O acesso aos dados e os recursos de silício são ativos quentes. Os fabricantes de chips querem mais dados para criar chips melhores, enquanto os fabricantes de dispositivos desejam criar chips personalizados para desbloquear oportunidades de negócios. Mas muitos dos fabricantes de sistemas e dispositivos que pretendem entrar nesses novos mercados estão enfrentando um obstáculo inesperado: os circuitos integrados produzidos em massa (ICs) que eles usam não podem fornecer o desempenho necessário para as demandas de que não serem focas e que não se reextam, que são mais importantes que as empresas focadas e focadas em tempo real fazem com que as empresas que são mais focas e que são mais especiais e que são mais especiais, as empresas focadas e que fazem mais, as empresas que são mais focas e focadas em tempo real, que são reais que as empresas focadas e focadas em tempo real fazem com que as empresas focadas e focadas e que são mais especiais e que se reexam, as empresas que são mais altamente especializadas e focadas em foco de dados. ajudará os clientes a desbloquear novas oportunidades de negócios. Projetar esses chips exigirá um conhecimento mais profundo das indústrias que essas empresas servem e melhor acesso a dados específicos do setor.
Disruptive technologies are creating exciting opportunities in areas as diverse as autonomous driving, cryptocurrencies, smart security, and smart homes. But many of the system and device manufacturers that aim to jump into these new markets are facing an unexpected obstacle: the mass-produced integrated circuits (ICs) they have been using can’t deliver the performance necessary for today’s highly specialized, real-time, data-heavy demands.
Meanwhile, the silicon-focused companies that make ICs have realized that they need to up their design game and should start producing more specialized ICs that will help customers unlock new business opportunities. Designing such chips will require a deeper knowledge of the industries these companies serve and better access to industry-specific data.
Para os fabricantes de IC, bem como para as indústrias que eles servem, o silício e os dados são os dois pontos de controle estratégicos no novo mundo digital. O Anexo 1 ilustra as abordagens que as empresas estão adotando para capturar recursos de IC ou acessar dados. A maioria das empresas pode se adaptar ao novo mundo digital, formando colaborações apertadas com parceiros do ecossistema que possuem ativos críticos. (Consulte Anexo 2.)
A number of companies have taken steps to move in these new directions, but they are not necessarily aiming for full ownership of the entire value chain. Most companies can adapt to the new digital world by forming tight collaborations with ecosystem partners that own critical assets. (See Exhibit 2.)
Developing Silicon Expertise
It’s common knowledge that companies need access to data if they want to leverage big data solutions and AI business opportunities. Less understood, however, is that companies can’t unlock new opportunities such as autonomous driving and smart manufacturing in a cost-efficient way with generic ICs. Businesses have a growing need for application-specific ICs (ASICs) that can run what is called edge computing.
Processing data close to the source, edge computing reduces the possibility of delays in sending data across long routes to data centers or clouds for analysis. It would be impractical—even dangerous—to transmit all data from an autonomous car to the cloud for analytics and then have to wait for suggested actions. The safety of passengers depends on real-time-processing capabilities that react promptly and correctly to the car’s environment. As the demand for ASICs evolves, more device manufacturers are moving vertically to build in-house IC design capabilities or to acquire such capabilities through M&A.
Device manufacturers are moving vertically to build in-house IC design capabilities or to acquire such capabilities through M&A.
Por exemplo, há vários anos um dos principais fornecedores de câmeras de vigilância da China começou a oferecer uma solução de detecção criminal. Todas as câmeras do sistema realizaram reconhecimento facial e uma análise inicial para identificar pessoas que podem ter uma correspondência em um banco de dados criminal e depois enviaram os dados processados para a nuvem para análises complexas e para notificar as autoridades. Para lidar com eficiência com as grandes quantidades de informações coletadas por milhões de câmeras de vigilância, foi necessário processar os dados em um dispositivo Edge antes de transmiti -los para a nuvem. Os ICs disponíveis no mercado eram muito caros e careciam de recursos necessários como baixo consumo de energia e capacidade de se ajustar às diferenças na iluminação. A empresa acabou optando por trabalhar com um parceiro estratégico para projetar seus próprios ASICs, reduzindo significativamente a largura de banda e a capacidade de armazenamento necessária para a transmissão de dados. Uma gigante global da Internet tem mais de 2 milhões de servidores em todo o mundo e usa quase 1 bilhão de chips a cada ano em seus data centers. À medida que seus negócios de data center crescem exponencialmente, ele pode projetar e produzir chips de última geração para atender às necessidades de negócios com eficiência. Alguns fabricantes de eletrônicos de consumo também estão projetando ASICs especificamente para reduzir custos e melhorar os preços para o lançamento do mercado de massa para o mercado de casa inteligente.
However, the company soon realized that general-use ICs were not up to the task. To deal efficiently with the large amounts of information collected by millions of surveillance cameras, it was necessary to process the data in an edge device before transmitting it to the cloud. The ICs that were available on the market were too costly and lacked such necessary features as low power consumption and the ability to adjust to differences in lighting. The company eventually chose to work with a strategic partner to design its own ASICs, significantly reducing the bandwidth and storage capacity needed for data transmission.
Meanwhile, large internet companies are capitalizing on their huge scale advantages. One global internet giant has more than 2 million servers worldwide and uses nearly 1 billion chips each year in its data centers. As its data center business grows exponentially, it can design and produce ever-better state-of-the-art chips to meet its business needs cost efficiently. Some consumer electronics manufacturers are also designing ASICs specifically to lower costs and improve pricing for their mass-market rollout to the smart-home market.
Acessando novas fontes de dados
All this might seem threatening to the business model of established IC makers. It is. Disintermediation is a real threat for those that cannot up their design game and collaborate with customers to create ASICs that can power edge computing. But chip makers looking to develop a deeper knowledge of their customers and to access more data so that they can design and produce more specialized ICs can quickly run up against a number of thorny challenges.
One challenge is that vertical moves can jeopardize existing relationships. The long-established practice is for chip vendors to provide a stable and efficient hardware solution that device manufacturers can put to use. If chip vendors start moving vertically, gathering data to create more specialized ICs, device manufacturers might feel threatened.
Furthermore, even silicon-focused companies that have access to more industry data may lack the domain knowledge to design truly cutting-edge ASICs that can open up new business opportunities. And companies can be constrained by corporate priorities. If a new market, such as smart security, is smaller than the company’s existing business, such as smartphones, its leaders might be reluctant to devote resources to ASIC development.
A FIXA 3 ilustra as quatro estratégias principais que observamos empresas de silício usando para acessar dados:
< / picture>
- Access Without Ownership. This involves collaborating with partners and not owning data. For example, an IC design company developed a graphics-processing unit and recognized that the GPU was well suited for training AI models in autonomous vehicles, as well as for the real-time processing cars need in order to react promptly to live events. But to develop autonomous-car products, the company would need access to test car data. Its solution was to strike collaborative arrangements with several auto OEMs. It has since become a leader in this business.
- Co-ownership. In some cases, silicon-focused companies have access to and co-ownership of data with partners. For example, a provider of an autonomous-driving solution leveraged its first-mover advantage to form tight partnerships that included co-ownership of driving data with several auto OEMs.
- Full Ownership Through a Value-Added Service Partnership. We have seen companies collect data from other companies’ devices and then assume full ownership of that data. For example, a leading AI company in China collects and owns the consumer data from its strategic partner’s smart-home solution devices and provides, in return, insights about consumers gleaned from its analysis.
- Full Ownership Through Self-Built Channels. In this model, silicon companies provide services directly to end users, collecting their data. This represents the deepest level of data ownership—and the greatest competitive threat to existing customers. For example, an IC company became a leader in cryptocurrencies—with full data ownership—by building a vertical, fully integrated solution, including ASIC design, ASIC miner production, and cloud mining services.
Four Imperatives for Making Vertical Moves
It’s important to bear in mind that not all companies need to move vertically to access IC capabilities or data. Before making a vertical move, companies need to determine whether the business opportunities that they are considering require strong edge- and real-time computing power, whether currently available chips could satisfy their needs in a cost-efficient way, and whether having data access or silicon capabilities would be strategically important for growth.
Not all companies need to move vertically to access IC capabilities or data.
Os mercados de smartphone e PC, por exemplo, ainda são em grande parte plataformas comerciais horizontais para processadores, incluindo CPUs, processadores de aplicativos e provedores de memória. Enquanto isso, as fundições provavelmente permanecerão competitivas, à medida que os usuários finais e os provedores de soluções continuam a terceirizar a produção de chips para evitar investir em fabricação de alto custo. Os jogadores de fábricas - compensações que terceirizam suas bolachas de silício - já estão perdendo o impulso de crescimento à medida que os mercados de PC e smartphones saturam; Eles também enfrentam ameaças graves de startups emergentes de design de IC que estão competindo por novas oportunidades de negócios. Com isso em mente, identificamos quatro imperativos críticos para fazer movimentos verticais bem -sucedidos:
But while there are exceptions, many companies will decide that they must move vertically to access IC capabilities or data—and the sooner the better. Fabless players—companies that outsource their silicon wafers—are already losing growth momentum as the PC and smartphone markets saturate; they also face severe threats from emerging IC design startups that are competing for new business opportunities. With this in mind, we have identified four imperatives critical to making successful vertical moves:
- Seja seletivo. As empresas precisam se livrar da mentalidade horizontal tradicional. Eles devem começar identificando suas próprias competências essenciais e pensando estrategicamente sobre como aplicá -las verticalmente. Este exercício deve ser feito continuamente: novas demandas de clientes e possíveis casos de uso continuam a surgir. As empresas não precisam fazer tudo, mas precisam de uma compreensão clara do que fazem bem se quiserem estender seu escopo e afastar a comoditização e a erosão dos preços. À medida que mais casos de uso atraem mais investimentos de mais indústrias, mais janelas de oportunidade serão abertas rapidamente - e fecharão ainda mais rapidamente. A velocidade, que é necessária nesse ambiente, exige abordagens magras e ágeis.
- Act fast. Seize first-mover or fast-follower advantage within select verticals by leveraging core competencies. As more use cases attract more investment from more industries, more windows of opportunity will open quickly—and close even faster. Speed, which is necessary in this environment, calls for lean and agile approaches.
- empresas separadas. Esse esforço requer suporte forte e consistente da alta gerência. Por exemplo, uma empresa de semicondutores estabeleceu uma nova entidade quando decidiu entrar na vertical dos cuidados de saúde, com o objetivo de garantir sua capacidade de responder às demandas específicas do cliente com velocidade e agilidade. Set up a separate entity (legally or informally) with its own investment logic, incentive plans, and reporting lines to stimulate new-business development. This effort requires strong and consistent support from top management. For example, a semiconductor company established a new entity when it decided to enter the health care vertical, aiming to ensure its ability to respond to customer-specific demands with speed and agility.
- Parceiro e adquirirá. As empresas devem mapear o quão longe e a rapidez se moverão verticalmente e procurar parcerias ou adquirir as peças que faltavam para buscar seus planos de negócios. Ele identificou um segmento promissor sem player dominante, no qual poderia aplicar competências principais e depois se moveu rapidamente para consolidar acordos colaborativos e acessar dados de carros de teste. Continuando a procurar parcerias no ecossistema de automóveis-incluindo, por exemplo, OEMs, provedores de sensores, fornecedores de nível One e provedores de serviço de mapeamento-a empresa também se moveu rapidamente para estabelecer um departamento de soluções de automóveis independente para o desenvolvimento do novo negócio. Os dados são a base da inovação. E o CEO da Softbank, Masayoshi Son, disse que “o silício é o núcleo do desenvolvimento da IoT. Os dados não existirão sem silício.” As the borders between software and hardware and customers and competitors continue to blur, alliances and ecosystems will grow more powerful than ever. Companies should map out how far and how fast they will move vertically and seek partnerships or acquire the missing pieces necessary for pursuing their business plans.
By acting on these four imperatives, a global fabless company successfully moved into the autonomous-vehicle business. It identified a promising segment with no dominant player in which it could apply core competencies and then moved quickly to cement collaborative arrangements and access test car data. Continuing to seek out partnerships in the auto ecosystem—including, for example, OEMs, sensor providers, tier one suppliers, and mapping-service providers—the company also moved quickly to establish an independent auto solutions department to focus on developing the new business.
Two Strategic Control Points
Former Intel CEO Brian Krzanich recently stated that “today, data is the foundation of innovation. Everything you see here—smart city, auto driving, and AI—all started with data.” And SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has said that “silicon is the core of IoT development. Data will not exist without silicon.”
Acreditamos que o futuro pertence àqueles que adotam as duas opiniões. Dados e silício são os dois pontos de controle estratégicos no novo mundo digital. As empresas de uma ampla faixa de indústrias precisam se mover verticalmente para capturar os recursos do IC ou acessar dados. Momentos disruptivos - como o que estamos enfrentando agora - são realmente excelentes momentos para desbloquear novas oportunidades e parcerias.
