Low Power. Advanced Technologies. Open Standards. In today's economy, device manufacturers (OEMs) want to use off-the-shelf electronics building blocks where possible, then add in-house technology to complete their applications. Sourcing proprietary components, or relying upon originator-run "spec groups", increases the risk of frequent revisions and obsolescence.

What is the SFF-SIG?

The Small Form Factor Special Interest Group (SFF-SIG) is an independent non-profit industry group that develops, promotes, and supports small form factor circuit board, I/O, and storage specifications with long-term stability in mind. The group embraces the latest technologies, but also has a philosophy of maintaining legacy compatibility and enabling smooth transitions to next-generation interfaces. For example, the SFF-SIG is the only industry group with an entire family of form factor specifications with bus expansion optimized for the new sub-10W 2-chip x86 platforms including Intel's Atom™ and VIA's Nano™ CPUs. The interconnect technologies, SUMIT™, COMIT™, and MiniBlade™ connect easily to high and low speed modular I/O, and board designs are already underway.

Additionally, SFF-SIG seeks to enable practical, mainstream, real-world applications rather than extremely high-performance and high-power dissipation systems. The SIG appreciates the extensive investments in off-the-shelf products made by system OEMs and seeks to preserve those investments while smoothly embracing new technologies. Consolidating suppliers around standards, facilitating cross-platform interoperability, and architecting common expansion schemes are all goals of the SFF-SIG. As history indicates, standards with rich "ecosystems" endure the test of time. The SFF-SIG is concerned about all components of the system-level solution. It doesn't help much to shrink the board if storage, thermal, cabling and enclosure issues are problematic.

What is the group's structure?

The SFF-SIG is a worldwide trade group based in Silicon Valley and is run by an independent president who is not affiliated with any member company. Working Groups are formed to address specific topics in detail. All members may join the Working Groups, thereby ensuring broad perspectives, inputs and reviews. Voting Members cast votes on the resulting specifications. After approval, specs are published and under strict change control for the long term by the relevant Working Group. Currently the following groups are in session.

Working Groups

SUMIT™ This group's goal is to "bring back the stack" by modernizing I/O interconnect technology optimized for low-power and minimum height.

MiniBlade™ This group created a rugged alternative to consumer SSDs with a flexible interface (beyond just USB or SD), guide rails and retention latches.

Pico™ The group has defined the next generation of tiny form factor single board computers (SBCs) with flexible I/O expansion.

COMIT™ This group has defined the next Computer-on-Module (COM) interface for mainstream markets instead of high-end niche markets.

Should your company join the SFF-SIG?

If your company wants to participate in or stay abreast of the development of important new standards shaping the evolution of electronics systems you should consider membership. The SFF-SIG is open to parties interested in working together to create specifications that can turn into future industry standards.

The SFF-SIG encourages developer and end user outreach and community for direct exchange of ideas and suggestions. Drop us a line any time!

Last updated April 17, 2009
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