Building a strong ecosystem of interoperable, open-source computing technologies goes beyond just the technical bits and bytes.  The need to understand the benefits behind the standards and what, as a community, can be built using them is an important aspect to successful market adoption. 

Marty Simon, founder of The Simon Group, is known to many in our industry for his long commitment in helping member companies communicate the complex intricacies of critical embedded systems by shaping them into educational, relatable concepts as well as his expertise in publicizing the benefits and uses of open standards-based products across many industries.

While many engineering-types in our industry often discuss the highly technical aspects of VITA and its open standards, Marty always had a question ready: Why is this important? His training in journalism positioned him to help discover the true meaning behind what open standards were trying to achieve, so that this essence could be explained to the markets the open standards would serve.

Marty helped kick off the VME buzz by coordinating the first-ever trade press article on VME, that appeared in Electronic Products, circa 1986.  From there, he continued to build awareness for VITA’s technical standards through participation in industry events and marketing activities for companies employing VITA’s technical standards.

Marty passed away on August 29, 2021. Obituary.