Codethink Joins ARM Connected Community

Codethink is getting ready to enter the ranks of the U.K.-based ARM (News - Alert) Connected Community. The Community allows companies to collaborate in order to optimize their work output.

ARM Holdings is the largest holder of semiconductor intellectual property in the world. The company does not deal directly in manufacturing; instead, they license their patents out to a worldwide network of OEMS. They refer to this network as their Connected Community.

Already 900 companies strong, the Connected Community shows no signs of slowing down any time in the near future. A press release says ARM pulled in revenues of $185.5 million in Q1, 2011. They just finished out Q1 of 2012 at a 13-percent gain, making $209.4 million.

Although it may initially sound a bit strange, the business model makes a lot of sense. By focusing their efforts exclusively on semiconductor design, research and development, rather than actual manufacturing, they consolidate resources and effort. Companies like Codethink pay ARM Holdings a licensing fee to gain access to the technologies they pioneer. Though these fees typically cost several million dollars, each company in the ARM Community, Codethink, for example, gains access to technologies that would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development in order to produce independently.

Beyond access to cutting edge technologies, members receive several other crucial resources. The Community provides comprehensive customer service at every level of assembly and production. The Connected Community Web site functions as a central hub through which clients and companies can form connections with each other.

Community members also gain a crucial networking advantage and a platform through which they can interface with other companies with whom they share similar agendas. Consider it a type of rotary club.

Codethink represents an especially important addition to the ARM Community. They can fix and maintain many ARM processors that you can find in a variety of machines and industries – automotive, media, telecommunications are only a few.