Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 22 | Page 13

HCL to acquire Sankalp Semiconductor to enhance leadership in the semiconductors and IIoT spaces German enterprises embrace SDN Technologies to reduce costs H CL Technologies Limited (HCL), a leading global technology company, has announced the acquisition of Sankalp Semiconductor (Sankalp), an advanced technology design services provider offering comprehensive digital and mixed signal SoC services and solutions from concept to prototype, in the semiconductor space. Sankalp, which operates in Germany and has 5000+ man-years of experience in the semiconductor design space, brings strong capabilities in analogue, digital and mixed signal chip design. It provides end-to-end solutions in the Automotive, Consumer, IoT, Medical Electronics, Networking and Wireless domains. Sankalp’s capabilities, combined with HCL’s existing strengths, will help HCL sustain its leadership position in the semiconductor space within the Engineering and R&D Services industry. This strategic acquisition would enable HCL to further expand into newer market-domains, especially in analogue and mixed signal design. “Sankalp will complement our strong semiconductor offerings and help offer a wider range of services to our customers in the analogue and mixed signal space,” said GH Rao, President – Engineering and R&D Services, HCL Technologies. “Sankalp will operate as a 100% subsidiary of HCL,” he added. “The strategic acquisition will enable synergies between engineering teams allowing us to offer a broader semiconductor know-how to a wider variety of customers. The joined forces will enable deeper engagements with customers in the end-to-end digital and mixed signal design space,” said Samir Patel, CEO, Sankalp Semiconductor. www.intelligentcio.com The use of this technology in the German market is growing rapidly G erman enterprises are turning to software-defined networking and other advanced network technologies as a way to reduce costs and quickly provide new services to customers, according to a new report published by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm. The 2019 ISG Provider Lens Network – Software Defined Solutions and Services Report for Germany finds the use of SDN, SD-WAN, network function virtualisation (NFV) and related technologies in the German market growing rapidly. Still, SD networking technologies will not completely replace traditional networking solutions based on multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and existing managed LAN and WAN services, the report says. “The trend towards SDN-related technologies is driven by enterprises’ desire to seamlessly add network applications and resources to meet business and user goals more efficiently,” said Andrea Spiegelhoff, Partner, ISG DACH. “SDN helps German companies expand their networks efficiently and securely without creating siloes or depending on vendors.” Enterprises are moving towards the SDN umbrella of technologies and services for several reasons, the report says. Many seek increased flexibility and agility to enable them to respond quickly to customer queries and provide new services, states the report. Enterprises also see SDN and NFV as a way to improve network efficiency while reducing usage costs. Using SDN-related tools, enterprises can route non-critical mobile data over lower- cost connections that may have reduced reliability or quality, the report notes. Many providers of networking products and services are involved in SDN- related pilot projects and are regularly converting them to production-level deployments, says the report. Many networking vendors are embracing SDN products as a way to improve their positioning in the marketplace. INTELLIGENTCIO 13