As far as I know, ARM as a technology has little to say one way or another about closed vs open systems. As for the broader trend towards closed: open standard

As far as I know, ARM as a technology has little to say one way or another about closed vs open systems. As for the broader trend towards closed: open standards naturally flourished in a world where one company wasn't huge enough to do everything themselves (except maybe IBM, but they dropped the ball to everyone else's benefit). Companies were forced to cooperate if they wanted to succeed. That's no longer the case, and that's why open standards are dying. Just one of the many ramifications of corporate consolidation. Just one more reason for megacorps to be broken-up.