BCC Research reveals in its new report, EMBEDDED SYSTEMS: TECHNOLOGIES AND MARKETS, the global embedded technology market is expected to grow to $198.5 billion by 2019, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4%. The Asia-Pacific region, the largest and fastest growing market, is set to reach $79 billion in 2019.
Embedded technologies are application-specific systems or devices that are designed to meet the requirements of the target system in which they are embedded. With applications across a wide range of industries - automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, healthcare, communications, and industrial utilities - today's technology usage is dominated by embedded systems.
The embedded technology market is segmented into two categories: hardware and software. Embedded hardware represents the largest segment of the overall market and is expected to reach $191 billion in 2019 and register a CAGR of 5.4%.
Meanwhile, the embedded software category is the fastest moving segment, with 6.8% CAGR. Valued at just $4.9 billion in 2013, it is forecast to bump up to $7.5 billion by 2019.
In terms of applications, the consumer and communications markets represent the vast majority of the market, accounting for more than 60% of the overall market. Geographically speaking, the Asia-Pacific market will continue to be the largest market for embedded technology, driven by a steadily growing middle class within the region's emerging economies.
"Embedded technology makes up the bulk of the semiconductor market and will continue to evolve. The emergence of open standards will continue to drive growth," said BCC Research information technology analyst Anand Joshi. "Continued adoption and development of the so-called Internet of Things (IOT), a network that promises to connect every device on the planet to the Internet, is expected to be the dominant force in this market for the foreseeable future."
An embedded system is a computer system within a larger mechanical or electrical system that is dedicated to handle a specific task. As such, engineers can optimize embedded systems to reduce the size and cost of the product as well as to enhance its performance. Embedded systems range from portable devices such as digital watches and MP3 players, to large stationary installations like traffic lights, factory controllers, and complex systems like hybrid vehicles and MRI units.
