Long-term Support
Production-ready embedded Linux platforms that last
Support That Empowers Your Team
At Rufilla, our commitment doesn’t end at deployment. We provide long-term support that ensures your products remain secure, reliable and adaptable throughout their entire lifecycle. Many clients, including Oxford Instruments, Octopus Energy, and Naim Audio, have worked with us for over a decade.
Our approach is different from traditional support models. We provide expert guidance while actively growing your internal capability, so your team becomes increasingly self-sufficient.
You retain control; we remain a trusted partner for complex challenges and strategic direction.
Our BSP Approach
Our Support Framework
System Maintenance and Updates
System maintenance keeps your embedded systems running optimally as requirements evolve and technologies advance. We provide comprehensive maintenance services that balance stability with improvement.
System Maintenance and Updates
Maintenance Services:
Custom distribution + recipe development
Layer and build system structuring for maintainability
Cross-compilation toolchain and SDK creation
CI pipelines for automated builds and testing
Security Patch Management
Security threats evolve constantly. Our security patch management keeps your products protected against emerging vulnerabilities through systematic update processes.
Security Management:
Vulnerability monitoring tracking security advisories and CVEs
Patch assessment evaluating security update relevance
Patch testing validating updates before deployment
Deployment planning minimising service disruption
Rollback procedures ensuring update safety
Compliance reporting documenting security maintenance
Performance Optimisation
Products should improve over time, not degrade. Our performance optimisation services identify and eliminate bottlenecks, improving user experience and system efficiency.
Optimisation Services:
Performance profiling identifying improvement opportunities
Resource usage analysis optimising memory and CPU utilisation
Boot-time reduction accelerating system start-up
Power consumption optimisation extending battery life
Response time improvement enhancing user experience
Throughput enhancement increasing data processing capability
Technical Consultation
Complex challenges benefit from expert guidance. Our technical consultation provides strategic advice and hands-on assistance for architectural decisions and difficult problems.
Consultation Areas:
Architecture evolution planning for future requirements
Technology assessment evaluating new technologies and approaches
Problem resolution addressing complex technical issues
Design reviews validating proposed changes
Capacity planning ensuring systems meet growing demands
Integration guidance incorporating new features and capabilities
Team Training and Upskilling
Your team’s capabilities determine long-term product success. Our training and upskilling programmes transfer knowledge systematically, building expertise that enables independence.
Training Services:
Embedded Linux training developing platform expertise
Security best practices teaching secure development
Debugging techniques improving problem-solving skills
Development workflows optimising team processes
Documentation practices enabling knowledge retention
Code review training maintaining code quality
Team Training and Upskilling
Your team’s capabilities determine long-term product success. Our training and upskilling programmes transfer knowledge systematically, building expertise that enables independence.
Long-term Support Process
We support products deployed in real environments across smart energy systems, medical devices, industrial IoT platforms, scientific instrumentation, and infrastructure, ensuring reliability over long operational lifecycles without limiting your product’s direction.
Initial Assessment and Planning
Support begins with comprehensive system assessment, understanding your architecture, current capabilities, and future goals. This assessment informs our support strategy and knowledge transfer priorities.
Regular Health Monitoring
We implement proactive monitoring, identifying potential issues before they cause problems. Regular health checks ensure systems maintain optimal performance and security.
Scheduled Maintenance Windows
Planned maintenance occurs during scheduled windows minimising service disruption. We coordinate updates with your operational requirements, ensuring smooth deployments.
Continuous Improvement
Support isn’t just maintenance – it’s evolution. We identify improvement opportunities, implement enhancements, and help your products stay current with technology advances.
Knowledge Transfer Sessions
Regular knowledge transfer sessions share expertise systematically. Your team gains understanding enabling increasingly independent management of your embedded systems.
Knowledge Transfer Approach
Structured Learning Programmes
Our knowledge transfer uses structured programmes building expertise systematically rather than ad hoc information sharing.
Hands-on Mentoring
We work alongside your team on real problems, transferring expertise through practical experience rather than just theoretical teaching.
Comprehensive Documentation
Every support interaction includes documentation updates ensuring knowledge remains accessible long after specific issues are resolved.
Code Review and Collaboration
Joint code reviews teach best practices whilst validating changes, accelerating your team’s development capabilities.
Measuring Support Success
Product Evolution
We monitor product improvements over time, tracking feature additions, performance enhancements, and capability expansions enabled by support partnership.
Technical Metrics
We track technical indicators including system uptime, security patch deployment speed, performance improvements, and issue resolution times.
Team Capability Growth
Success includes measuring your team’s growing independence through reduced support request frequency, increased complex problem resolution, and expanding technical capabilities.
Why Choose Rufilla for Long-term Support?
Comprehensive Technical Coverage
Our expertise spans hardware, firmware, embedded Linux platforms, drivers, applications, cloud, and manufacturing workflows, so there’s no handover friction.
Knowledge Transfer Priority
We don’t lock knowledge away. We document, explain, and train so your team grows stronger and more capable over time.
Proven Long-Term Partnerships
We’ve supported products in the field for more than a decade. Clients stay with us because the relationship adds value, not because we create dependency.
Flexible Support Models
Support adapts as your team and product needs evolve, from occasional guidance to full lifecycle management for mission-critical deployments.
Ready for a Long-Term Partnership That Builds Capability?
We support your products in the field and strengthen the team who owns them. Your platform evolves, your product improves, and your internal capability grows.
Speak with our support team about your product roadmap
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes your support approach different from traditional consultancies?
Our support prioritises knowledge transfer and team capability building rather than creating dependency. We actively work to make your team increasingly self-sufficient whilst remaining available for complex challenges. Many clients work with us for over a decade by choice, not necessity.
How do you balance ongoing support with knowledge transfer?
We provide immediate support for urgent issues whilst using each interaction as teaching opportunity. Support includes comprehensive documentation, explanation of root causes, and guidance preventing similar issues. This approach resolves problems whilst building your team’s capabilities.
What support levels do you offer?
We provide three support tiers: Essential Support for teams with growing expertise needing occasional guidance; Professional Support for comprehensive assistance with complex systems; and Enterprise Support for mission-critical systems requiring continuous expert availability and proactive management.
Can support levels change as our team develops?
Absolutely. Our flexible support model adapts to your evolving needs. As your team gains capabilities, we adjust engagement levels whilst remaining available for strategic guidance and complex challenges. Support naturally graduates as teams become more independent.
How do you handle emergency support situations?
Emergency response depends on support level. Enterprise Support includes 24/7 availability for critical issues. Professional Support provides priority assistance during business hours. We prioritise rapid response for security vulnerabilities and operational issues affecting deployed products.
What does security patch management include?
Security patch management includes continuous vulnerability monitoring, patch relevance assessment, testing and validation, deployment planning, and rollback procedures. We handle complete security update lifecycle ensuring your products stay protected against emerging threats.
How does performance optimisation work?
Performance optimisation begins with profiling identifying bottlenecks and improvement opportunities. We implement targeted enhancements addressing specific issues whilst maintaining system stability. Regular reviews identify new optimisation opportunities as usage patterns evolve.
What training and upskilling do you provide?
Our training programmes cover embedded Linux development, security best practices, debugging techniques, development workflows, and code review practices. Training combines formal sessions with hands-on mentoring, building practical capabilities your team applies immediately.
How do you measure support success?
We track multiple metrics including technical indicators (uptime, security patch deployment, performance improvements), team capability growth (reduced support needs, increased autonomous problem resolution), and product evolution (feature additions, performance enhancements).
Can you support products you didn't originally develop?
Yes, we frequently support systems developed by others or internal teams. We begin with comprehensive system assessment understanding architecture, identifying issues, and planning support strategy. Our broad expertise enables effective support across diverse embedded systems.
What documentation do you provide with support services?
Every support interaction includes documentation updates capturing solutions, explaining root causes, and providing prevention guidance. We maintain comprehensive technical documentation enabling your team to reference solutions and understand systems deeply.
How does support integrate with our development processes?
We adapt to your existing development workflows, integrating with your version control systems, issue tracking, and testing processes. Our collaborative approach complements your processes rather than imposing rigid external methodologies.