Cadence Extends Synchronicity Partnership With Design Management Software Outsourcing Agreement.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2002

Joint Solution Addresses Nanometer Challenges

Throughout the Electronics Design Chain

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN) and Synchronicity Inc. today announced a multi-million-dollar, three-year agreement that renews and extends their 1999 OEM agreement for design management software and maintenance.

Under this new agreement, Synchronicity will provide development support, enhancements and maintenance for VersionSync(TM) -- a basic version control solution for small, single-site, LAN-based IC development teams using the Cadence CIC tools. VersionSync will be upgraded to support Linux and 64-bit variants of Solaris and HP/UX. Cadence will make VersionSync available to all CIC users and be responsible for first level support. The agreement also includes Cadence sales team training, level-two customer support and co-marketing activities. Synchronicity has a migration path to the Developer Suite for teams that grow larger, need advanced concurrent, hierarchical management functionality or get spread across multiple sites.

"The electronics industry is entering an era in which design chain optimization is a primary competitive differentiator," said Yaakov Milstain, GM of CIC for Cadence IC Solutions. "Cadence is the world's largest and most pervasive supplier to the electronics design chain. We power design chain optimization by driving a common database, providing integrated solutions, and partnering with technically savvy companies such as Synchronicity. As an OpenAccess coalition member, Synchronicity also demonstrates its belief in the benefits a common database brings to the table."

"Collaboration is no longer an option in modern SoC design," said Brad Hafer, vice president of marketing and business development at Synchronicity. "The continued partnering between Cadence and Synchronicity, the respective leaders in SoC design integration and design chain collaboration, is exemplary of that type of cooperation to the benefit of our mutual customers."

The companies have a history of mutual commitment to solutions for the electronics design chain. Last year Cadence invested in Synchronicity and partnered with it on design reuse solutions and Synchronicity joined the OpenAccess coalition in support of a common IC design database.

As IC designs shrink through 90 nanometers, developers must have a solution to manage and collaborate on their immense amount of rapidly changing design information, which is now often spread across multiple sites. Synchronicity has two software products, the high-end Physical Developer Suite(TM) for Cadence and the low-end VersionSync(TM), which are integrated into the user interface of the Cadence Custom IC (CIC) design tools and have special awareness of their complex file behaviors. Under this agreement Synchronicity is enhancing and committing to maintain both products and extending Cadence's right to OEM and resell VersionSync.

The Physical Developer Suite for Cadence bundles Synchronicity's project collaboration and tracking tool, ProjectSync(R), with an upgraded version of their design and configuration management tool formerly known as DesignSync(R) DFII. Design information from both tools can flow directly to and from Synchronicity's Publisher Suite design reuse, IP distribution and support system, creating a complete integrated solution for connecting and managing your design chain. The Developer Suite can manage the immense amounts of information generated from large design teams with hundreds of users. It has special features, such as data caching and mirroring, to maintain performance across multiple sites, while ensuring security with LDAP access control and SSL encryption. Synchronicity is adding support for version 5.0 of Cadence CIC to the Physical Developer Suite this month.

About Synchronicity

Synchronicity enables IC, embedded software and system developers to get from concept to product to revenue more quickly. Their Developer and Publisher Suites provide value by tracking project status, capturing design intent, managing engineering data and coordinating IP reuse, distribution and support. Over 120 development organizations, including 13 of the top 15 semiconductor companies, use Synchronicity software to connect and manage their design chain; boosting collaboration within project teams, across the enterprise and between businesses. Synchronicity is headquartered in Marlboro, MA and has offices worldwide. For more information visit www.synchronicity.com.

Note to Editors: Synchronicity, DesignSync, ProjectSync and the Synchronicity Logo are registered trademarks and HLD Developer Suite, SoC Developer Suite, Physical Developer Suite, Hierarchical Configuration Manager, IP Gear and Vault-to-Vault are trademarks of Synchronicity Software Inc. of Marlboro, MA. All other trademarks are acknowledged.