Globalization and consumerization—these two trends have defined the demand for electronics products in recent years. From automotive, industrial control, consumer to IT, networking and wireless, the electronics industry looks healthy across many sectors. This bodes well for the semiconductor industry which supplies chips and related technology that power electronics products.

Of all the markets however, the three that stand apart are computing, consumer, and communications. Together, they consume the majority of the semiconductors manufactured and, according to Semiconductor Industry Association, show a healthy CAGR through 2009. Of these, consumer electronics and wireless communications now consume the greatest number of IC’s; on track to exceed $110 billion by 2010 according to Gartner. This trend is driving a sea change in how products are developed and consumed. Why? Because time-to-market and time-to-volume are now critical. If a company is second to market with its product in the consumer space, chances are that product will have no market.

Design complexity also continues to increase on many fronts, along with technical requirements. For example, power management is a concern for most market segments, especially with SoC’s (system-on-chip) developed in advanced process nodes such as 90nm and below. As we move down the feature size curve to provide more functionality, power optimization becomes increasingly critical. This is particularly true in the consumer, computer and communications markets.

The semiconductor industry depends on the efficiency of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, which enable smaller, faster, cheaper and more capable next-generation electronic products. And the changing market dynamics and technology needs require a new approach to electronic design.

What’s the big story in 2007?
The big stories for the worldwide electronic design industry this year will revolve around the emergence of a true enterprise level capability to optimize the interrelated development challenges faced by systems and semiconductor development teams, and the solutions developed to enable their vision. Challenges like power, verification, manufacturability, and schedule will require customers to look at the enterprise picture.