When the economy is struggling, companies tend to react in two ways. Either they pull back, and wait until things pick up again to begin new projects. Or corporate strategists, in hopes of rising phoenixlike at the start of the upswing, push for innovation. It's important to remember that, regardless of the state of the economy, innovation happens. Innovation, by nature, cannot be planned, bought, pushed or scheduled. It emerges because the circumstances happen to be right. Whatever the economic conditions, those who foster innovation are the ones that will emerge as the clear winners.

ACE is an example of what can happen when innovation is valued and becomes part of your culture. After 27 years at the forefront of systems software, compilers and operating systems, the company's CoSy compiler development system was born. Conceived in the downturn in the early 1990s, it is now the leading compiler development tool on the market.

It emerged as a result of a vision of the needs of architecture designers and compiler developers. CoSy has steadily displaced the previously dominant compiler development paradigm since coming to market in the mid-'90s, particularly in the embedded and chip design spaces. I'm certain we can identify other products in the last 50 years that have had the same type of birth in tough economic times.

But innovation will only flourish if all factors for success are present: a fine balance of vision, uniqueness, timing, fertile market ground and inspiration. Most of all, it requires the right company culture, a capable team and healthy dose of luck. CoSy would not have taken root had ACE lacked one of these factors.

Tools and core technology for systems and embedded domains will be embraced if they help to make leaps-in development time, flexibility, reliability or any other aspect of product development-despite economic conditions.

At DATE 2002, major users of EDA tools told suppliers: Don't wait for us to tell you what to do. Create. We need great new products.

Unfortunately, today's economy is dominated by a monolith of conservative inventors, rejecting opportunities for new ideas. It will create pseudostandards, grudgingly shaped consortia and more of the same ideas presented as better ones. The monolith will keep the market still and will soothe the mind of the scared.

But when the relief of the upswing comes, the real innovators will attack the monolith with many different technologies for a variety of solutions. Once again, the innovators will reshape the industry. Who? How? Where? The thing that's so nice about innovation is that you don't know where it will come from until it surfaces.

Take time to innovate. You'll be rewarded.