OKdo and DesignSpark join forces to provide a community for ROCK users

London, UK, 20 December 2022 – OKdo and DesignSpark, both part of RS Group Plc, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership that puts the engineering community at the heart of the proposition. With the recent launch of the OKdo range of ROCK boards, created in collaboration with Radxa, it was important that improved support was developed for users.

The OKdo team of engineers recognised the power of the ROCK but also believe that the collective power of the DesignSpark community can help make it even better. Following feedback from users on the lack of documentation and support around the boards, both companies are actively inviting input from engineers across the globe to offer their expertise to ensure that they are pushing their offering to be the best that it can be.

Mike Bray, Group VP of Innovation at DesignSpark, commented: “When we launched DesignSpark back in 2010, our mission was to support design engineers at every level, from student and hobbyist to professional engineers, who were facing the challenges of reduced design teams and the need to complete their designs more quickly amid rising competition.” He went on to say: “Over the years we have gone further to establish DesignSpark as a trusted online support destination for engineers everywhere, which is why we are excited to collaborate with OKdo to provide the community and support that their customers have been calling for around their ROCK proposition.”

With its focus on single-board computing for IoT and a customer-first approach at the heart of the company, OKdo is uniquely positioned to bring the ROCK SBCs to the global market, and by leveraging the DesignSpark community they will be able to develop their offering with direct input from the engineers using the boards in their applications in addition to providing end-to-end support through the design, manufacture and distribution process.

Chief Digital & Innovation Officer of RS Group and President at OKdo, Nick Young, commented: “As RS Group we bring our business together under one brand, united behind a common ambition and our single purpose; making amazing happen for a better world. The collaboration between OKdo and DesignSpark is a great step in achieving that. OKdo customers highlighted their need for more community support and that is something that can now be provided by leveraging the 1.5 million members of the DesignSpark community.”

About OKdo
OKdo is a global technology company from RS Group PLC which is disrupting single board computer (SBC) and IoT segments. Offering a unique combination of hardware, software, development support, manufacturing services and community projects, it is the world’s first business uniquely focused on meeting the rapidly evolving needs of SBC and IoT customers, from makers and entrepreneurs to industrial designers, educators and resellers.

For more information contact: katie.chubb@okdo.com

About RS Group plc
RS Group plc is a leading global omni-channel industrial product and service solutions provider to customers who are involved in designing, building and maintaining industrial equipment and operations, safely and sustainably. We stock more than 700,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers, and provide a wide range of product and service solutions to over 1.2 million customers. With operations in 32 countries, we trade through multiple channels and ship over 60,000 parcels a day.

We support customers across the product life cycle, whether via innovation and technical support at the design phase, improving time to market and productivity at the build phase, or reducing purchasing costs and optimising inventory in the maintenance phase. We offer our customers tailored product and service propositions that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses and help them save time and money.

RS Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with stock ticker RS1 and in the year ended 31 March 2022 reported revenue of £2,554 million.

For more information, please visit https://www.rsgroup.com/.