Business & Policy
CHERI adoption costs
CHERI adoption costs arise across silicon or board selection, toolchains, software porting, testing, skills, assurance and the period in which old and new platforms coexist.
Why it matters
A complete estimate prevents the programme from hiding transition effort in existing teams or comparing a one-off adoption cost with only one year of operational benefit.
In brief
CHERI adoption costs arise across silicon or board selection, toolchains, software porting, testing, skills, assurance and the period in which old and new platforms coexist. The size and timing of each cost depends on the chosen architecture and how much of the stack you control.
Key considerations
1. Platform
Price evaluation hardware, processor or SoC IP, integration, validation, supplier support and any redesign of adjacent components.
2. Software
Inventory code, libraries, assembly, drivers, build systems and third-party dependencies; estimate work by evidence, not lines of code alone.
3. Organisation
Include training, assurance, documentation, procurement, partner coordination, parallel releases and opportunity cost.
Evidence and caveats
Research-port experience can inform an estimate but may not include production quality, certification, upstream maintenance or supplier obligations.
Show assumptions, ranges, dates and owners for economic or policy claims. Recheck legislation, guidance, product status and prices at the decision date.