EDA vendors need to step up system-level design efforts, says EDAC panel

By Nicolas Mokhoff, Courtesy of EE Times
May 12, 2006

CHELMSFORD, Mass. — If EDA vendors want to participate in the consumer electronics market they will need to step up their efforts to provide system-level design tools, according to an EDA Consortium panel held here Thursday (May 11).

EDAC's second annual East Coast meeting was to shed light on the consumer market’s impact on electronic design automation and intellectual property. John Barr, senior vice president of Buckingham Capital Management investment house set the stage by noting, "On the one hand, the economy…and on the other hand, the economy… is strong with a 4.8 percent GDP but the inflation index is at plus 3.5 percent, maybe twice that." He added, "We can't control the economy, but there will always be opportunities for great products."

Barr called for both EDA companies and IP houses to pay more attention to the end customer, the consumer who buys a cell phone or an iPod music player. “Best Buy, Walmart and Circuit City represent 40 percent of the domestic consumer electronics market and they are getting smarter in serving their customers with such programs as Best Buy's 'customer-centric' strategy to provide solutions to consumers," said Barr.

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