laitepuolen

Laitepuolen is a Finnish term used to refer to the hardware side of a system or project. It is formed from laite, meaning device or hardware, and puoli, meaning side or aspect. In Finnish IT, electronics, and manufacturing discourse, laitepuolen denotes the hardware-related portion of a product, system, or process, in contrast to the software side (ohjelmistopuoli). The genitive form laitepuolen is used in compound phrases such as laitepuolen ratkaisut, laitepuolen integraatio, or laitepuolen kehitys, to specify hardware-oriented concerns.

The term appears in discussions about system architecture, embedded systems, device management, and IoT, where teams may separate responsibilities between laitepuolen engineering and ohjelmistopuolen engineering. Common topics associated with laitepuolen include circuit design, PCB layout, sensor interfaces, power management, thermal design, mechanical integration, and reliability testing. It is often used to frame discussions about procurement, hardware validation, compliance, and manufacturing considerations.

While the term is primarily descriptive rather than a formal discipline, it helps distinguish hardware considerations from software considerations within cross-functional projects. See also laite, ohjelmisto, laitepuoli, ohjelmistopuoli, embedded systems.