IP's future: survival of the fittest

Intellectual property is continuing its migration from a fledgling cottage industry born back in the mid-1990s to a maturing segment of the high-tech arena. This growing maturity will require equally sophisticated IP offerings from ever-more-sophisticated IP providers. IP customers will demand a higher degree of integrated blocks targeted specifically to their market application. We see the genesis of this today with platform systems-on-chip in which most IP blocks come preintegrated, preverified and validated. The method in which an IP vendor is selected will also mature. A lot will depend on the methodology, process and level of verification a supplier can give a product.

As we migrate to a higher order of integrated SoC building blocks, standards-based IP offerings will continue. Standards bodies will release new and different technologies (like the recently announced CE-ATA standard). There will always be a market to complement these types of standards. Star IP suppliers such as ARM, MIPS, ARC and Ceva will continue to play a major role for products with microprocessors and DSPs. But even some of these companies will seek ways to become more-complete suppliers by acquiring complementary technologies. I also see continued growth for the higher order of proprietary IP from vendors like Virage Logic.

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