In an interview, Chad Steider, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Silicon Labs, speaks with TimesTech about the accelerating shift toward open-source RTOS platforms such as Zephyr. He explains how a common, industry-backed software foundation is becoming critical for secure, scalable, and long-lived IoT deployments. The discussion also highlights India’s readiness for open software-led development and how Zephyr supports software-defined, future-ready connected devices.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: Open source RTOS platforms like Zephyr are gaining momentum globally. What is driving this shift, and why do you see Zephyr becoming increasingly central to next-generation IoT development?
Chad: Zephyr can be understood as a common operating platform for connected devices. In the early stages of IoT adoption, many companies developed proprietary software stacks, which were suitable when devices were relatively simple. Today, connected products are far more intelligent, security-critical, and expected to remain deployed for many years. Maintaining custom software for each device has therefore become increasingly inefficient.
Open-source real-time operating systems such as Zephyr address this challenge by offering a shared, industry-supported foundation. This allows developers to avoid rebuilding core system functions and instead benefit from continuous improvements contributed by a global community. As a result, development cycles are shortened, reliability is improved, and devices remain aligned with evolving security and connectivity standards.
Zephyr is becoming a key enabler of next-generation IoT development—allowing device makers to focus on application-level innovation while relying on a proven and scalable software core.
TimesTech: Silicon Labs has expanded its Zephyr RTOS support following CES 2026. How does this move align with the broader industry transition toward software-defined, intelligent, connected devices?
Chad: Today’s connected devices are expected to do far more than simply connect to a network. They must continue to evolve over time through software updates, new features, and enhanced security. This has led to a shift toward software-defined systems and smarter devices that can perform more processing at the edge, rather than relying entirely on the cloud.
The expanded support for Zephyr RTOS through the Simplicity SDK for Zephyr is designed to simplify this transition for developers. It provides a ready-to-use software foundation, eliminating the need to assemble operating systems, wireless stacks, and development tools from scratch. This significantly reduces integration effort and enables faster development cycles.
This approach is especially important for smart home and building ecosystems where devices must remain secure, interoperable, and adaptable as technologies and user expectations evolve. A Zephyr-based platform, combined with robust connectivity solutions, helps developers build products that perform effectively today and continue to deliver value in the future.
TimesTech: As IoT deployments scale across industries, how critical is a common software foundation in addressing challenges such as security, interoperability, and long-term device lifecycle management?
Chad: When deploying a limited number of connected devices, complexity can often be managed manually. However, as deployments scale to thousands or even millions of devices, a common software foundation becomes essential. A shared platform such as Zephyr simplifies large-scale deployments by improving security, reliability, and long-term maintainability.
With a common platform, security updates can be delivered consistently, devices are more interoperable because they follow shared software standards, and lifecycle management becomes more predictable. This reduces the need for custom solutions for each product and enables more efficient operations over time. At scale, this level of consistency is no longer optional—it is critical to ensuring reliable, secure, and sustainable IoT deployments.
TimesTech: India’s IoT and embedded ecosystem is evolving rapidly. How do you assess India’s readiness to adopt open software-led development models at scale?
Chad: India has a strong foundation in open-source development, supported by a large engineering community and a long-standing culture of collaborative software innovation. This is reflected in the country’s digital transformation initiatives, where many Digital India platforms and public services are built on open-source technologies to improve scale, transparency, and delivery efficiency.
Zephyr builds naturally on this environment by providing developers with a proven, open software foundation for connected devices. It allows teams to focus on solving real application challenges rather than rebuilding core system software. As a Platinum member of the Zephyr Project, Silicon Labs actively contributes to the ecosystem, helping ensure the platform supports a broad range of connected use cases. With India’s growing startup ecosystem and focus on local product development, Zephyr strengthens the country’s open-source momentum by enabling teams to build globally competitive, future-ready IoT solutions more efficiently.
TimesTech: Security and power efficiency are often seen as trade-offs. How does Silicon Labs help customers strike the right balance while building connected products on open platforms like Zephyr?
Chad: In IoT, security and battery life cannot be treated as trade-offs. Devices must remain protected against security threats while operating reliably for long periods without frequent charging or maintenance. For this reason, both must be designed into the product from the outset.
This is achieved through semiconductor designs that integrate strong, built-in security alongside ultra-low-power performance, supported by software tools that help developers implement these capabilities effectively. When combined with an open platform such as Zephyr, this approach simplifies the development of connected devices that remain secure throughout their lifecycle while also delivering long battery life in real-world deployments.
TimesTech: Looking ahead, how do you see open source software shaping innovation, competitiveness and speed to market for device makers over the next five years?
Chad: Open source software is changing how connected products are built. Instead of each company developing the same foundational capabilities independently, teams can now rely on shared, proven building blocks and focus their efforts on areas that truly differentiate their products.
Over the next five years, this approach is expected to enable faster development cycles, simplify hiring and onboarding of engineers, and improve interoperability across ecosystems. By adopting open platforms such as Zephyr, device makers can bring products to market more quickly, continuously enhance them through software updates, and compete more effectively at a global level. In this way, open source is set to become one of the key drivers of innovation in the IoT industry in the years ahead.
