Japan is synonymous with technological innovation. Pushing the boundaries of product design, they continually look to do more — features, functionality, processing power — in less space for less money. To this end, the next frontier of large scale software development may well be in the palm of your hand. The explosion of the amount of software powering DVD recorders, GPS systems, mobile phones, and similar devices is truly amazing. Fundamental to these goals is the use of open source code, most often embedded within the chipsets internal to these products. While open source accelerates development life-cycles, it also brings its own challenges around software licenses, intellectual property violations and security vulnerabilities.

The rising tide of awareness surrounding open source in embedded components has opened the floodgates to an increased need for transparency in the code base. An alternative title for this blog could easily be, "How open source use in the East brings new risks to manufacturers in the West."

On Wednesday, Palamida announced an important partnership with OGIS-RI. As the premier Palamida reseller in the Japanese market, we feel strongly that OGIS is uniquely positioned to deliver clients a comprehensive approach to intellectual property management specific to the embedded market.

Many electronic components from the Asian markets ultimately end up in manufacturing production lines across the globe. As open source code is already firmly embedded by the time it gets to its end destination, manufacturers aren't always aware of its existence or any license concerns it introduces.

Without a clear understanding of what software is being used and where it was originally sourced, manufacturers risk leaving themselves open from either a legal or security perspective.

Together, OGIS and Palamida are perfectly positioned to assist with open source risk management throughout the application lifecycle.

--Mark Tolliver