Moves LSI Into High Growth Standard Products

Implications: The move could add new customers to LSI base.

It certainly adds depth to the storage market offerings.

The standard product offerings lessen their problems competing constantly with Altera and other FPGA vendors which are moving up in complexity and number of gates and lowering NRE barrier.


Analysis: LSI already is a major player at EMC and other storage companies offering RAID solutions. Now they have standard products already in the HDD customers such as Seagate and Samsung. This is impressive IP. Agere also allows them a potential solid presence in the mobile phone, PDA space. Marvel may be vulnerable now trying to integrate the Intel processor buy. At least RIM would look at LSI as a potential solution.

I don't think LSI was going anywhere in the medium volume market against the FPGA vendors- their NRE charges became a large barrier when they started to exceed one million dollars especially when coupled with long lead times and the possibility the the first cut didn't work.
LSI will have to change their sales approach and coverage, but not greatly because the targeted customer is still a high volume one, but as with all acquisitions keeping key design and management personnel can be difficult.

LSI in the past was not particularly good at marketing standard products, but their impressive IP list and Agere may change that.