The biggest cloud computing advantages for chip designers include:
Scalability and Elasticity
To scale on-premises EDA (electronic design automation) and data storage systems, you must purchase and install new hardware and software, which is time-consuming and expensive. Cloud systems, however, can be scaled up or down with a button click. With elastic cloud infrastructure, scaling happens automatically, empowering you to meet spikes in demand or downsize to stay nimble during slow periods.
Cost Efficiency
The easy scalability of cloud computing means that chip designers can deactivate the storage and compute resources when they finish using them, so your organization won’t pay for stagnant services. Elastic cloud services often charge on a pay-as-you-go basis, automatically reducing charges when you use fewer resources. You won’t be responsible for buying, maintaining, and fixing the underlying hardware infrastructure, reducing operational overhead.
Increased Throughput
The scalability and elasticity of cloud computing mean that you’ll always have the computing power and storage capacity you need at a moment’s notice. For example, silicon IP verification is very resource intensive. It can create bottlenecks in EDA development if your on-premises infrastructure isn’t robust enough to handle it efficiently. You can spin up new resources as needed to ensure a streamlined development process in the cloud, increasing your throughput.
Innovation and Growth
Cloud computing makes it easier to take advantage of new technologies like IoT, AI, and machine learning without a huge upfront investment in new infrastructure. With access to high-performance computing power in the cloud, you can host data- and compute-intensive applications at a lower cost. In addition, cloud providers are constantly adding new features, integrations, and extensions, so you can try out something new without the hassle of building it yourself. Cloud computing reduces the risk of exploring new ideas and technology, allowing chip designers to innovate and grow.
Accessibility
When your data and EDA software is hosted on-premises, you can only access them from the enterprise network. On the other hand, cloud computing solutions can be accessed from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. That means chip designers can respond to emergencies faster, work from home when health and safety issues arise, or access workloads while traveling. In addition, cloud computing can disseminate data from the foundry, giving manufacturers easy access to information they can use to manage resources within the semiconductor supply chain better.
Security
Cloud computing uses the shared responsibility model for security. That means the cloud provider is in charge of many of the most expensive and arduous security controls, such as on-site security guards, cameras, and biometric locks. As a chip designer, you get peace of mind knowing that your data and workloads are protected without the expense and hassle of managing every aspect of security yourself. However, this lack of control over all security measures in place means that you need to trust your cloud provider to follow best practices, so you should choose a vendor certified by a cloud security framework.
The biggest cloud computing advantages for chip designers are the cloud’s ability to grow, shrink, and extend as needed to support your workloads and requirements.