A look at a semiconductor ecosystem – Podcast Transcript
The semiconductor industry is, without a doubt, highly competitive yet, no single company can hold all the expertise required to deliver a modern, cutting-edge chip to market. Going from concept to delivered product requires tools and technology produced by many different companies and now, to pave the way for future advancement, developing a stronger ecosystem for increased collaboration will be essential.
In a recent podcast, host Conor Peick is joined by Katherina Westrich, Global VP of Electronics and Semiconductors at Siemens, to examine the challenges and benefits of building a more connected semiconductor ecosystem, the cybersecurity risks involved and what kind of outlook this will have for the future.
Check out the full episode here or keep reading for a transcript of that conversation.
Conor Peick:
Hello and welcome to the Future Ready podcast from Siemens. I’m Conor Peick and I’m a marketing writer here at Siemens covering digitalization and specific industries as well as the digital twin. Today we’re going to be wrapping up our mini-series with Katharina Westrich as we learn about the electronics and semiconductor business. In the last episode, we talked through how the industry can transform to meet future challenges and how this affects construction going forward.
But for this one, we’re going to be focusing on how it all comes together. We also have some important clarifications about what cybersecurity really entails in this transition to even greater digitalization for electronics and semiconductor manufacturers. So Katharina, thanks so much for coming back. What should a semiconductor manufacturer understand in trying to bring all of their disparate tools and solutions together?
Katharina Westrich:
This I think our, I would even say mantra, the comprehensive digital that gives really our customers the opportunity to take conclusion from integrating across all these systems, be it EDA. I mean, we touched on PLM, but also MES, FMCS, which means facility monitoring control system, infrastructure, buildings, grids. I mean, just to name a few in order to make sure how everything gets integrated and then there’s, you know, many more subsystems you need to look at.
Anyhow, to have that combined in kind of one comprehensive literature, I think that’s a goal where also we as Siemens are uniquely positioned as we have this insight along the whole value chain. But at the same time, it doesn’t stop also with the semiconductor industry, as you have touched also on life science, for example, automotive, we have also the insights there where certain chips are then being used and applications are being used. So I think that gives us a great opportunity in order what we can bring as a value for our customers. And this is also, I think, what our customers value in this regard. And maybe also to give a concrete example here, which was also shared at CES this year by Roland, is PAVE360, where we are able to model a system of a chip for software-defined vehicles. And we develop and test software on virtual systems on a chip, basically, before actually the physical chips are available.
So I think that’s something which is also Very unique, and that’s one example of the automotive industry, but you could then kind of copy that also for other applications if you look, for example, to aerospace or other industries.
Conor Peick:
Yeah, this combination of software and having the hardware know-how as well with our obviously our… expertise in engineering software and the physics basis, I think it’s a really powerful combination. So then we’ve talked kind of, I think, a bit about the broader ecosystem that can profit from the development going on in the semiconductor and electronics industry. But you mentioned that maybe this needs to be more integrated. I was wondering if you could elaborate on that.
Katharina Westrich:
I think that’s a really interesting question also here, because that requires also collaboration across different industries, across different companies, what we also talked about earlier. And I think here it’s really important, you know, the end applications are enabled by chips, but also if we look to industry equipment tools, if you look also to input industries like chemicals, materials, go into that, there is a lot of kind of interconnect between all these different aspects.
And I think this is something where we as Siemens are, you know right in the middle of it due to the fact that we are supporting so many industries and can also help to connect maybe certain things which are not as visible in the first place to make sure things are then you know, being used also in other industries or also your best practices can be shared to make sure we learn from each other, even though it’s maybe not the same industry, because sometimes you can also learn even more, maybe looking to a total different industry and say, okay, this is interesting how they do it. why haven’t we thought about it?
And I think these are things which are really interesting and which we need way more from going forward to make sure we really embark on new journeys if you look to ecosystem collaboration in this regard.
Conor Peick:
We kind of touched on this idea of collaboration earlier, and we already talked about maybe some of the IP risk, but It seems like the other risk that can come along with taking this ecosystem approach is obviously cybersecurity and guarding yourself as you maybe open up a bit more. How do you stay protected against malicious actors and people trying to either take your data without you wanting them to or maybe even shut down your fab or I don’t know. Obviously, I’m no cybersecurity expert, but given that risk, What does that look like in semiconductor and electronics industry?
Katharina Westrich:
I think here, maybe just to share, I get the notification also from one of our customer each time when they are attacked or if attack goes so to say through or got basically prevented in a way. And then we are always looking also, okay, is that any harm also for ourselves? Is that something which we are affected from? And if you just look at the at the amount of cyber attacks which are happening. So in some countries which are obviously in focus because they are very, I would say, key of semiconductor industry, we are talking about millions of cyber attacks a day.
So this is almost impossible to fight back. I mean this is really like a war which you are having going on basically but you need to make sure you are so secure that nothing goes through but it’s just that the high amount is making it so difficult to make sure that nothing goes through and that’s why you need like a multi-layer defense in depth concept to really make sure you have a holistic approach on the topic of cyber security.
I think often Oftentimes also if you look how cyber attacks then go through it, sometimes the easy stuff where, you know, someone brings hardware in and then installs it in a laptop or something. And I think here the semiconductor industry is specifically very much at the front because there it’s very limited what you can actually bring into a fab in terms of your own devices. In some fabs you can’t bring anything that is already protecting some of the easy, I would say, cybersecurity attacks, which you see sometimes which are then not happening due to the fact that you can’t bring anything in. Nevertheless, I think the amount of cyber attacks is the key challenge right now where we all need to cope with to make sure that nothing goes through and then that also there is no data wars and also like you said, I mean that the Fed is not standing still because that would cost millions.
Conor Peick:
I love that you brought up the physical side of cyber security. I think for so many of us, this vision of cyber security is a hacker in some dark room with their hood up on their laptop. But so often it comes through actually physical access or even just social engineering and things like that. When we talk about some of these technologies, I think implementing some new applications of AI and maybe new cyber systems, cyber security systems, even advanced automation. That’s one thing in a brand new fab that’s being built. But obviously this is the vast majority of them already exist. They’re brownfield facilities. I was Wondering if you could just talk maybe a little bit about how do you see these technologies being adopted in fabs that are already up and running and how that maybe compares to someone who is starting from scratch, you could say?
Katharina Westrich:
There is always pros and cons. If you start from scratch, you have the advantage that you don’t have any legacy, so you can start greenfield applying things as you would design it today. If you look to brownfield applications, you have always the challenge that you have already installed systems which you need to somehow get ready to what is state-of-the-art today and then more integration layers probably as you would build it today. I think this is also something which you see also if you look to other industries or countries, if you see, for example, like China’s automotive industry is very much software defined. They have no legacy, so they can just do it the way they want to do it and they are fast. Whereas, you know, for example, to German players, they have a certain legacy which they can’t just leave behind and just do everything from one day to the another totally different, even though they, you know, transforming heavily. But I think that’s, that’s, I think, my take on that, that, you know, if you have, if you’re a green field, you can do a lot of things on any legacy in that. that’s helping you to get to accelerate at a certain speed.
Conor Peick:
Yeah, certainly the idea of transformation is still very important for brownfield fabs, but they just have to maybe be a little more considered about how they implement these new technologies. Because as we already talked about, any amount of time spent not making chips is hugely expensive. So I was wondering if you could maybe think about if you were advising a CEO or a CTO, what moves do you think you would suggest in the next year to 18 months to help improve yield, improve that ramp and improve the cost structure? And maybe what are some things that you would recommend that they stop doing as we move into the future?
Katharina Westrich:
Yeah, I think definitely my number one would be leverage the power of digitalization and AI. But also this comes with a few hints that you don’t just start with that right now, that you have a clear use case defined before you burn resources on topics because you just say, I want to do something with AI, but we are not clear on what we want to do with it. And sure also what we talked about that data is harmonized before so that you are not applying then new technology to data sets which are not generating value at the end for you. So I think that’s key. And then also consider starting investments in AI enabled EDA tools because I think that will leverage you as I said also earlier in terms of engineering time and also help you to bridge maybe certain talent gaps which you have. And on the other side, have really a concerted, comprehensive digitalization approach. I think that’s really key and that brings me also to the stop basically that you’re not just every single department is doing something on digitalization because then you have at the end lots of different tools probably implemented and nothing will fit together and you need them to invest again in integration layers to get all the things together again.
If you do that from the start in a way that you say, hey, I have a comprehensive strategy on how I want to address that and how I want to transform, I think that’s a lot better approach. Or like having certain specific use cases where you have test fields and then develop from there the strategic approach to it. Second point is the topic of manage your cyber risks. I mean, you were addressing it. I think that’s key that you stay secure basically and protect your IP and make sure that your FEP is not shutting down by an attack, so to say. And then I would also say the topic of the cultural change which is also needed in operations to, you know, embrace new technologies is one I would focus on, even though, I mean, semiconductor industry is very much at the forefront of technology and driving new technology.
There is still, I think, and for a reason, a certain hesitance in operations to adapt to new technologies because it’s kind of the topic of never change a running system. And if you apply certain things, you might not knowing what the effects are. And so I think they’re also simulation can of course help, but also that with a certain in certain environments test things and make sure you are also able to get people ready for using new technologies and integrating that. And then last but not least, focus on an ecosystem approach. Make sure that you are leveraging the new technology at its best. And that’s also about collaborating with partners, customers, also suppliers. But at the same time, make sure that your IP is protected then you open up an ecosystem.
Conor Peick:
And it seems to me like in each of those suggestions, I know you mentioned digitalization up front, but establishing that really strong foundation of unified data systems, a data fabric I know is a term that’s come up lately. But building that strong base through digitalization seems like a great sort of place to start. And as you mentioned, maybe highlighting or prioritizing areas that you think are most critical and starting small but have a view to the future of scaling and building. building these systems to be more and more impactful as you keep going. So, Katerina, thanks so much for your time today. It’s been really wonderful talking to you and getting your perspective on all things electronics and semiconductor. As we wrap up today, I would love to just know if you could give the listeners something to take away from the conversation, if they remember one thing. What would you like that to be? What do you think they should take away from our conversation today?
Katharina Westrich:
So I think my take would be let’s jointly challenge the status quo. And that requires collaboration and joint commitments to push really the limits of physics, engineering with the newest technology available. For that, I would say let’s do it together. Let’s transform the everyday for everyone.
Conor Peick:
Thanks so much, Katharina, and hope you have a lovely evening.
Katharina Westrich:
Thank you.
Conor Peick:
And a big thank you to the audience. We’ll have links to the first two episodes with Katerina in the description if you missed them. But as she pointed out in this episode, some of the best learning can be done by looking at how other industries implement solutions to similar problems. In that vein, you might take a look at our episodes covering digitalization in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, or our conversation on AI and software-defined systems with our other moderators. That’s all for now. We hope to have you back again soon.
Siemens Digital Industries Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.
