Do I really need that technology? Should I do make the jump now? Will I be at a disadvantage if I don’t? Will I be hung out to dry by making the wrong decision? Even if you’re not inclined to be an early adopter, peer pressure and the rate of technological change means these are questions we’re faced with more often than ever before. Eventually, we have to attempt to back the right technology horse.
Research, staying abreast of the latest technology and even intuition all help to narrow these decisions, but eventually the choice is between taking the plunge or being left behind. We embrace change, even if reluctantly, even if perhaps a little late.
On the consumer electronics front, this hasn’t always gone terribly well. Regardless of authoritative reviews and enthusiastic support from industry commentators, plenty of consumers faced the humility of replacing Betamax video recorders with (technically inferior) VHS machines, exchanging shiny new HDD DVD players for BlueRay units, or winding the clock back a bit, tossing out expensive Quadraphonic record players when compatible LPs failed to materialize in meaningful numbers. And what did happen to OS/2 anyway?
When it all goes right though, the effects are profound and far reaching. From desktop PCs through to cell phones and broadband connectivity, the move to new technology can transform our business and private lives. Sometimes the technology change is more than justified, and other times it’s a backwards step. The trick is to knowing which path to take by using whatever information you can gather to separate the technological wheat from the chaff. Ultimately, it's about staying relevant, and going in the right direction.
The same goes for electronics design technology, up to a point. The nature of this fast moving industry means that new design technologies and features become important very quickly, or in some cases surrender to an even better new way, just as quickly. One thing is certain though, in design engineering you really do need to keep up with the technology to remain competitive. And you don’t adopt a new development system or technology just because it’s cool – it needs to make design easier, better, and allow the result to have a unique, competitive edge.
But unlike consumer technology trends, the direction you head with electronics design technology is inexorably linked to your design tool supplier. That relationship shapes your ability to create successful designs and tackle new technology, based on what new tech and features are implemented, and how often the tool is updated. Jumping suppliers is a disruptive, potentially costly exercise, so that relationship is critical and most often, long term.
Ultimately it’s the responsibility of a design tool vendor to provide you with access to the latest technology, and deliver it as soon as possible, to reflect the market environment for which and in which you are designing. To make this approach work, the vendor should be in tune with design technology trends and make the right, informed choices of your behalf. It can avoid the technology buzz that’s fatuous, irrelevant, or is just a distraction, and tap into new design technology that’s essential for your future projects.
Perhaps even more importantly, a tool supplier also has the responsibility to make new technology it has introduced affordable and easily accessible. It’s all very well to insert a new capability into a design system update, say by simply porting in a specialized stand-alone application, but the value is lost if that capability does not integrate properly with the rest of the system – or is impenetrable to real world engineers.
To this end, important technologies such as FPGA design must be implemented in a way that lets all engineers (including hardware and application software engineers) easily use that technology in their designs - no lab coat or clipboard (or specialist hardware language) needed. This concept should extend right through the development process, from concept to prototyping and deployment.
The responsibility a tool vendor has to its customers is indeed large, and is at the core of the relationship between the two parties. This can, and should, extend both ways through the existence of open channels for communication and services. Live, online resources such as forums, feedback paths, design and library data, service update portals and so on, are part of the connected loop. Part of this can also be design insights that keep you informed about the technology and features that are in development, or even facilities that let you try them out at a Beta level.
Keeping up with electronics design technology is, more than ever, an essential factor in today’s global electronics industry. Even if you’re the type to jump at the next Myface social networking trend or immediately shell out for the latest Pious hybrid-electric car, adopting new design technology is hooked in to, and dependent on, the relationship you have with a design tools vendor.
The success of that relationship relies on a tool vendor delivering regular, valuable software updates and introducing systems that allow you to easily and quickly harness new technology, while building on your existing skills. Ultimately it must remove the price, learning curve and integration barriers to adopting important technology and responding to change. Or in effect, a design tool vendor must help you back the right technology, and remove the obstacles to harnessing that technology for your future success.
- Read about the new summer 09 release of Altium Designer
