Gallium Semiconductor
Fast-growing global semiconductor company prepares for the future with OpenText™ Exceed™ TurboX to share compute resources by a global design team
About Gallium Semiconductor
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Industry:Semiconductor
Summary
Challenges
- Cutting-edge technology design requires a high-performance system.
- Need to share central resources with a global design and development team.
- Circuit simulations are time-consuming.
Solution
- Introduce a hybrid cloud virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that allows employees to work from anywhere and any device.
- Remotely connecting colleagues, even in areas with lower quality internet.
Results
Improved productivity with suspend and resume feature 
Enhanced security with data encryption and exchange 
Clear ROI with cost-effective Exceed TurboX
Challenges
- Cutting-edge technology design requires a high-performance system
- Need to share central resources with a global design and development team
- Circuit simulations are time-consuming
With a state-of-the-art research and development facility based in The Netherlands, Gallium Semiconductor employs a team of designers who leverage sophisticated CAD/CAM software to constantly innovate. When compared to other RF technologies, GaN transistors provide five times more output power in an 80 percent smaller package. By leveraging advanced technology and application support, the company helps clients achieve the desired output power, efficiency, gain, linearity, bandwidth, and thermal management, elevating products to new heights.
Security concerns prompt search for remote connectivity solution
Domenico is Gallium Semiconductor's Principal RF Design Engineer. He explains why compute resources are key in the design process: “When designing cutting-edge technology, you need a responsive system. Zoom, drag-and-drop, and click actions all need compute performance to work well for the designer. Conducting accurate electromagnetic field calculations and executing circuit simulations requires significant compute resources. Initially, we just purchased high-spec laptops for our designers, but ultimately this is not the answer as there is a data security aspect to consider too. If my laptop breaks, or I lose it, I could potentially lose valuable data and design elements. Running simulations was complicated too, as these tend to take a while, and this would tie up the laptop. We needed a solution that would allow us to connect remotely to a high-performance server so that all compute resources can be shared within the team.”
We can clearly see the return on investment with Exceed TurboX. It is a cost-effective solution that enables our designers to work faster and more efficiently, from anywhere they choose. It gives us the flexibility to remotely connect designers and developers around the world, so that our server capacity can be shared in a secure infrastructure.
Solution
Fast-growing global semiconductor company prepares for the future with OpenText Exceed TurboX so that compute resources can be shared by a global design team.
Products deployed
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OpenText Exceed TurboX
Use X-Window (X11) applications on Microsoft Windows
Successful POC and popular suspend and resume feature with Exceed TurboX
Domenico had previous experience with Exceed TurboX and knew this could be the answer the team was looking for. It is a hybrid cloud virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that allows employees to work from anywhere and any device. Exceed TurboX includes support for demanding, high-performance graphical software used in semiconductor design, and so is superbly suited for the Gallium Semiconductor scenario.
A proof-of-concept (POC) started with a discovery call to understand exactly what the team’s aims were. The full environment was set up within Gallium Semiconductor, with an OpenText Solution Consultant on hand to support the installation and configuration to ensure everything was fully functioning and ready to be tested by the Gallium Semiconductor team. Making a change to an accepted working practice can sometimes meet with resistance, but as Domenico explains, that was not the case here: “We tested Exceed TurboX extensively and found it met all our requirements. Our users in particular liked the ‘suspend-and-resume virtual sessions’ feature. This allows users to start a simulation exercise and shut down their session while the simulation continues on the server, really boosting our productivity. In fact, when we finished the POC, our users requested an extension to the temporary Exceed TurboX licenses, so that they would not need to go back to the ‘old’ way of working while we worked on a permanent agreement with OpenText.”
We tested Exceed TurboX extensively and found it met all our requirements. Our users in particular liked the ‘suspend-and-resume virtual sessions’ feature. This allows users to start a simulation exercise and shut down their session while the simulation continues on the server, really boosting our productivity.
Results
By working with OpenText, Gallium Semiconductor boosts designers’ productivity with high-performance and secure remote access solution.
Proven stability, scalability, and flexibility
Although the team was initially worried about remotely connecting colleagues within countries where internet connections are inherently lower quality, Domenico was pleasantly surprised: “The other day I used Exceed TurboX to work on my design while in a train on my way to the airport. With the train WiFi not being the best quality, I doubted I would be able to get a secure connection. However, it was totally fine, and I could work uninterrupted while travelling.”
Exceed TurboX is designed to ensure maximum uptime, with a secure and highly available infrastructure, protecting intellectual property with strong data encryption and data exchange rules. For Gallium Semiconductor, it can replace expensive laptops with centrally managed servers in the cloud to concentrate more users across shared resources at a fraction of the cost. This delivers scalability and flexibility to a growing organization.
Exceed TurboX provides secure and cost-effective infrastructure
Domenico concludes: “We can clearly see the return on investment with Exceed TurboX. It is a cost-effective solution that enables our designers to work faster and more efficiently, from anywhere they choose. It gives us the flexibility to remotely connect designers and developers around the world, so that our server capacity can be shared in a secure infrastructure. We enjoy our partnership with OpenText and look forward to expanding this as we grow.”
