9:15 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. Keynote Address: State of the Industry
Ignited by the mobile market explosion, the ever-evolving semiconductor industry is experiencing positive and healthy growth. The hot smartphone and tablet market, which has diverted attention away from the PC market, brings an array of new opportunities due to high Internet data traffic and the build-out of 4G wireless networks.
In addition, technology breakthroughs in the healthcare and automotive field will drive substantial revenue growth for semiconductor suppliers. In the healthcare market, the growing popularity of home-based monitoring creates the need for portable, wearable and implantable medical devices. And within the automotive market, the production of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles is steadily increasing. Alternative energy markets, such as the smart grid and solar and wind systems, which expect significant growth in the upcoming quarters, have also captured the industry’s attention.
A more efficient, flexible and collaborative supply chain is needed to support the growth of these existing and emerging end markets and to address technology challenges (i.e., shrinking nodes, increasing design costs, etc.). Companies must implement enhanced supply chain management strategies to increase their profitability.
From a domestic standpoint, the U.S chip market is certainly experiencing an upturn, having been credited as one of the primary driving forces for its economy. Furthermore, the demand for emerging technologies and applications in existing vertical markets remains a contributing factor in global chip market growth.
This keynote will outline consumer and supply-chain trends affecting the industry today. What can companies expect in the next several years as technology, applications and markets evolve?
9:45 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. Keynote Address: Flash Memory: The Importance of Fostering Collaboration in Today’s Mobile Ecosystem
Building a successful business clearly requires lots of intellect, time and money, but it also requires key relationships with partners in your ecosystem. By collaborating with the right mix of partners, your end product may be even better than expected. After all, you are an expert, and you want to work with other experts to achieve the best mutual results. Whether you are collaborating on manufacturing processes or a technology integration, all your partnerships will have an impact on the bottom line. For years, SanDisk has leveraged industry partnerships to achieve success in advancing flash memory for smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, camcorders, digital media players and other consumer electronic devices, as well as USB flash drives and solid-state drives (SSDs) for the computing market. This keynote will provide suggestions for creating strong partnerships that promote business growth.
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Panel Discussion: Best Supply Chain Practices for a Successful Partnership
The devastating natural disasters this year exposed the global semiconductor supply-chain’s underlying issues related to time-to-market (TTM), costs, second tape-outs, short lead-times and long qualification times. Research shows that while supply-chain best practices are adopted by many semiconductor companies today, many others struggle with creating a collaborative approach within their supply-chain.
So what are the best practices of successfully developing and managing a partnership strategy that will enable you to grow your business and be profitable?
This panel discussion will foster dialogue between panelists from leading companies that have successfully mastered the relationships needed to effectively develop preventative measures to resolve supply-chain challenges before they happen and address problems quickly to avoid TTM delays.
1:15 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. Keynote Address: Security & the Smart Technology Evolution
Smart technology is a facet of nearly every electronic device and its applications today (i.e., cloud computing, automotive, health, energy, tablets, smartphones, etc.). As Internet connectivity in devices becomes more prevalent, so do its security concerns — which now have the industry’s full attention. According to IDC, nearly 219 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals were driven by interest in security and storage companies in 2010. As the industry ventures into the unknown territory of security, they are faced with an array of questions and hurdles regarding the way new security policies, technology and processes are implemented. What emerging and current security threats does the industry face? What security requirements are necessary to protect electronic devices from targeted cyber attacks? This keynote will address security issues in today's connected world.
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Panel Session: Improving Device Performance — Simplifying Software/Hardware Integration
Each new generation of consumer electronics devices demands more features, better performance, and a faster design cycle. Software has become a key component in meeting those demands but also is being blamed for project delays, cost overruns, and product flaws like missing features or poor performance.
How significant are the challenges of software-hardware integration? What’s the impact on a typical project? What are the root causes? Which part of the electronics ecosystem is best positioned to fix the problems? When will it happen?
Panelists representing key segments of the electronics industry will discuss these topics and respond to audience questions in a lively Q&A session.
3:15 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. Keynote Address: Macro-Economic Trends — The Tough Road Ahead
Unwinding excessive debt, fighting inflation and a reduction in stimulus is likely to lead to another global slowdown. Social & population trends in the emerging markets present the best opportunity for growth in this environment. This keynote will provide insight on the economic factors that are likely to impact GDP growth and as a result semiconductor growth, and provide a snapshot of the economic conditions in emerging regions and their market opportunities.
3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Panel Discussion: Semiconductor Investment — Redefining the Funding Model
As the industry continues to see financing for semiconductor start-ups tighten and the complexity in digital designs increase, many investors are shifting their focus from high risk, early-stage funding to safer, later stage investing. Consequently, there are a decreasing number of revolutionary start-ups available to fuel the innovation needed for tomorrow, pointing to a desperate need for the current venture capital (VC) model to evolve. This panel will discuss new strategies the industry has devised (e.g., heightened corporate and/or government involvement) to ensure VCs see large returns and innovation is rewarded.
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Conversational Interview: A State of the Aart Conversation with Scott McGregor
Aart de Geus, CEO of Synopsys, will interview Scott McGregor, President and CEO of Broadcom. In this conversational interview, de Geus will ask McGregor to provide insights on some of the lessons learned as he led his company in a constantly changing environment and the role that collaboration played in accomplishing this. In closing, both dynamic leaders will provide their reflections on the day's program and address specific issues that were highlighted throughout the day.
