3Ware 2002 Annual Report Download - page 8

The Communications IC Opportunity
Despite the industry downturn, industry analysts report that network traffic continues to grow. The
continuing adoption of broadband technology and next-generation wireless devices is expected to drive
additional data traffic through the network infrastructure in the future. To address these opportunities, OEMs are
looking to develop more sophisticated and cost effective systems. To achieve the performance and functionality
required by such systems, these OEMs must utilize more complex ICs. As a result of the pace of new product
introductions, the proliferation of standards to be accommodated and the difficulty of designing and producing
the required ICs, equipment suppliers have increasingly outsourced these ICs to semiconductor firms with
specialized expertise. These trends have created a significant opportunity for IC suppliers that can design
cost-effective solutions for the transmission of data. IC suppliers must utilize a variety of skills and technologies
to satisfy the requirements of communications OEMs. These OEMs require IC suppliers that possess system-
level expertise and can quickly bring to market high-performance, highly reliable, power-efficient ICs. These
OEMs seek suppliers with both analog and digital expertise to provide a more complete solution that enables
faster integration into the system design and higher performance.
AMCC Strategy
Our objective is to be the leading supplier of high-performance, high-bandwidth silicon IC solutions for the
world’s wide area networks, including the optical core, metropolitan area networks and access networks. To
achieve this objective, we employ the following strategies:
Focus on Wide Area Network Markets
We target key WAN markets, including those for SONET/SDH, ATM, POS, DWDM and optical modules.
We have built substantial competencies focused on the specific requirements of these markets in the areas of
process technology, mixed-signal, and very dense digital design and substantial expertise in systems architecture
and applications support. We believe that the integration of these capabilities enables us to optimize solutions
addressing the high-bandwidth connectivity requirements of communications equipment suppliers.
Provide a Time-to-Market Advantage to Our Customers by Offering Complete Fiber-Through-Switch
Solutions and Integrated Product Functionality
Due to the extended downturn in the communications industry, our OEM customers must become more
efficient with their engineering resources. Our strategy is to provide our customers with fiber-through-switch pre-
integrated silicon ICs. We believe this comprehensive solution strategy provides our customers with guaranteed
interoperability, pre-designed subsystems, better cost economics and system-level expertise. The result is faster
time-to-market, better performance and lower development cost. To continue these customer benefits in future
generations of products, we are pursuing an aggressive integration strategy to provide greater functionality in
fewer ICs.
Leverage our Expertise in Multiple Silicon Process Technologies to Provide Optimized Solutions
We are dedicated to utilizing the best silicon process technologies available to offer solutions optimized for
specific applications and customer requirements. We believe our expertise in advanced processes from external
foundries provides us with the flexibility to design and manufacture products that are tailored to an application’s
individual needs. Through this flexible approach, we are better able to transition products over time to new
manufacturing processes as product performance requirements and process technologies evolve.
3