A decisive development in the electronic systems (SOC) manufacturing cycle: Design And Reuse and IBM create the first qualified virtual marketplace for electronic IPs

A decisive development in the electronic systems (SOC) manufacturing cycle:
Design&Reuse and IBM create the first qualified virtual marketplace for electronic IPs

IBM and Design&Reuse have decided to pool their respective expertise in e-business technologies and qualified provision of IPs
to create a virtual marketplace on the Internet and help shorten the manufacturing cycle of electronic systems

Paris March 27, 2000 – Design&Reuse (D&R) and IBM Net Generation have just announced an alliance aimed at pooling their respective expertise in qualified provision of electronic IPs (intellectual properties) and e-business technologies. The aim of this alliance is to provide manufacturers with an electronic IP virtual marketplace on the Web. IBM's input will be to provide Design and Reuse with two of its e-business solutions: ViMP (virtual marketplace), a technology developed by IBM's Zurich Laboratories, and "Sametime Connect", from Lotus. This solution is based on IBM's Websphere Commerce Suite, Visual Age for Java and DB2 relational database software. This service will greatly speed up the electronic system manufacturing cycle, currently held back by the IP development or acquisition phase.

Electronic IPs: at the heart of the electronic system development and manufacturing strategy
IPs can be defined as all elements from the description of an electronic component functionality, written in Verilog or VHDL, right up to the descriptive and implementation diagram and to functional test results. IPs are the very basis on which electronic systems, or SOCs (System On a Chip), are designed and manufactured. The time required to obtain a qualified electronic IP that perfectly meets requirements is currently several months when the manufacturer acquires an IP already developed by another company. If it decides to develop the component itself, the investment required in terms of technologies, research skills and development of test tools are colossal and within reach of only a small few companies. Manufacturers now want to access the IPs they need in as short a time as possible, at low cost and with guaranteed quality in relation with their precise needs.

A choice of electronic IPs available in minutes
D&R's site, with the help of IBM's e-business technology, will enable manufacturers to save time and money when looking for IPs. On this D&R site (www.design-reuse.com), they can perform queries and get highly targeted and qualified answers within minutes.
For this purpose, manufacturers on the D&R site will use IP Profiler, a built-in tool enhanced by IBM technology to provide fine-tuning functions when specifying search criteria in queries (performance, price, technology used, etc.). This choice will be made possible by use of dynamic cursors. Manufacturers will thus obtain the exact IPs they desire.
Furthermore, manufacturers will be able to contact any owners of IPs that meet the criteria requested if these IPs are not available on the site or have not yet been designed. Negotiations will then be possible on the site itself. Test, simulation and assessment services are also available on the D&R site for enterprises wishing to perform more in-depth tests on the IPs chosen.

A genuine virtual marketplace
Whether looking for or offering IPs, manufacturers can come to the D&R site as they would a genuine electronic IP marketplace. The site's services provide substantial time savings. Electronic system design and manufacturing life cycles can be considerably shortened from months to a few days while still ensuring optimum quality. This site can also spare large scale investment in technical skills, and design, simulation and assessment tools.
"We have been very impressed by IBM e-business development. We are exited at using the IBM offering to give more power to our IP e.marketplace, aimed at speeding up business decisions in an IP transaction. It is the right time for D&R to partner with IBM, the e-business leader. We obviously can share many techniques in this new field," said Gabrièle Saucier, D&R founder.
Virginie Haas, IBM Net Generation Manager for IBM France, commented: "This partnership is proof of IBM Net Generation's commitment to supporting Net-Gens, the Internet generation enterprises. Thanks to our e-business expertise, we help them deliver greater added value to their customers and thereby strengthen their leadership positions."

Availability
This extremely innovative service will be available from next May and will be fully operational in the Summer 2000.

Technology platform
The IBM solution adopted by Design&Reuse is based on IBM's WebSphere Commerce Suite, the ideal platform for e-business. The D&R site also uses the DB2 relational database. The solution will be deployed on an IBM Netfinity infrastructure running Linux.

Design&Reuse
D&R is a corporation founded in September 1997 with 19% shareholding of CMP Inc. Today D&R is the Web portal for IPs and SOC, and by the end of Q1 2000 the first Internet IP trading center. D&R provides IP exchange, Internet/intranet exchange technology and validation services. D&R can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.design-reuse.com.

IBM and IBM Net Generation
In its position as worldwide leader in information technologies, IBM created IBM Net Generation last February. This new division is specially dedicated to providing its global expertise to enterprises on the new Internet market. The Internet companies (ISPs, ASPs and dot-coms) can therefore access IBM's entire offer with the responsiveness and tailored approach they need, enabling them to focus on their core business. This expertise is provided in four key services areas: Technology Services, Strategic Consulting, Professional Services and Financing. IBM's ambition is to become the favored technological partner of Internet generation enterprises.
-> For more information about IBM, please visit www.ibm.com.

Contacts :

D&R - Anirudha Maitra - Marketing
Tel : 33 (0)4 76 57 48 43
E-mail: mktg@design-reuse.com

IBM - Zohra Dali - PR Manager
Tel: 33 (0)1 49 05 54 94
E-mail: zohradali@fr.ibm.com