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Rohde & Schwarz entered oscilloscopes as an adjacent move from measurement fields where it already had expertise—not as a quick-profit bet. In an interview published by EE Times Europe on 4 October 2010, measurement-technology business manager Roland Steffen described a strategy built around differentiated hardware, patient investment and a goal of becoming the market’s third-largest supplier.
Why enter an established oscilloscope market?
Rohde & Schwarz saw oscilloscopes as an attractive extension of its measurement-technology business. The company believed its existing technical experience could help it identify shortcomings in available instruments, while employees who used oscilloscopes could provide practical insight into what a new product should do better.
The move was not premised on making the first product as profitable as products in markets where the company already had a strong position. Steffen put the investment logic plainly: “Nevertheless, we do not necessarily expect that the first product in a new market brings as much profit as do products for markets where we have already achieved a strong position.” He also said, “In general, we want to be profitable with our designs.”
What was the product meant to do differently?
The 2010 product concept joined usability with measurement performance. Rohde & Schwarz highlighted its user interface, low-noise amplifiers for measuring very small signals, and hardware signal processing implemented in a custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
#1 Best Overall
- Up to 2 Gsample sampling rate
- Low-noise measurement due to state-of-the-art A/D converters
- Wide selection of automatic measurement functions
- QuickView: key results at the press of a button
- Mask test: easy creation of a new mask with just a few keystrokes
- Small-signal work: Low-noise amplifiers were intended to make the instrument useful when the signal being measured was very small.
- Signal processing: The custom ASIC was reported by Rohde & Schwarz as containing 15 million gates.
- Frequency capability: The A/D converter was reported as supporting signal frequencies up to 10 GHz. That figure describes the converter capability stated in the 2010 interview, not a claim about every oscilloscope in the company’s later or current ranges.
- Ease of use: The interface was part of the product proposition, although the interview did not provide a quantified usability comparison or a specific benchmark against rival models.
Rohde & Schwarz designed its own ICs when critical functions were not available off the shelf. That choice required substantial investment, but Steffen viewed the engineering effort as a barrier to entry: smaller suppliers could find it difficult to finance each new product generation, particularly as the industry consolidated.
How did it plan to compete for market share?
Steffen described the oscilloscope market in 2010 as having “almost no growth.” In a market he saw as nearly stagnant, gaining share meant taking customers from established competitors rather than relying on rapid category expansion. Rohde & Schwarz set an ambitious target: “we intend to become number three in this market,” with double-digit market share in the first years.
Rank #2
- Four quadrant source measure unit
- Catalog number 3639.3763P99
- This version includes the NGU-K103 option (digital I/O Ports)
- Ideal for semiconductor testing
- Can act as bipolar power supply or bipolar electronic load
The interview put the global oscilloscope market at $1 billion, a 2010 estimate reported by Rohde & Schwarz. Steffen illustrated the scale of the opportunity by noting that 10 percent would amount to $100 million; this was an illustration of market size, not a reported company revenue target or achieved result. He expected at least five years to reach the ranking goal.
Price was another possible point of entry. Steffen saw an opportunity in lower-priced entry-level products, while the broader measurement portfolio showed that technical markets could span very different frequency ranges: in 2010, Rohde & Schwarz said network analysis had reached 500 GHz, while most of its business was up to 40 GHz. Those figures describe the company’s network-analysis context, not the oscilloscope’s stated 10 GHz converter capability.
Rank #3
- Waveform-handling software suite with more than 400 measurements, signal decodes, and compliance tests (including DDRx/PCIe/Gigabit Ethernet/HDMI/USB/etc) - all at no additional cost
- Compatible with all major brands of real-time oscilloscopes, digitizers, and EDA simulation tools; including older devices going back 20 years
- Includes advanced tools for waveform exploration, debug, characterization testing support, and much more
- Increase your productivity with automated analysis capabilities and 1-click reporting
- Share fully explorable waveform data with your team and business partners with built-in workflow collaboration
Why was the time horizon unusually long?
Rohde & Schwarz expected market entry to take years, consistent with the longer life cycles common in measurement equipment. Steffen said its spectrum-analysis business had taken 15 years to reach its then-current position and projected at least five years for the oscilloscope ranking objective. He summarized the approach: “Typically this takes more time but it is more sustainable,” referring to organic growth rather than acquisitions.
Steffen also linked the company’s private ownership to its ability to plan over a longer period without the same stock-market pressure for short-term results. He said measurement products typically had life cycles longer than ten years, making sustained product development and customer relationships more important than a rapid launch followed by a quick exit.
Rank #4
- Catalog number: 1409.8233.02
- Bandwidth: 100 MHz
- Max. Current: 30 A (RMS)
- Sensitivity: 0.1 V/A
- Non-intrusive DC and AC measurements
How did its operating model support the strategy?
Rohde & Schwarz was internationally oriented in sales and development, while keeping manufacturing close to its German engineering base. The figures below were reported by the company in the 2010 interview.
| Area | Rohde & Schwarz’s reported position | Strategic significance |
|---|---|---|
| Exports | More than 80 percent of measurement-technology output was exported. | Its products and customer base were already international rather than confined to Germany. |
| Development | 20 percent of measurement-technology development resources were outside Germany, with subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and the United States. | Development capacity was distributed internationally, alongside the company’s established German base. |
| Manufacturing | Production remained almost entirely in Germany. | Low volumes and the value of close cooperation between design and manufacturing favored keeping production nearby. |
The company said it made its own printed circuit boards and mechanical components to control quality and delivery priorities. It was considering Asian production as design activity in Asia increased, but the interview described this as a possibility under consideration—not as a completed shift in manufacturing.
What the 2010 strategy does—and does not—tell us
The interview documents the rationale, product priorities and ambitions Rohde & Schwarz described when entering oscilloscopes in 2010. It does not establish whether the company ultimately reached third place, achieved double-digit share, or how its product specifications and market position compare today. Its value is as a snapshot of a deliberate market-entry plan: use existing measurement expertise, invest in differentiated hardware, and accept a longer route to scale.
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