Approaching the sixth anniversary of the eSync Alliance, I feel a sense of pride at how far we have come, and excitement at what is ahead of us as we tackle new frontiers in standardization, such as the Software Defined Vehicle (SDV).

We know that OEMs are investing billions of dollars in the pursuit of SDV development, and yet the key challenge is creating an ecosystem of standardized software components so that the market can gain economy of scale.

While the eSync Alliance was ostensibly formed to focus on SOTA/FOTA and data standardization, SDV has given it a clear mission and purpose for the future.

Since it was founded in 2018, the Alliance’s membership has grown to represent a full SDV supply chain, including Tier-1 suppliers, software partners, security companies and semiconductor manufacturers. We currently have 26 members, and that number is increasing all the time.

We have also continued to nurture strong relationships and technology exchanges with other standard bodies. Our work to use eSync to update containerized software has been validated by nine participating companies and is testament to our successful collaboration with the Autoware Foundation, SOAFEE and ARM to produce something tangibly useful for the SDV community. Similarly, the eSync Alliance has recently moved to incorporate remote diagnostics in collaboration with ASAM (SOVD). We are looking forward to providing you with further updates on this In the coming weeks and months.

Integration is not just limited to collaboration but also into products, for example eSync is now part of the CI/CD platform from Windriver called Studio – and we’re looking forward to sharing news on other such collaborations with you soon.

But how does this help the industry?

When an OEM adopts eSync, it knows that future industry development and enhancements are accounted for. For example, if an OEM decides to integrate AWS Fleetwise into its proprietary system, it will be required to undertake a significant investment in time and resource. However, if the OEM adopts eSync, it can subscribe to the Fleetwise service ‘on demand’ without needing to invest in integration. This is not only beneficial to customers but also to service providers. The fact that eSync is integrated into Windriver Studio allows OEMs to use the same pipeline for development, saving time and money.

The eSync community makes sure that future specification enhancements undergo validation so that they have backward compatibility and a path forward for adoption without substantial reworking.

Finally, I encourage you all to participate in the eSync Alliance’s mission. Remember, this is a voluntary effort but a little investment can pay rich dividends to its participants.