So you have a good idea, but you can’t implement it because it would be too much for a small microcontroller? Does your idea need performance horsepower to get your application up and running? Are you wondering what you want to develop yourself and which off-the-shelf components you should buy? This article describes the typical factors to be considered and steps to be taken so that your idea can take the driver’s seat in a computer-on-module (COM) design and make it to the podium.