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36 The PCB Design Magazine • November 2015 by Andy Shaughnessy Today's EDA tools are better than ever, but managing design data, from schematics through Gerbers, can be an unwieldly task. I re- cently interviewed Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA Design Automation. He dis- cusses EMA's approach to managing a variety of types of complex data, the need for seamless data processes, and the future of compliance- aware design. Andy Shaughnessy: Why don't you start by giving us a little background about emA. Manny Marcano: EMA was started in 1989 when I was selling P-CAD software in upstate New York. In 1998 when EMA had grown to about 10 employees, we signed on as a Cadence Design Systems value added reseller (VAR) sell- ing Allegro PCB design tools in the New York and mid-Atlantic area. That went well, and in 2003 Cadence chose EMA to be the exclusive provider of OrCAD software in North America. EMA expanded quickly and began working with customers to understand their processes and their challenges. This led to a tight working re- lationship between EMA and various functions within Cadence, including both their product marketing and R&D groups. EMA also began creating custom software to solve specific cus- tomer challenges, which later became general- ized and turned into products that complement the OrCAD offerings. Through it all, EMA has operated on the premise that EMA's success is directly tied to Cadence's success, and that con- cept has created the positive and successful re- lationship we have with Cadence. Shaughnessy: What are your customers' biggest demands when it comes to managing data? Marcano: Customers want a complete solution to manage all the work-in-progress (WIP) PCB data before it is released to manufacturing. This can be the design files themselves as well as the BOM, netlist, Gerber, simulation results and even specifications or datasheets. Everything that goes into designing that PCB should be put under data management, or users end up creat- eMa: helping Technologists Manage Disparate Data feature interview