There’s technology and then there’s marketing. Properly done, they work well together. But there are times when the marketing gets ahead of the technology and times when it can actually be behind the technology. In both cases, it can be intentional or inadvertent.

We’ve talked about the META processor from Imagination Technologies (IMG), both generically and with respect to its threading capabilities. Still, IMG have intentionally focused their messaging on the larger functions that include a processor; they have done little to specifically promote the META brand on its own. In this regard, the META marketing has remained in the shadows even as the technology itself was given their full attention.

In a conversation with them at ESC, they noted that this will change. They see an opportunity to make specific processor inroads using the technology that they’ve been honing for years. You might think it’s foolhardy to jump in against the likes of ARM or MIPS at this juncture, and IMG would agree. There’s little stomach for going head-to-head against these guys in their well-entrenched markets, defended by giant, impenetrable walls built out of millions of lines of legacy code.

Instead, they see the Internet of Things (IoT) as their ticket. This is a fresh domain, meaning that there’s not a lot of existing code in place. It requires smaller processors, making those a natural focus. They have processors that can work at the application level, but competing at that level takes them head-to-head with the big incumbents, so they’re laying a bit low on such devices until, perhaps, they have carved more space out for themselves within their more accessible target region.

Of course, the IoT needs more than processors, and IMG is also putting forward the supporting IP necessary to complete a solution. Services like FlowWorld also contribute to the overall picture.

You can see more about what they have to say on the matter in their recent news release.