Post Syndicated from Roger Thornton original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/supporting-raspberry-pis-industrial-customers/
Raspberry Pi computers have always been used in a huge variety of settings, since the combination of low cost, high performance, and ease of use make it an ideal device for almost any application. We’ve seen a large proportion of sales go into the industrial market – businesses using Raspberry Pi, rather than educational settings or individual consumers. Today we’re announcing new support for this group of customers: a dedicated area of our website for industry, and our Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partners programme, connecting businesses that want to integrate Raspberry Pi into their products with hand-picked design partners who can help.
The industrial market for Raspberry Pi has grown over the years, and now represents around 44% of our annual total sales. We’ve seen this borne out with new releases of Raspberry Pi products: typically sales of a consumer product drop off once a new product is released, but we still see incredible sales of older models of Raspberry Pi. Our inference is that these are destined for embedded applications, where changing to the latest model is not practical.
A new online resource for industry
To support Raspberry Pi’s industrial customers, we have developed a new, dedicated area of our website. Our For industry pages are the best place to go for industrial applications of Raspberry Pi. They provide access to the information and support you need when using our products in an industrial setting, with links to datasheets, compliance documents, and more.
As part of our commitment to industrial customers, we guarantee product lifetimes until at least 2026 on all products. We rarely ever end a product line – in fact, you can still buy Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ from 2014. And we’ve made it easy for you to take a product through the necessary regulatory compliance steps, with the Raspberry Pi Integrator Programme.
Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partners
Along with our online resources for industry, we’re announcing a new programme to help customers who want to integrate Raspberry Pi into their products, and to recognise companies with specialist knowledge and proven expertise in designing with Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partners programme is a way of connecting trusted design consultancies with customers who need support designing Raspberry Pi computing solutions into their products.
We’re launching with a select set of designers whom we already know and work with, and we hope to grow this group over the coming years. If your company provides hardware, software, or mechanical design services with Raspberry Pi, and you’d like us to promote your offering on our website, you can find out more about applying to become a Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partner.
If you have a product or a piece of work that uses Raspberry Pi, and you need technical assistance, Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partners have the capacity to provide you with effective help. All our Design Partners have been through a rigorous application process, and we will monitor them regularly for quality and ability. You can be confident that Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partners have the backing of Raspberry Pi, and have access to a deep level of technical knowledge and support within Raspberry Pi.
We’re excited to help customers build fantastic products using Raspberry Pi, and we’re looking forward to working with a diverse range of designers across the world.
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