N@N

Altium: Altium Introduces Live Links to Supplier Databases -- Digi-Key First Off the Blocks

^{Published on 2008-12-08 05:56:21 - Market Wire}
 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwire - December 8, 2008) - Altium, the world's leading developer of next generation electronics design solutions, is introducing new live links from Altium Designer to the databases of component suppliers.

The first live link will be to worldwide components supplier Digi-Key.

Having these live links will let designers search online supplier databases directly from Altium Designer, and consider important information such as cost and availability when choosing components. At the moment, this is often left to the procurement department after the design is essentially completed, when unavailable parts can delay release schedules or lead to a major redesign.

The choice of a component can significantly influence manufacturing costs, production time, and the reliability and long-term serviceability of a design. By providing live links, Altium is working to ensure all the crucial information about a component is at designers' fingertips, right at the start of the design process. And they can have this information retained right throughout the design process to manufacture.

Designers can pull information on component cost and availability, for example, directly from a supplier's database and incorporate this into their design and decision making processes. Once links are established within Altium Designer, the information can be updated at any time, ensuring the integrity of component data. Designers will no longer have to continuously check supplier web sites to get the latest information. Combine these live links to supplier databases with the ability to publish information, such as bills of materials, directly to online servers, and the door is open to sophisticated real-time quoting and ordering services.

Linking to Digi-Key's database extends the partnership announced by Altium and Digi-Key in September, which covers the distribution of Altium's Innovation Station. (Altium's Innovation Station combines Altium Designer and Altium's NanoBoard reconfigurable development platform. Designers can use the Innovation Station to explore design concepts, create rapid prototypes, and then move to custom PCB design and manufacture, all within Altium's unified design environment.)

Nick Martin, Altium's CEO, said, "Altium's next generation electronics design solution allows designers to design electronics in new ways. Being able to link directly to a components database as extensive as Digi-Key's lets designers make smarter decisions about the components they use in a design.

"Electronics designers will no longer be blindsided by a component becoming unavailable half way through a project. Whenever they open their design, they get the accurate picture of what's available and at what cost, even if things have changed within an hour or so.

"They don't have to wait to find out, and neither do their managers. It's another example of Altium helping organizations break away from the old approach of trying to loosely link parts of the design process through a number of disparate point tools. Instead, we provide them with access to a single data model from concept to manufacture, within a single, unified design environment."

Digi-Key President and COO Mark Larson said, "That electronics designers can now source their components directly from within a design solution and retain that information 'live' is a real breakthrough. Altium and Digi-Key are again working together to help our joint customers successfully take their products to market on time and on budget. And Altium has again made this process easier and better for every electronics designer."

For more information on the latest release of Altium Designer, go to [ www.altium.com ]. For more information on Altium's Innovation Station, go to [ www.altium.com ] or [ www.digikey.com ].

About Altium

Altium Limited (ASX: [ ALU ]) provides next generation electronics design solutions, defined by Altium as solutions that break down the barriers to innovation. These solutions help organizations easily harness the latest devices and technologies to create their next generation of electronic products. Altium's solutions are unique because they unify the separate processes of electronics design, all within a single electronics design environment, working off a single data model, which links all the aspects of electronics product design into one process. Founded in 1985, Altium has headquarters in Sydney, Australia, sales offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, and resellers in all other major markets. For more information, visit [ www.altium.com ].

About Digi-Key Corporation

One of the world's fastest growing distributors of electronic components, Digi-Key has earned its reputation as an industry leader through its total commitment to service and performance. As a full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, Digi-Key has been ranked #1 for Overall Performance for 17 consecutive years from among the nation's more than 200 distributors (EE Times Distribution Study/ August 2008). Offering more than a million products from nearly 400 quality name-brand manufacturers, Digi-Key's commitment to inventory is unparalleled. Access to the company's broad product offering is available 24/7 at Digi-Key's top-rated Web site, [ www.digikey.com ].

Altium, Altium Designer, and LiveDesign, and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited or its subsidiaries. All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners, and no trademark rights to the same are claimed.