If you haven't been paying attention to Mentor Graphics in the news recently, now might be a good time to catch up. Between releasing stunning new software updates and acquiring key technology holders, Mentor Graphics is positioning itself as the de-facto standard for electronics design, in my opinion. (This is based on a review of their latest headlines and select quotes.)
Acquisitions:
January, Mecel Picea AUTOSAR Development Suite - Strengthens its automotive software solutions.
March, Berkeley Design Automation - Advanced nanometer analog and mixed-signal verification.
May, Nimbic, Inc. - Accurately calculate complex EM fields which will expand and strengthen Mentor’s chip-package-board simulation.
Updates:
March, New Xpedition Platform to Optimize Advanced PCB Systems Design Productivity - Significantly simplifies and accelerates the development of the industry’s most challenging designs.
March, Lean NPI Solution - A unique new product introduction (NPI) solution that seamlessly links printed circuit board (PCB) design and manufacturing operations to deliver the industry’s first integrated, automated flow for the design, fabrication, and assembly of PCBs.
April, Questa X-Value Verification Solution - A new solution for X-value verification in register transfer level (RTL) and gate level designs.
Conclusion:
It appears to me that Mentor Graphics is working hard at growing, both organically and by acquisition, its products to offer a complete suite of tools for anyone in electronic design, simulation, and verification. In addition to acquiring new tools and developing existing tools, Mentor has also certified its tools for use in more industries; their financial outlook looks strong; and more institutions are adopting Mentor's solutions. Whatever Mentor's management is doing, it seems to be working. Let's see if they can keep up this pace through the remainder of 2014.
Considering how even the simplest products have more electronics and software in them than mechanical components, I know that this mechanical engineer will be paying closer attention to the developments in electronics design.