Every January, or February if you are EDAC, leaders of our industry forecast what will be important and how the financial picture of EDA will be in the coming year. This year has not been different. I have chosen just three such forecasts. I want to highlight both non-traditional and traditional sources. Progress comes from looking at things from different points of view, and traditional financial analysis is much better than wild-eyed wishing. I could not resist, of course, from providing my own observations.

Steve Chidester, newly appointed Head of International Marketing at Zuken, has written an article that deals, among other things, with electrical design. The bottom line is that this market is still underserved and that there are interesting opportunities for EDA companies.

Synopsys, Inc. has closed the acquisition of ExpertIO, Inc., a provider of verification IP (VIP) for industry standard protocols. The addition of ExpertIO's team of protocol experts and its strong portfolio of storage Verification IP (VIP) will accelerate Synopsys' delivery of a broad line-up of high-performance, easy-to-use, full-featured VIP that can help designers address their growing verification challenges. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Cindy Wilson, Marcom Manager, EVE

It’s only January, but EVE’s event calendar for the first half of 2012 is filling quickly. We kicked off the year with a presentation by Luc Burgun, EVE’s president and CEO, at the 14th Annual Needham Growth Stock Conference January 10. This was the first time we were invited to participate and we were delighted. From all accounts, his presentation was well received.

Anyone with a sliver of ethics would agree that stealing is not a social behavior to be supported or condoned. Yet stealing of intellectual property goes on every moment on the internet. It has become almost a badge of honor for some people to download music, movies, or other intellectual content for free when instead a payment would be required.

The latest blog from Zuken reports on the company events in both Ulm and Hanover. Although the title of the blog calls the events "German Engineering Days 2012" this is really wishful thinking on the part of the author since the events took place at the end of October 2011. The blog does include a notice of the dates for next year that are worth remembering. The Ulm event will take place October 23-24, 2012 and the Hanover get together is scheduled for November 6-7 2012.

Zuken announced a new version of Board Modeler Lite that offers significant productivity enhancements during board layout design. Board Modeler Lite 6.1 – available now with CADSTAR 13.0 – bridges the process between MCAD and ECAD design flows by offering a common platform to communicate between the two disciplines. Board Modeler Lite helps resolve issues during the exchange of data between mechanical and electronic design and provides a forum during PCB layout to conduct electromechanical analysis early in the design process, with accurate 3D measurement and interference checks.

Mentor Graphics has acquired the Flowmaster Group, a global leader in 1D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation software for system design. 1D CFD solutions allow for very rapid engineering design of complex fluid flow network systems like water-cooled electronic racks, automotive vehicle thermal management, and aerospace fuel systems. This acquisition consolidates the position of Mentor Graphics as the first EDA company to move into the adjacent Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) mechanical analysis space.

It is undeniable that as software gains a larger role in system design and implementation high speed memory will become essential. But the memory block itself must be supported with the highest possible data transfer rate or a bottleneck occurs and advances in memory structure become irrelevant. I have been waiting for a signal from Cadence that its acquisition of Denali would add a significant contribution to the bottom line. Today's announcement is such proof. Cadence has brought together IP modeling, IP construction, and IP verification all in an offering that allows designers to take full advantage of the leading standard in data transmission protocol.

Lauro Rizzatti, General Manager of EVE-USA

Not long ago, I overheard a thought-provoking exchange related to the demise of a beloved cultural icon. This conversation gave me pause to consider what intriguing new application is coming next that will displace another symbol of popular culture, much like what’s happened to local book and video stores or hard-wired landline phones. I’m sure some clever entrepreneur is already designing an enabling technology to open a new world for us, beyond our current habits. Gone may be a beloved local store or pink Princess phones, but consider the access to a variety of new adventures offered by these future innovations.