Cadillac vs. Ford. Fast food vs. fine dining. 24k gold vs. 25₵ plastic. The difference between all of these things: standards.
Standards are what define the choices we make each and every day as to what we will invest our time and money in. But what do standards, in this case, Industry Standards, have to do with a connector company, and why are they so important to us?
What is a Standard?
To understand why, we first need to define what a standard is. In the business world, there are often three types:
- Corporate Standards – These are often adopted within one company based on shareholding in a design. They are used locally just by that company.
- De Facto Standards – This standard often grows out of a corporate standard to act as a solution in a common industry (like using micro-USB in Android phones)
- Industry Standards – An industry standard is different in that competitors of the same industry come together to narrow variation on a specific application. This requires much more research and time than the aforementioned, as well as membership.
Standards in the Connector Industry
By working with like-minded competition to corner a specific Industry Standard, not only do we have a better pulse on technology, but this also allows us to reach out further to OEM’s and countless consumers.
Adhering to these standards greatly benefits technical credibility as well as allows us as a company to participate in an active forum for next-gen products and planning. In turn, as we continue to showcase our new products, this moves the standard along further, advancing the industry and technology as well as Samtec.
As a connector company, our products interact with many types of hardware/software, thus our need to adhere to a variety of standards is crucial. The majority of supported Industry Standards deal with:
- Transmission protocols (primarily software & firmware defining machine language to allow communication)
- Hardware (passive mechanicals & infrastructure)
- Interconnection (cables & connectors)
- Sub-systems (typically daughter or carrier cards which include functional compliance specifications defining electro-mechanicals & mechanicals)
Some of the largest standard families we participate in include: PC/104™, VITA, & Nexus 5001™.
To see all Industry Standards Samtec participates in as well as supported products, visit the following link below:
For additional information and support, please contact our Industry Standards professionals.
