14 DAY TRIAL // The relationship between suppliers and customers on the IT industry is a rather ambivalent one. Customers tell suppliers and tech designers what they want, but they don't always get it, as suppliers have limitations of their own.
Closer collaboration can help make products that perform better and more in line with customers' initial vision, but it takes special dedication and willingness on the supplier's part.
Advanced Micro Devices wants to become such a supplier, so it has announced a new strategic focus, through which it will develop one-of-a-kind solutions with customer-specific IP.
A flexible System-on-a-Chip (SoC) design methodology will be the core of this new tactic. The AMD Semi-Custom Business Unit will handle it.
"Innovation in computing over the next decade will come from deep knowledge and integration of hardware, software and system expertise," said AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Business Units Lisa Su.
"The charter of the Semi-Custom Business Unit at AMD is to provide OEM customers access to leading-edge IP to create tailored and differentiated solutions. AMD's high-performance heritage, strategic investments in IP, and SoC design methodology enable customer-specific solutions that are truly one-of-a-kind."
AMD's SoC processor design methodology uses a modular approach, which can re-use silicon IP and design building blocks.
Customers collaborate with the AMD Semi-Custom Business Unit to develop and push the boundaries of the product, after which the engineers make the blueprints reality.
Essentially, all market segments can benefit: high-volume, high-value applications in gaming, set-top boxes, servers, high performance computing and infrastructure applications, smart TVs, PCs, and tablets.
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is the first example of a collaboration of this sort.