Analysis of the Competitive Landscape and Prospects of the Embedded Computer Industry

Analysis of the Competitive Landscape and Prospects of the Embedded Computer Industry

1. Overview of the Embedded Computer Industry

The embedded computer industry is a sub-industry of computers centered on embedded technology and carried by embedded systems. An embedded system refers to a dedicated computer system designed for specific applications, characterized by strict requirements for functionality, real-time performance, reliability, cost, size, and power consumption. It generally consists of embedded microprocessors (similar to general computer CPUs), peripheral hardware devices, and embedded software, used to control, monitor, or manage other devices.

Related Report: Beijing PwC Youce Information Consulting Co., Ltd. “2021-2026 Embedded Computer Market Survey and Prospect Forecast Report”

Main Application Areas of Embedded Computers

Source: PwC Youce

Since the emergence of embedded systems over 30 years ago, they have gradually risen with the development of microelectronics technology in the late 1960s. Modern industry has increasingly high demands for the scalability, manageability, and usability of control systems, prompting conventional control systems to be gradually replaced by computer control systems centered on embedded systems. The widespread application of embedded systems in industrial control has significantly improved the informatization, modernization, and automation levels of industrial production. Currently, various new types of embedded systems have far surpassed general computers in terms of application quantity, with embedded computers widely used in communication equipment, consumer electronics, digital appliances, automotive electronics, medical electronics, industrial control, financial electronics, military, aerospace, and other fields. In industrial production, digital machine tools, intelligent tools, and industrial robots using embedded technology are gradually changing traditional industrial production methods. Strong application demand, increasingly advanced technology, and a gradually maturing market have made embedded design and application an essential path for industrial modernization and intelligence.

China’s military embedded computer products started relatively late, and there is still a certain gap in technology compared to advanced countries abroad. However, as China’s economy and military strategy gradually globalize, the country will increase its construction of national defense and military modernization, continuously improving the level of weaponry and military informatization. This will bring enormous development space for the embedded computer industry serving the military industry and will greatly promote the rapid and healthy development of the embedded computer industry.

2. Overall Competitive Landscape of the Industry

Embedded systems have a wide range of applications and numerous fields, with significant differences in the depth of application and the degree of popularization of embedded technology across different fields. Therefore, embedded enterprises generally focus on one or several industry applications. The main enterprises in the industry include large state-owned military enterprises or their subordinate research institutes and private military production enterprises. Large state-owned military enterprises, relying on their technical strength, financial strength, and scale advantages, have become the main producers of military products and have a certain monopoly position with significant competitive advantages; subordinate research institutes and privately-owned enterprises with independent R&D capabilities mainly develop and produce supporting products for military weapons and equipment, among which private enterprises gradually enhance their competitive advantages through fast technology updates, flexible management methods, and high-quality after-sales service.

With the deepening of reforms in state-owned military enterprises, the state encourages privately-owned enterprises with independent R&D capabilities to gradually participate in the research and production of mid-to-high-end military supporting products, breaking the traditional monopoly position of state-owned military research institutes.

The competitive pressure among private military R&D and production enterprises is relatively small, mainly stemming from the fact that the downstream customers of the industrial chain are mostly military enterprises or research institutes. Customer procurement emphasizes product safety, consistency, stability, and continuity, and customers usually establish long-term stable cooperative relationships with single or few suppliers. Therefore, private military R&D and production enterprises will continue to grow by relying on continuous technological improvements, high-quality product quality, and after-sales service through long-term close cooperation with downstream customers.

3. Development Prospects and Market Space

The embedded computer industry will enter a period of rapid growth in the future, with broad development prospects and huge market space for the following reasons:

(1) The deep integration of industrialization and informatization has enormous potential for growth in intelligent manufacturing demand.

A new round of enormous demand for intelligent equipment in industries such as automotive, communications, information appliances, medical, and military has driven the development of embedded systems. Industry 4.0, based on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), will take digital and intelligent manufacturing with deep integration of information technology and manufacturing technology as the main line of future development. CPS, through the organic integration and deep collaboration of Computation, Communication, and Control technologies, will enable physical devices to have five major functions: computing, communication, control, remote coordination, and autonomy. Embedded systems, as key technology carriers for CPS, will promote the upgrading of industrial products and technologies, significantly enhancing the competitiveness of major industrial fields such as automotive, aerospace, national defense, industrial automation, health, and medical equipment.

(2) The rise of strategic emerging industries creates new demands for embedded computer applications.

With the structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading of the national economy, a large number of strategic emerging industries, such as new generation information technology, energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy, biological industries, and high-end equipment manufacturing, have continuously emerged. The development of these emerging industries has put forward new requirements for traditional industrial control technologies, and the market demand for new generation industrial control computer equipment centered on embedded technology will also increase significantly to meet the comprehensive needs of emerging industries for specificity, efficiency, and stability in research and production processes.

(3) Strategic layout of national defense construction and military-civilian scientific research system aids the rapid development of private enterprises.

China’s defense spending has maintained a sustained and stable growth trend since 1999. The budget for China’s defense spending in 2020 was 1,268 billion yuan (equivalent to 178.2 billion US dollars). Compared to 1,107 billion yuan in 2018 and 1,189.9 billion yuan in 2019, the defense budget has increased again. The growth rate of the defense budget in 2020 was 6.6%, compared to 8.1% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019, showing a decline in growth rate. The increase in defense funding is mainly used for weaponry construction, new combat force construction, informatization construction, realistic military training, and the cultivation of high-quality new military talents, among which specialized computers centered on embedded technology are significant for achieving weaponry intelligence and remote precision.

4. Industry Development Trends

(1) The trend of embedded technology industry penetration is evident.

With the continuous development and upgrading of embedded basic software and hardware technologies, the future industry development trend will shift from technological research and development to industry application penetration, mainly manifested as follows: First, traditional industries can enhance the informatization and mobile management efficiency by continuously increasing the application coverage of personalized embedded technologies, such as the widespread application of dedicated computers in medical devices and shipbuilding, which can ensure a high degree of automation and rapid response in production and service processes; second, application system integrators serving different industries can enhance system integration efficiency and optimize product structure through the introduction of embedded technologies, thereby gaining sustainable development momentum.

Enterprises mastering core embedded technologies can rely on the core competitiveness of combining hardware modules with software services to seize the fast-growing demand for embedded technology in different industries, achieving rapid industry penetration and effectively expanding the market share of related products and services. For enterprises engaged in the R&D and production of military embedded systems, they can apply their technological advantages and experiences in achieving high fault tolerance and stability in systems to different industries, facilitating the widespread application of embedded technologies.

(2) Hardware standardization and functional software development advance together.

The design of embedded processors has evolved from dozens of different standards and structures to a concentration around a few mainstream technologies represented by the ARM architecture. In the future, enterprises in the industry will design and produce embedded processors around mainstream technologies, achieving synchronous upgrades of chips and core embedded hardware products to meet the mass production demands of the industry through standardized production and reduce costs. The core competitive strength of enterprises’ research and development will be reflected in the design capabilities of embedded processor modules that adapt to mainstream chips, including design aspects such as logic and physical structure, thermal treatment structure, and telecommunication signal transmission efficiency. At the same time, embedded software enables products to have diversified functions, and standardized processor hardware and peripheral interfaces combined with different software allow embedded systems to have different functional combinations, solving the personalization problem of embedded systems.

Open system architectures, standardized hardware modules, and generalized software designs will become the development trends of the embedded industry, improving the shortcomings of traditional embedded systems such as single functionality, closed architecture, and poor maintainability and security.

(3) The demand for domestic embedded computer products and services is increasing day by day.

Localization has become a development trend in China’s embedded computer industry. Enterprises and institutions involved in national security or basic industries, represented by military research institutes and electric power, have a rapidly growing demand for domestically produced products with independent intellectual property rights. The state has clearly required the adjustment and reform of the defense technology industry system and the weaponry procurement system, improving the independent innovation capability and quality efficiency of weaponry development and establishing and perfecting the military-civilian integrated weaponry research and production system.

The localization of embedded product design and production can not only meet the confidentiality and security needs related to national security in the military industry but also enable domestic enterprises to provide timely, effective technical support and continuous after-sales service when promoting embedded technology products and services compared to foreign suppliers.

Contents

Chapter 1 Overview of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 1 Definition of Embedded Computers

Section 2 Development History of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 3 Classification of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 4 Analysis of the Embedded Computer Industry Chain

1. Introduction to the Industry Chain Model

2. Analysis of the Embedded Computer Industry Chain Model

Section 5 Analysis of the Position of the Embedded Computer Industry

1. Impact of the Embedded Computer Industry on Economic Growth

2. Impact of the Embedded Computer Industry on People’s Lives

3. Correlation of the Embedded Computer Industry

Chapter 2 Analysis of the Development Environment of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

Section 1 Global Macroeconomic Analysis

1. Overview of Global Macroeconomic Operations

2. Forecast of Global Macroeconomic Trends

Section 2 Analysis of China’s Macroeconomic Environment

1. Analysis of Current Economic Development

2. Major Issues in Economic Development

3. Analysis of Future Economic Policies

4. Forecast of Future Economic Trends

Section 3 Relevant Policies and Standards of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

Chapter 3 Analysis and Forecast of China’s Embedded Computer Industry Development from 2021 to 2026

Section 1 Market Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

1. Research on the Current Development Status of Embedded Computer Brands

2. Current Status of the Embedded Computer Consumer Market

3. Current Status of Relevant Policies in the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 2 Price and Supply Situation of Major Raw Materials in the Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

Section 3 Supply and Demand Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

1. Supply Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

2. Demand Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

3. Supply-Demand Balance Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

Section 4 Forecast of Price and Supply Situation of Major Raw Materials in the Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Section 5 Demand Forecast of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

1. Supply Forecast of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

2. Demand Forecast and Analysis of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Chapter 4 Analysis of Market Price Trends and Influencing Factors in China’s Embedded Computer Industry

Section 1 Review of Market Prices of Embedded Computers in China

Section 2 Current Market Prices and Commentary of the Embedded Computer Industry in China

Section 3 Analysis of Influencing Factors on Market Prices of Embedded Computers in China

Section 4 Forecast of Future Market Price Trends of Embedded Computers in China from 2021 to 2026

Chapter 5 Analysis of the Overall Development Status of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

Section 1 Analysis of the Scale of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

Section 2 Analysis of Production and Sales Status of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

1. Analysis of Production Status of the Embedded Computer Industry

2. Analysis of Sales Status of the Embedded Computer Industry

3. Analysis of Production and Sales Status of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 3 Analysis of Financial Capability of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

1. Analysis of Profitability of the Embedded Computer Industry

2. Analysis of Solvency of the Embedded Computer Industry

3. Analysis of Operational Capability of the Embedded Computer Industry

4. Analysis of Development Capability of the Embedded Computer Industry

Chapter 6 Analysis and Forecast of Imports and Exports of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Section 1 Analysis of Import and Export Patterns of China’s Embedded Computer Industry

1. Import Patterns of the Embedded Computer Industry

2. Export Patterns of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 2 Analysis of Import and Export Status of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2016 to 2020

1. Statistical Analysis of Imports in the Embedded Computer Industry

2. Analysis of Export Status of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 3 Analysis of Influencing Factors on Imports and Exports of the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 4 Forecast of Imports of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Section 5 Forecast of Exports of China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Chapter 7 Analysis of Market Competition Strategies in the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 1 Analysis of Competitive Structure in the Embedded Computer Industry

1. Competition among Existing Enterprises in the Embedded Computer Industry

2. Analysis of Potential Entrants to the Embedded Computer Industry

3. Analysis of Threats from Substitutes in the Embedded Computer Industry

4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers in the Embedded Computer Industry

5. Bargaining Power of Customers in the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 2 Analysis of Competition Strategies in the Embedded Computer Market

1. Analysis of Growth Potential in the Embedded Computer Market

2. Analysis of Product Competition Strategies in the Embedded Computer Industry

3. Analysis of Product Competition Strategies of Typical Enterprises

Section 3 Analysis of Competition Strategies of Embedded Computer Enterprises

1. Competition Trends in China’s Embedded Computer Market from 2021 to 2026

2. Outlook on Competition Structure in China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

3. Analysis of Competition Strategies in China’s Embedded Computer Industry from 2021 to 2026

Section 4 Evaluation and Construction Analysis of Competitiveness in Embedded Computers

1. Evaluation of Overall Product Competitiveness in Embedded Computers

2. Evaluation of Competitive Advantages of Embedded Computers and Suggestions for Construction

Chapter 8 Development Analysis of Key Enterprises in the Embedded Computer Industry

Section 1 Embedded Computer Company A

1. Company Overview

2. Main Products of the Company