Commentary: EDA industry needs revitalizing
By Rick Carlson, Verific Design Automation -- EDN, February 6, 2007
It wasn't long ago that the electronic design automation (EDA) industry was filled with boundless enthusiasm and excitement; the possibilities seemed endless. We were at the top of the world, attracting the best of the best and enabling great things, because EDA was—and continues to be—where electronics begins. Many, if not all, of the electronics industry breakthroughs over the last several decades would not have been possible without the software and hardware developed by EDA vendors.
Sadly, somewhere along the way, the EDA community lost its optimism and sense of mission, and it's shocking. The poor reputation and industry-wide low self-esteem are totally undeserved, and it's time that we climb back to the top.
Many longtime members of the EDA community will remember when an exciting and innovative startup invited an Albert Einstein look-alike to stand in its booth during the Design Automation Conference (DAC) to help tout its breakthrough technology. The message was clear: this is brilliant, groundbreaking technology, and we're a company to be reckoned with. And it was, because that company was Gateway Design Automation, inventor of the Verilog simulator and the Verilog hardware description language (HDL).
Cadence Design Systems acquired Gateway, and Gateway's place in EDA history was firmly established. The Verilog HDL and the Verilog simulator, now known as Verilog NCS, continue to be industry stalwarts.
Einstein is long dead, but let's cull some nuggets of wisdom from him for inspiration. In fact, one of his more famous quotes is eminently appropriate: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
To be sure, I don't have any magic sauce to make things right, but I know that a fresh look at EDA is needed. One immediate priority is to bring various stakeholders—investors, customers, and representatives of semiconductor vendors and EDA companies—together for a brainstorming session on EDA's value. I'd like to see them recommend that an independent, third-party consultant not associated with the industry be hired to develop a study to identify EDA's strengths and how to capitalize on them. This study will be able to help identify the issues and where they lie. Perhaps it will find that the EDA industry needs more renegades, which we all would applaud.
Or, the recommendation may be to bring in a new force, much like when the National Football League (NFL) brought in Paul Tagliabue in 1989 as the new commissionerto act as a change agent. No one can deny what he accomplished for the NFL in his 16 years as commissioner—he is widelycredited with bringing competitive equity to the NFL and reviving the league.
To be sure, the EDA industry has some bright spots where great genius is still being applied. The Component Software Model, for example, is a creative endeavor that could be pursued more aggressively by more EDA vendors. Software components are pieces of EDA applications common to many applications that can be acquired rather than developed from scratch, saving a company time and reducing costs.
One thing is certain: the industry has allowed itself to be devalued and to wallow in self-pity and cynicism. It's high time to change the rules of this game and, in so doing, the industry perception.
Here's one more piece of inspiration from Einstein: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Let's use our collective imagination to revitalize EDA and move the industry into the next phase of its success. After all, it wasn't all that long ago that we thought we were changing the world … and we did!
Carlson is vice president of sales for Verific Design Automation.
