The
need
As
System-on-Chip (SoC) designs move into the
ultra-deep-submicron (UDSM) lithography
fabrication processes, integrating more
than a hundred million (108) transistors
on a chip is becoming commonplace. Simultaneously,
the analog and mixed-signal content in many
of these chips is increasing. While EDA
tools struggle with the challenges of UDSM
fabrication processes as well as the complexity
of co-verification of digital and analog
IP, costs of chip design now rival mask
and manufacturing costs. A solution clearly
needs to be found to facilitate continued
innovation by small and mid-sized fabless
custom chip companies.
The solution
The answer that ComLSI came to is not
Outsourcing. While
costs may be lower at an outsourcing location,
be it domestic or international, the complexity
of communicating design requirements, the
need for real-time, speedy architectural
and circuit-level specification trade-offs,
the need to protect intellectual property
and design know-how among other issues translate
to higher costs in the long run in an outsourced
model. Many companies have instead taken
the strategic decision to ramp up owned
design centers in lower cost locations –
and have borne the growth agonies of such
centers - but this is not a model suitable
for adoption by startups, small and mid-sized
companies because of the initial capital
outlay and expenses incurred in ramping
up a remote design center.
What ComLSI proposes, instead, is a flexible
Virtual Design Center model that small companies
can adopt with relative ease. The model
revolves around an expert US resource from
ComLSI, who forms the primary VDC-Sponsor
interface, and ComLSI’s HR Consulting
partner(s) in remote locations who manage
all administrative and infrastructural requirements
of the remote team. The remote team is ramped
and trained by ComLSI and its HR
Partner, maintained by sponsor projects,
remains dedicated to the sponsor, and conducts
all its tasks in accordance with
the sponsor’s requirements. More
importantly, ComLSI offers the sponsor of
a VDC the option to absorb the remote team
after a period of training including project
completions.
In short, you, as a sponsor, communicate
your project/team requirements to ComLSI;
ComLSI’s experts plan the rapid, low-cost
completion of your project, managing all
aspects of ramping up a team that executes
your project, and you retain the right to
absorb the team.
The distinction
So
how are we different from a dedicated team
from an outsourcing company in a low-cost
location? Here are a few distinctions:
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