Canonical joins the Connectivity Standards Alliance

Canonical will help set new security and reliability standards for IoT

September 21st, 2022 – Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, announces today that it has joined the Connectivity Standards Alliance as a participant member.

In this role, Canonical will help the alliance to develop open standards for the Internet of Things (IoT) and advocate for the role of open-source software in this domain. Canonical is the first company offering a major independent Linux distribution to join the alliance. 

A leader in the embedded Linux space

By joining the Alliance, Canonical reinforces its commitment to advance IoT innovation and set new standards in the embedded Linux market. Canonical is a leading provider of open-source software across the compute spectrum. Ubuntu is the most popular Linux among developers, and Ubuntu Core, Canonical’s containerised operating system based on Ubuntu and designed for embedded devices, sets the standard for security and reliability in IoT.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance creates, evolves and manages IoT technology standards through a well-established, collaborative process. The Alliance empowers companies with practical, usable assets and tools to ease and accelerate development, freeing them to focus on new areas of IoT innovation.

“Canonical’s commitment to the Alliance is a sign of the growing importance of Linux and open source in the IoT space. We look forward to them contributing their expertise in open-source software to help build the standards of the future.” Chris LaPré, Head of Technology at Connectivity Standards Alliance.

Matter out of the box on Ubuntu Core

Canonical will support the upcoming Matter standard, an Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications standard designed to make smart home devices secure, reliable, and seamless to use. Historically, the smart home industry has suffered from a lack of standards, resulting in vendor lock-in and fragmentation. The Matter standard aims to increase interoperability and accessibility, which are open-source values that Canonical stands by. 

“We aim to make Ubuntu Core the best platform for Matter devices. Our goal is to support Matter out of the box on Ubuntu Core so that it’s the quickest and most reliable way to bring a Matter device to market”, said Nathan Hart, Product Manager at Canonical.

Ubuntu Core complements the Matter standard, providing polished solutions for over-the-air updates and security maintenance – areas outside the scope of Matter. By removing the overhead of maintaining a secure, embedded linux, Ubuntu Core allows companies to focus on the value of their applications. Ubuntu Core and Matter together can provide a fantastic open source solution for smart home products.