Build vs. Buy: The Strategic Impact of Firmware Update Infrastructure on Product Success

The Evolution of Firmware Updates in Modern DevOps

Today's embedded systems require DevOps practices that extend far beyond traditional software deployment. What starts as a seemingly straightforward technical challenge—updating software on distributed devices—quickly becomes a strategic cornerstone that can make or break your product's success in the market.

The Initial Attraction of Building In-House

Given the ubiquitous nature of this requirement, many teams decide early on that they should develop their POC firmware update capabilities in-house.

The rationale at this stage in development often sounds like:

"We understand our devices better than anyone."
"Custom solutions give us maximum control."
"We'll save money by not paying for an external platform."
"We won't really spend that much time on this"

These sentiments are understandable — yet potentially dangerous.

The Hidden Complexity of Firmware Update Infrastructure

While a simple update mechanism to get off the ground sounds compelling at first, let's take a look at how these systems grow and evolve over time:

Infrastructure Challenges

Modern firmware update systems require sophisticated DevOps capabilities:

• Continuous integration pipelines specific to embedded systems
• Robust artifact generation and validation processes
• Secure distribution networks for global deployment
• Reliable rollback mechanisms for safety-critical updates
• Version control across diverse hardware generations
• Monitoring and verification of update status

For hardware companies with constrained budgets, maintaining this infrastructure becomes particularly challenging as device fleets grow and update requirements become more complex.

The Business Impact of Update Capability

The ability to confidently deploy firmware updates directly impacts business success across multiple industries. For companies managing SLAs, regional rollouts, or providers navigating nuanced state-by-state regulations, update systems become a core strategic capability.

Much like modern DevOps practices, successful firmware updates require strong observability and process foundations. Companies often approach updates cautiously at first, but experience shows that increasing update frequency actually improves testing rigor and team efficiency. This parallel with DevOps best practices highlights how mature update processes can drive overall engineering excellence.

This capability shapes:

1. Product Quality and Reliability - Hardware updates must consider physical device states, safety requirements, and recovery mechanisms unique to each industry.
2. Customer Satisfaction - Different customer segments require tailored rollout strategies, from enterprise SLAs to consumer expectations set by market leaders like Apple and Tesla.
3. Development Velocity - Cross-functional alignment between engineering, support, and sales enables faster, safer feature deployments.
4. Market Competitiveness - Quick response to regional requirements and security threats while maintaining compliance.
5. Revenue Growth - Reliable update systems enable continuous product improvement throughout device lifetime, driving customer retention.

Success requires a company-wide DNA of collaboration. Customer success teams often lead release coordination, ensuring smooth deployment across diverse customer requirements and regulatory landscapes. This alignment separates successful hardware companies from those rushing to market without proper infrastructure.

Industry-Specific Update Challenges

Consider the diverse firmware update requirements across different sectors:

→ In telematics, vehicles require secure, reliable firmware updates that can be deployed across cellular networks without compromising vehicle operation or safety.

→ In the Energy sector, smart grid components need coordinated firmware updates that maintain continuous operation while meeting strict regulatory requirements.

→ Consumer electronics companies must manage frequent feature updates across multiple product generations while maintaining seamless user experience and minimal downtime.

Each vertical introduces unique CI/CD challenges that transform firmware updates from a simple deployment task into a sophisticated DevOps challenge requiring specialized expertise and infrastructure.

Resource Requirements

Successful hardware companies recognize that firmware deployment is a core strategic capability, not just an engineering task. Industry experience shows that building an in-house solution typically requires 3-5 dedicated engineers, with costs scaling as device fleets grow. This initial investment and sustaining engineering diverts critical resources from core product development and innovation.

Hidden Operational Costs

The true cost of managing firmware updates extends far beyond initial development:

• Critical Infrastructure Risk: Mistakes in development, misapplied business logic, or rushed features can have devastating effects on your entire fleet. The update system becomes a critical point of failure that can impact every customer simultaneously.
• Cross-Team Impact: Failed or delayed updates affect multiple teams - from engineering to customer support handling increased calls, to marketing coordinating release communications. This organizational overhead often goes uncounted in initial build vs. buy decisions.
• Internal Product Management: Update platforms become products themselves, requiring ongoing development and maintenance. Like any critical infrastructure, they need feature development, bug fixes, and improvements - competing for resources with your core product.
• Executive Visibility: Leadership teams expect sophisticated reporting, fleet-wide observability, and granular release control. Building these enterprise-grade management tools becomes increasingly complex as device fleets scale, often requiring dedicated dashboards and monitoring systems.

Evaluating Your Build Scenario

Despite these challenges, there are scenarios where building update infrastructure makes sense. The key is understanding when the investment aligns with your product strategy and team capabilities.

1. Highly Specialized Update Requirements: If your firmware update process requires unique security or regulatory compliance measures that can't be met by existing solutions.
2. Limited Device Variants: When dealing with a single, stable hardware platform with minimal variation in firmware requirements.
3. Small-Scale Deployment: If your update needs are limited to a small, static device fleet with infrequent update requirements.

The Strategic Case for Buying

Modern embedded systems require sophisticated update infrastructure that addresses both technical complexity and organizational workflows. A dedicated platform approach provides key advantages over internal solutions:

Integration Approaches

Modern firmware platforms must support diverse integration patterns:

• Cloud-Managed Integration: Maintain existing cloud infrastructure while adding robust update orchestration, preserving established security boundaries and data flows
• Direct Device Integration: Enable atomic updates across core firmware, ML models, and peripherals through embedded agents
• Gateway Management: Support hub-and-spoke architectures for industrial IoT and sensor networks requiring coordinated updates

Core Platform Requirements

Successful update systems need:

• Artifact Management: Version, target, and cohort-based distribution for granular deployment control
• Team Workflows: Tools aligning development, QA, and operations around unified release processes
• Release Controls: Automated canary deployments, targeting, and percentage-based rollouts
• Enterprise Security: End-to-end encryption, mutual TLS, and role-based access control

The shift to dedicated update platforms allows teams to focus on product innovation while leveraging proven infrastructure designed for the unique challenges of embedded systems. Well-designed platforms integrate through standard interfaces like APIs and CLIs while preserving customer control over critical infrastructure decisions.

Quantifying the Business Impact

Robust firmware update platforms deliver measurable value through:

• Reduced update cycle times and risk
• Increased engineering velocity
• Improved product reliability and security
• More efficient resource utilization across teams
• Enhanced customer satisfaction from reliable updates

Strategic Considerations

When evaluating firmware update solutions, assess:

• How update capabilities affect product differentiation and market position
• Engineering resources required for building vs maintaining infrastructure
• Current and future scale requirements across product lines
• Security and compliance requirements
• Cross-team collaboration needs

Closing

The ability to confidently deploy firmware updates directly impacts business success. As connected device complexity grows, robust update infrastructure becomes critical for maintaining competitive advantage and customer satisfaction. The expertise needed spans embedded systems, cloud infrastructure, and deployment automation - a specialized combination that's increasingly crucial for modern hardware companies.

Don't let update infrastructure limitations hold your innovation hostage. Discover how Peridio can accelerate your embedded systems CI/CD pipeline. 🚀