Frequently Asked Questions

Why Outsource?

"Outsourcing is the watchword for big business and it can make sense for small companies as well. It may be wise to use the expertise of a specialist design house or a consultant to ensure that your new product is as competitive as it can be and that you are using the most appropriate technology." (DTI, 1999)

"In addition to the inevitable driver of cost-savings, there are many contributory elements which lead an organisation to consider outsourcing, in particular the need for flexibility as demand for products or services rises and falls, and ways of delivering them improve." (Institute of Management, 1999)

Outsourcing can provide many benefits for your company. It:-

• Gives you more time to focus on and foster your core activities.
• Reduces your overhead costs resulting in greater financial flexibility.
• Eliminates your investments in ever-changing technology.
• Allows your management to focus on your primary strengths.
• Places a professional staff in charge of your outsourced functions.
• Gives access to better management skills on non-core activities.
• Provides greater staffing flexibility.
• Relieves the stress and costs of hiring, training, and staffing new employees.
• Enables operational flexibility and control through contractual relationships.

"On average, companies are realizing a 9% cost savings and a 15% increase in capacity and quality through outsourcing." (The Outsourcing Institute, 1998)

"Outsourcing is nothing less than a full-fledged mega-trend both here in the U.S. and around the world." (Fortune Magazine, 1995)

"The global outsourcing market will exceed $121 billion by the year 2000." (International Data Corporation, 1998)

So, rather than worrying about all the facets of your business, consider the benefits of outsourcing. Trust some of your functions to a specialist.

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Why don't we do it in-house?

In-house development is the traditional approach. It requires large investment in hardware, software and staff with the required skills. In order to be cost effective, these resources must be fully utilized, thus requiring a continuous supply of projects with the correct skill and resource requirements for your staff. This approach tends to mean that peaks cannot be accommodated, and troughs leave expensive resources unused.

"..sometimes, when the full cost of 'ownership' is taken into account, it is cheaper to subcontract both design and manufacture." (DTI, 1999)

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Why don't we use contractors with a core of in-house staff?

This allows the peaks and troughs in manpower requirements to be managed. However, contractors take time to come up to speed with a particular project and the companies tool-set. There is still a requirement for in-house expertise, hardware and software. There is also the problem of the contractor being too transient and not part of the team. They know that they will only be with the company for a set time period, often shorter than the project duration. For this reason, the project management role becomes more difficult.

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Won't I loose control of my project?

No. The contract that we will agree with you at the start of a project details exactly the deliverables that you can expect from us and the timescales that we will meet. If you wish you will be kept up to date with progress reports and regular project deliverables will give you confidence that the project is running to schedule.

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What about design security?

Using a design house to design FPGAs or ASICs is no more risky than using in-house staff which may leave and go to a competitor, or a contractor who owes the company no loyalty. In fact a design house's survival depends on assuring companies that their designs are safe. At the start of any project a non-disclosure agreement will be signed by both parties that will ensure the confidentiality of your design information.

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Doesn't it cost more?

No. If you compare the hourly rate of a design house with the hourly pay for one of your engineers then it does look more expensive. However, what you have not done is looked at the hidden overheads:

• Employers National Insurance Contributions.
• Employers Pension Contributions.
• Office Space for Staff and Contractors.
• Hardware and Software required by Staff.
• Administration Costs.
• Secretarial Support.
• Sickness Cover.

Your company will not have to cover any of the above overheads if you use engineers employed by a Design House to develop your ASICs or FPGAs. The cost of using a Design House has suddenly become more attractive.

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Do I need a fixed specification?

In an ideal world, the best start to any design will be a complete specification of what is required. enSpire understand that this is a difficult, sometimes impossible deliverable at the beginning of a product development. We will work closely with your design team to gain a good understanding of your requirements and ensure that the specification contains the key information that we require in order for us to begin design work and will design the core modules as they become defined. This flexible approach to the design process allows for specifications to evolve as the project commences.

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You don't know about my application.

We have experience of developing many devices from the initial requirements capture stage through to silicon. We will work closely with your design team at the start of a development to specify the devices that you require. The level of detail in the specification at the start of the development will depend upon your design teams understanding of your application. In cases where the specification cannot be complete at the start of a development, staged updates to the specification will be scheduled into the design process. This will enable enSpire to work on the defined parts of the design whilst other areas are evolving.

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I've got my own designers why should I need enSpire?

You may currently have enough designers to cope well with your current workload. You may however face situations in the future where your current resources are insufficient to complete all your projects. In the current climate it may be difficult to recruit enough design engineers with the skills that you require. Even if you can recruit them it may not be practical to employ design engineers for a short duration while you ride out the peak, only to let then go when your workload settles down. enSpire can offer you the skilled design engineers to ride out the peak times.

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Why enSpire?

We understand the issues raised by outsourcing a design. Often a specification is not finalized until quite late into the design cycle, or changes need to be made. This is why enSpire offer a flexible service. We are able to start a project with only a partial specification or one that is subject to change. The methodology we use allows the core functions, which are unlikely to change to be written early on in the life-cycle, leaving the rest to later. We become a part of your design team, working with you, on your product. This is why choosing enSpire as your FPGA / ASIC partner makes sound financial and engineering sense.

If you do have a question, on enSpire or any of our services then please, don't hesitate to contact us.

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