Cadence Makes PCB Push

Electronic News, Oct 12, 1998

San jose, calif. -- Cadence Design Systems cut prices on its Allegro studio, a printed circuit board (PCB) design software package that the electronic design automation software giant previously targeted toward the higher end of the market. Cadence sees the market for mainstream PCB tools as fragmented and in efforts to consolidate this market Cadence saw the price point as an inroad. Cadence says the Allegro studio brings the capability of advanced PCB tools to cost-conscious mainstream users. Available for Windows NT, Allegro consists of Cadence's Concept HDL schematic capture, Allegro PCB layout, SPECCTRA auto router and edit router, and library management software. The price tag is now $9,995.

"Prior to this we didn't have a bundled solution but, if you would have taken each individually it would have totalled $38K, so now you are getting close to $40,000 worth of tools for under $10k," says Dave DeMaria, GM for the Cadence Performance Engineering business unit.

To market the software, Cadence will also bolster its telesales team and add a network of value-added resellers (VARs) to the products behalf. EMA Mid-Atlantic, a full-service VAR dedicated to the EDA market, will distribute Cadence PCB design software products in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., covering New York through Virginia. Ward/Davis Associates, headquartered in Redondo Beach, will distribute Cadence PCB products to its broad base of customers in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

"We view the PCB market as a strategic component in our drive to solve customers' system-on-a-chip (SOC) problems," said Mr. DeMaria, "These moves we are announcing today reflect our intent to become the definitive leader of the PCB market."

Presently, Cadence ranks tied for second with Mentor Graphics in the PCB design space, behind Zuken-Redac; however, the combined top three PCB design companies total less than 50 percent of the total market, according to Mr. DeMaria. While the IC design market is consolidated into a few hands, the PCB design market remains wide open with upwards of 30 players vying for a piece of the board design pie. With Cadence's price move, the company hopes to carve itself a larger slice and consolidate the market.

Why all the fuss over a market that shows growth in the single digits year over year? Mr. DeMaria says PCB design is a strategic piece of Cadence's portfolio, despite the estimated six to nine percent growth expected for the market. For several years, Cadence has placed emphasis on its PCB design software, leading up to this price move. One reason is that higher frequencies and more functions integrated onto a single chip, the system-on-a-chip shift, causes problems at the board level. Cadence views solving the board level problems caused by systems-on-silicon as a necessary extension of its system-on-a-chip software and services. The systems-on-silicon being designed by Cadence's customers are destined for boards in their customers boxes, and Cadence believes it must ensure this happens seamlessly.

"We see a tight linkage with what is driving system-on-a-chip and at the board level what's different for board customers," says Mr. DeMaria.

In addition to the drop in overall price, Cadence also claims upward as a key feature in the Allegro studio's favor. The studio is compatible with the Cadence advanced PCB design software portfolio. Allegro studio shares the same library and design database used by other high-performance PCB design tools, including Allegro expert system and SPECCTRAQuest interconnect designer, Cadence's highest-end offerings. Cadence also offers a suite of translators and services to help customers transition to Allegro studio from their existing PCB design tools.

Allegro studio is immediately available for Windows NT platforms in the U.S. at a list price of $9,995. Cadence telesales can be contacted at 800-995-8908.

In a separate, but related announcement Cadence and Valor Computerized Systems formed a strategic relationship aimed at providing leading-edge computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) simulation solutions within a PCB design flow. This relationship raises Valor to a Platinum member in the Cadence Connections third-party software program, and establishes Cadence as a member of Valor's Open Systems Alliance (OSA). The two companies have elevated their existing relationship to now provide for: complete cross-access to software for development of improved flow-based integration; access to Valor software for support of board-level design for manufacturability requirements in the Cadence design and consulting services organizations; and joint marketing and sales support.