Pycom Succeeds Espressif as Gartner’s 2017 ‘Cool Vendor’

Every year Gartner, the highly credible research-and-advisory firm providing IT insight, publishes several reports that highlight key IoT technologies and vendors innovating in various areas. The IoT ‘Thingification’ report focuses on the disruptive strategies of certain IoT companies that put forward cutting-edge technologies to enable new business models with minimal financial investment. In 2016 Espressif was named ‘Cool Vendor’ for its ultra-low-cost Wi-Fi devices that enable cloud connectivity with advanced management tools. In 2017, Pycom, whose boards are all based on our ESP32 WiFi-and-Bluetooth microcontroller, succeeded Espressif as ‘Cool Vendor’.  

The Gartner report praises Pycom for offering a range of wireless solutions that is ‘unusually wide’ in such a low-cost environment. Indeed, Pycom has built on the versatility of ESP32 and created multi-protocol wireless modules with free software, modular hardware and portable firmware. In addition, Python programming enables customers to move rapidly from prototyping to mass production with very little design modification. Espressif is proud to be in partnership with Pycom and wishes to congratulate them on their fast, yet solid, growth and significant technological achievements.

At the same time, in Gartner’s 2017 IoT ‘Thingification’ report there is a follow-up review of Espressif Systems as last year’s ‘Cool Vendor’. It is written by Amy Teng and Martin Reynolds, who claim that Espressif is maturing ‘as a mainstream vendor’, for ‘Espressif-based devices are now at the core of many low-cost Wi-Fi initiatives […] The company continues to develop its software initiatives, and it is a primary choice for low-cost Wi-Fi implementations. The company proposes a long life cycle for its products, an essential attribute for IoT deployments. The company continues to build industry and partner relationships because of its unique cost structure’. 

Critiques that are both positive and credible are hard to get, for they result from hard work and dedication to one’s goals and values. Here, at Espressif Systems we never get tired of finding ways to improve our IoT solutions, as we aspire to add value to the endeavors of over 4,000 companies that build their products with Espressif's devices.