TY - BOOK
T1 - Towards original software component manufacturing
AU - Seppänen, Veikko
AU - Helander, Nina
AU - Niemelä, Eila
AU - Komi-Sirviö, Seija
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - This report is a deliverable of a self-funded strategic
pre-study carried out by VTT Electronics in 2000 on
software products developed for and used by the
electronics, automation and telecommunication industries.
The focus of the study was on software component
products, especially on such software components that
can be tailored by component suppliers or buyers before
their actual use. In the report, this type of business is
called original software component manufacturing,
referring to the analogy of original equipment
manufacturing that is well-known in other industries.
Another phrase that could be used is partnership software
component production.
However, there is a continuum from tailored software
components that are developed by the product manufacturer
itself, who is committed to component-based software
engineering, to fully commercially supplied
off-the-shelf components. Therefore, this report includes
certain aspects along the entire continuum. An important
issue related to this is to analyze how and why a
supplier of tailored components would develop towards
off-the-shelf products. A related question on the buyer's
side is the change of an independent product manufacturer
to a system integrator that puts together products with
the help of fully commercial component suppliers.
One of the main goals of the report, which was produced
mostly based on information available on the Internet, is
to try to structure the present state of software
components, businesses and production processes. The
information that was gathered includes therefore both
business-related and technical subjects, as well as the
views of component developers, buyers, sellers, and so
called brokers. The latter is emerging as an intermediary
role in software component distribution. The role of a
broker can also be played by a first-tier supplier, i.e.
a company that manages a portion of the supplying network
for the system integrator.
Regarding these roles, the information acquired from the
Internet was supplemented by interviewing a few companies
that mostly represent potential software component
sellers. Overall, the information indicates that there is
no well-organized information on original software
component markets and businesses available yet. To
compare, the acronym "OEM" (original equipment
manufacturing) produced hundreds of relevant Web links
about parts and product manufacturing in mechanical and
other industries. In order to pave the way towards the
structuring of the field, an integrative view is taken at
the end of this report using the roles and processes of
different firms involved. Based on this view, a
suggestion is made for further research and development
activities.
AB - This report is a deliverable of a self-funded strategic
pre-study carried out by VTT Electronics in 2000 on
software products developed for and used by the
electronics, automation and telecommunication industries.
The focus of the study was on software component
products, especially on such software components that
can be tailored by component suppliers or buyers before
their actual use. In the report, this type of business is
called original software component manufacturing,
referring to the analogy of original equipment
manufacturing that is well-known in other industries.
Another phrase that could be used is partnership software
component production.
However, there is a continuum from tailored software
components that are developed by the product manufacturer
itself, who is committed to component-based software
engineering, to fully commercially supplied
off-the-shelf components. Therefore, this report includes
certain aspects along the entire continuum. An important
issue related to this is to analyze how and why a
supplier of tailored components would develop towards
off-the-shelf products. A related question on the buyer's
side is the change of an independent product manufacturer
to a system integrator that puts together products with
the help of fully commercial component suppliers.
One of the main goals of the report, which was produced
mostly based on information available on the Internet, is
to try to structure the present state of software
components, businesses and production processes. The
information that was gathered includes therefore both
business-related and technical subjects, as well as the
views of component developers, buyers, sellers, and so
called brokers. The latter is emerging as an intermediary
role in software component distribution. The role of a
broker can also be played by a first-tier supplier, i.e.
a company that manages a portion of the supplying network
for the system integrator.
Regarding these roles, the information acquired from the
Internet was supplemented by interviewing a few companies
that mostly represent potential software component
sellers. Overall, the information indicates that there is
no well-organized information on original software
component markets and businesses available yet. To
compare, the acronym "OEM" (original equipment
manufacturing) produced hundreds of relevant Web links
about parts and product manufacturing in mechanical and
other industries. In order to pave the way towards the
structuring of the field, an integrative view is taken at
the end of this report using the roles and processes of
different firms involved. Based on this view, a
suggestion is made for further research and development
activities.
KW - original equipment manufacturing
KW - software component markets
KW - component-based software engineering
KW - software acquisition
KW - software supply
KW - software bookering
M3 - Report
SN - 951-38-5822-7
T3 - VTT Tiedotteita - Meddelanden - Research Notes
BT - Towards original software component manufacturing
PB - VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
CY - Espoo
ER -