Virtutech, Inc., the leading provider of virtualized software development solutions for electronic systems, today announced that MontaVista Software, Inc., the leading provider of Linux® for intelligent devices and communications infrastructure, is deploying Virtutech Simics under the hood of its new MontaVista® TestDrive Web-based product evaluation service. Virtutech Simics provides the underlying virtual target board farm and advanced debug and control console that will enable MontaVista TestDrive users to evaluate the MontaVista product line on the *real* processor architecture, hassle-free, without having to install anything, and without compromising functionality.

“By working closely with Virtutech, we are giving our customers an advanced full-system simulation that lets them test drive new MontaVista Linux products without the effort and expense of acquiring set-up hardware or software,” said Joerg Bertholdt, director of marketing, embedded platforms, MontaVista Software. “MontaVista TestDrive customers will be able to evaluate our software on the processor architecture of their choice. By offering this service to our existing and potential customers, we enable them to accelerate the vendor selection period in their projects and get their products to market more quickly.”

Traditionally, vendors have either provided paper evaluation or real evaluation with a CD or software download, or CMP TechOnline, as a service that is built with real hardware and boards in a real board farm. However, neither approach scales, and they also require both software installation and hardware set-up. By reinventing its pre-sales process as a virtual software test service, MontaVista is pioneering new ground as the first virtualized Linux-based product evaluation for embedded Linux developers.

“Although virtualized software development has been gaining traction with OEMs, system architects and engineers for some time, it also is beginning to resonate with the product managers and other line of business executives as they realize that it can deliver a significant competitive advantage,” said Michel Genard, vice president of marketing, Virtutech. “The MontaVista TestDrive evaluation service is a prime example of an innovative application of virtualization in the embedded space that gives MontaVista users a critical time-to-access of prime technology advantage. Just as virtualization has proven to be disruptive in the IT and data center industries, it has the same potential to influence the embedded systems space.”