IBM Launches New Embedded Systems Lifecycle Management Initiative to Help OEM's and Suppliers Stay in the Driver's Seat as Electronics Content in Vehicles Increases

ESLM helps OEMs, Suppliers, Heavy Truck and Equipment Manufacturers to Produce Higher-Quality Vehicles, Faster and at Lower Costs

ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 19 -- IBM today launched its new Embedded Systems Lifecycle Management (ESLM) business initiative, which is designed to help the auto industry better manage spiralling complexities associated with increasing electronics and software technology in vehicles. ESLM delivers a cohesive and comprehensive set of business and engineering consulting services, development and integration services, architectural frameworks and engineering tools for the entire vehicle system and software lifecycle. The move further positions IBM as a leader in helping automotive OEMs and suppliers improve their bottom lines and increase their competitive advantages.

The acceleration of technology in IT enablement and in-vehicle systems will continue to expand over the next 10 years. With that acceleration will continue to come enormous complexity and challenge:

   * Today's automotive electronic development processes are difficult to
     manage, since embedded systems involve hardware, software, and
     electrical systems
   * The interrelationships between hardware, software, and electrical
     systems in a single vehicle model cause unprecedented complexity
   * Complex systems of smart devices are difficult and time-consuming to
     develop and expensive to recall - but are required to meet and drive
     new demand
   * The lack of automotive embedded-systems standards for architecture and
     software makes it difficult for automotive suppliers and OEM's to
     efficiently handle the increasingly complex engineering workload
   * Compared to when the vehicle was primarily a mechanical system (making
     development and failure prediction much simpler tasks), today's cars
     and trucks are increasingly becoming electronics systems.

In this new environment, the digital and electronics world also brings with it new options for behavioral modelling, auto-code generation, simulation and testing as well as software asset reuse; it presents enormous opportunities to the automotive engineering community in terms of facilitating innovation and speeding embedded systems development. To address both challenges and the opportunities, Automotive suppliers today invest in research and development (R&D) at double-digit percentage levels. By 2015, embedded systems are expected to account for 60 percent of automotive research and development (R&D) costs alone -- not including production costs.

Responding to the increasingly acute need for better automotive electronics systems and software, IBM's ESLM solutions enable OEMs to engage in product innovation while mitigating risks and reducing product lifecycle costs while increasing quality levels. It will also help the industry accelerate time to market and time to value, optimize the portfolio mix, increase agility throughout the product-development process, and respond more quickly to new legislation and systems requirements.

"In-vehicle software and electronics are becoming the automotive industry's linchpins for innovation. The financial and profit impacts of these embedded systems are as critical for suppliers as they are for manufacturers," said Meg Selfe, director, IBM Embedded Systems Lifecycle Management. "Adoption of twenty first century methodologies for embedded systems standardized processes, platforms, development and testing is absolutely essential to deliver compelling, dependable and innovative products to the market -- more quickly than the competitor, and with reduced risk to the business. With decades of automotive experience, we have proven expertise in managing the business implications of innovation."

Specifically, ESLM solutions facilitate an open, collaborative product development environment and include the following products and services from IBM:

   Systems Engineering:  focuses on customer needs and required
   functionality early in the development cycle - defining and documenting
   requirements, proceeding with design synthesis through system validation,
   releasing and support.

   Development & Integration Services:  provide the ability to develop,
   deploy, manage, configure, and maintain products and solutions for the
   entire lifecycle.

   Architectural Frameworks:  open standards based modular structure that
   provides an approach to delivering product-based systems with higher
   levels of integration with other systems.

  Full implementation of IBM's ESLM solutions and services could realize:

   * Warranty cost improvements of 25%.
   * Savings due to reusable software across car platforms and supplier
     networks of 30%.
   * Lifecycle-management savings due to configurable, updateable software
     of 25%. Benefits could include enhanced features and functions and
     overall improved vehicle innovation.
   * Increased predictability of the entire software-development process.
   * Better design, reduced cost and increased quality, reliability and
     safety of software.  As a result, OEMs and suppliers could balance
     costs in one year and achieve significantly greater savings due to
     business-transformation improvements across the extended enterprise.

For example, IBM has recently worked closely with a leading automotive company's electrical engineering and product development organization to jointly develop internal standards for software and systems engineering excellence. The collaborative effort is developing automotive electronic architectures that are designed to facilitate software innovation and modularity. The development and implementation of these new standards will help support the automaker's strategic intent to change the way it governs and guides its electronics suppliers. Through its new ability to deliver high- quality, cutting-edge products that can provide a faster time to market, the manufacturer expects to stake out a significant competitive advantage.

About IBM:

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, and a leader in helping businesses and organizations innovate. IBM and IBM Business Partners offer a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the on demand business. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/ondemand .