This is good news for the vast majority of people in the EDA industry since it is a sign that Cadence is once again ready to take an active role to promote the industry. Some would argue that the company was already doing so by promoting itself, but that is not quite accurate, even if the company is the largest in the industry.

Promotion and self-promotion are two different things, and our industry now more than ever needs promotion. I think that a good DAC this year, one that shows results that either equal or surpass expectations, will provide a positive message to industry outsiders. Even financial institutions will take notice of good results, in a year when good results will be few.

Cadence has found the proper balance of involvement with DAC for this year, and this bodes well for the future. Instead of a brusque about face, the company has chosen to key areas of the conference and put its name and its money behind them. The User Track is a new addition to the technical program and its intent is to specifically serve practicing engineers while most of the rest of the program will still be of more interest to researchers and academic attendees.

Management Day is designed to serve the needs of senior level managers with presentations, panels, and opportunity for discussion on topics that are of interest to senior management, especially those not directly involved in day to day engineering tasks.

In previous times I would, once in a while, get letters from Cadence employees asking me the reason I never said good things about the company. I am glad to finally do so enthusiastically.