Letter to the editor: Semico's insights on IP (Richard Wawrzyniak)

(08/16/2007 12:01 PM EDT) -- EETimes

I received a plethora of e-mails regarding my recent article, entitled "Opinion: Semi IP sector is a lost cause"

Then, I asked for the IP vendors themselves to respond to a set of questions. Here's one letter to the editor from Richard Wawrzyniak, an analyst with Semico Research Corp.:

Editor,

I (and I expect many others), read with great interest your article on the current state of the 3rd Party IP industry and how it is a 'lost cause'! I can understand that statement if one is focused solely on the financials of different IP companies. Many companies have yet to make a profit even though revenues continue to increase. Perhaps the disconnect here is one of being focused too much on the financials as the sole measure of importance as opposed to being a little more realistic in outlook regarding the future and relative importance of IP to the semiconductor industry as a whole?

What should the outlook be then, for this market? You cannot make the case that the financial side of things is the most important part of the picture and should be the sole focus of any discussion. It would be very difficult to have a discussion about Intel or Microsoft or Apple without speaking about their respective technologies and the markets they have enabled. These companies and many others have had, and continue to have, an impact far beyond the status of their current balance sheets.

Simply stated, the IP industry has got to be one of the most exciting, vibrant industries on the face of the planet! Nowhere else can you find the combination of dynamic growth, innovation, competitive pressure, market evolution, lightning-fast product evolution and creativity besides the IP market. Arguably, the entire SoC market depends on the IP industry to deliver competitive, cutting edge, best-in-class solutions and at extremely competitive prices too.

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