require, system integration services for embedded Linux application appliances, and technical training such as for Linux/GPL. ELT collaborate with embedded Linux providers and semiconductor manufacturers. ELT is also positively taking part in the consortiums for embedded Linux including Japan Embedded Linux Consortium, and deploys a wide range of activities to promote embedded Linux while offering relevant product, technologies, and services. For more details about ELT, please visit www.emblit.co.jp (Japanese only)
About Toshiba Information Systems (Japan) Corporation
Since its establishment in 1962, Toshiba Information Systems (Japan) Corporation has always fully utilized state-of-the-art technology in the information industry. As a leading company in the information service area, it has used this technology to meet a variety of computerization needs from companies and society as a whole. Now, Toshiba Information Systems is committed to the challenges of the accelerated pace of change in the information technology, determined to be a reliable integrated IT solution partner for its customers. For more details about Toshiba Information Systems, please visit www.tjsys.co.jp/english/index_e.htm.
About NEC System Technologies, Ltd.
Aspiring to become a “System Technology innovator†who will build the foundation of our IT society. With the imminent arrival of a full-fledged ubiquitous network society and the ongoing fusion of IT and networks, efforts toward the development of new technology and commercialization are accelerating. As a System Technology Innovator pursuing advanced IT, NEC System Technologies, Ltd. focuses on developing platform software for supporting a ubiquitous network society and providing a total solution which takes advantage of our platform technologies. We are constantly pursuing advanced technologies in the areas of IT platform development and system integration services and are striving to generate synergy to provide solutions that will satisfy our customers. Through the creation of new values, we will contribute to the realization of a prosperous ubiquitous network society.
NEC Systems Technologies, Ltd. was established in April 1977. With more than 3600 employees worldwide, for more information visit at http://www.necst.co.jp/english
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista is a registered trademark of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Contacts:
Joe Samagond
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
MontaVista Software Inc.
Phone: (408) 328-9234
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com
Patricia Colby
PR Strategy and Business Development
Pacifico Inc.
Phone: (408) 293-8600 ext. 340
E-mail: pcolby@pacifico.com”
