Nu Horizons has said it is to lose the Xilinx franchise in June.
It is probably no surprise that Xilinx is reviewing its distribution strategy. The programmable logic business is changing.
One of the changes is that FPGAs are becoming less of a general purpose item and more, can I say - 'Asic-like'.
Xilinx is offering what its calls "targeted design platforms" which are in effect FPGA-based ASSPs or SoCs.
Of course, ASSPs can and will be sold through distribution and Xilinc will retain its distribution network.
It is just a matter of scale and if the supplier thinks the role of distribution in selling FPGAs is starting to change it would make sense to review and size and cost of its network.
FPGAs have never been a straight-forward sell for distributors.
Profitable, yes, but that business usually came with greater tech support overhead than was needed for microcontroller and analogue lines.
So is now the time for other FPGA suppliers to follow Xilinx and take a fresh look at their distribution strategies?
Market downturns bring change and typically some of the most significant changes happen as the market emerges from recession.
The sector is definitely in the middle of a period of rationalisation, which still has some way to play out.
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