1. Lessons from the Long Tail: Delivering on the
Semiconductor Digital Engagement Mandate
• Today, massive shifts in demand for consumer electronics and other
silicon-enabled products and technologies mandate that global
semiconductor firms embrace an aggressive transition from high-touch
marketing, sales and support models into a global digital enterprise
approach. Traditional customer engagement methods and information
infrastructure are no longer sufficient.
• Success in the semiconductor marketplace will belong to those who are
prepared for comprehensive digital and social interactions and commerce
across the sales and support cycle. These interactions should happen
with traditional and new prospects, and customers who are “engineers”
by day and “digital consumers” in the after hours. The industry is
realizing the power of Web2.0 technologies to reach untapped emerging
markets comprising product developers and engineers across the globe,
while increasing customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability.
• Emerging markets have created a fragmented ecosystem where traditional
sales, marketing and support strategies are no longer sustainable for
the long tail of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) prospects in
locations beyond the reach of semiconductor field sales and engineering
teams.
• his View Point describes how the Infosys Stages of Excellence capability
T
maturity model draws out a well-planned digital engagement strategy
for global semiconductor firms who must harness the power of digital
interactions to reach and support previously neglected markets, achieve
critical design win and share of socket Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs).

2. The demand for energy efficient and green technologies, coupled with the growth in mobile devices, automobile integration,
and increased competition in the consumer electronics space, is expected to drive this growth. As the ecosystem changes,
semiconductor companies are targeting an increasing number of smaller companies centered on growth areas in the market.
Global OEM locations are becoming more diversified, with the change being fueled by the availability of semiconductor
information on the Internet and an increase in global skill-sets through the rise of Asian economies. These new, smaller
locations are beginning to represent a larger portion of the overall market. This fragmentation of the global market is difficult
to reach using traditional sales and support methods. The use of the Internet to engage and support these long tail customers
has proven to be a successful strategy.
Given the importance of using digital strategies to engage the long tail, it is imperative for semiconductor firms to self-evaluate
their capabilities, business processes, competencies and impact of digitally engaging both emerging and traditional markets.
Infosys took an in-depth look at eight of the top players in the Semiconductors space. To help define a winning digital
engagement strategy, Infosys employed a methodology that included interviewing executives, analyzing current capabilities,
identifying gaps, and researching and defining the “winning” customer journey for semiconductor product decision-makers
across the globe. Through this research, we were able to define opportunities for digital engagement solutions that can move
sales & marketing and support KPIs that semiconductor executives care most about.
Why Digital Engagement strategies are critical for Semiconductor industry leaders
In the emerging global economy, Digital Engagement – the orchestrated and synchronized use of interactive technologies,
channels, interfaces, environments, and the structured and unstructured data those interactions produce across the
semiconductor customer lifecycle – has increasingly become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst
for growth and development. No longer just the purview of B2C or B2B firms further down the value chain, semiconductor
manufacturers can empower customers and prospects with a personalized web experience that can deliver a fully integrated
digital experience and strengthen sales and service operations while reducing time to market and costs.
Some companies are already leveraging Digital Engagement to make a difference in the following areas:
1. Collaboration on complex design information: Increase in product functionality and globalization of the semiconductor
market has created the need for enhanced collaboration. Each step of the design process has multiple stakeholders who need
to collaborate in order to create and deliver a successful end product. This can manifest itself in many forms. For instance,
community collaboration around solving a problem and sharing the solution can reduce support costs. Another example of
collaboration in the market is the transfer of complicated design information to a production environment. It is critical that
design firms have current, reliable and accurate information on the design rules that a foundry will support as they approach
the completion of a design. In response to this requirement, leading foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Company (UMC) have developed Internet-enabled software products that link
designers with information on design rules and new process technologies. This collaboration can ease the transition from the
“design phase” to the “production phase” in the customer journey.
2. Distribution of information: Digital Engagement also aids semiconductor companies in the distribution of information about
projected changes in functionality, rules and manufacturing processes, making it easier for design firms to plan new designs and
conform to future requirements. Most company websites include a firm-specific technology “road map” that provides a detailed
timeline for the introduction of products. These roadmaps allow device designers to adapt to future changes in process, design
or technologies.
3. Internet-based markets that buy and sell “blocks” of intellectual property: One of the most important Digital Engagement
developments affecting semiconductor design is the establishment of Internet-based markets to buy and sell “blocks” of
intellectual property embedded in semiconductor designs (Linden and Somaya, 2001). Internet-enabled design block trading
has several benefits, including industry-wide access to best-in-class IP designs and significant reductions in design costs and
time to market.
2 | Infosys – View Point

3. 4. Order fulfillment and customer service: The Internet can provide customers with a real-time status on orders. For example,
TSMC has developed e-Foundry, an Internet-enabled customer service program designed to enhance the efficiency of customer
order placements, resulting in shorter delivery times and improved service. This system covers the entire semiconductor
customer lifecycle, from online purchasing through work-in-process and quality reports. The integration and automation
of the entire order-to-delivery process through Digital Engagement applications can provide information for transactions
between foundries and fabless firms. Such information improves production scheduling flexibility, reduces inventories and
ensures accurate information exchange between foundries and fabless firms, enabling these organizations to make faster design
adjustments..
Stages of Excellence in Digital Engagement – Capabilities Maturity Model
Infosys conducted an evaluation of the semiconductor industry using Infosys’ proprietary “Stages of Excellence” capabilities
maturity model. The Infosys Semiconductor Digital Engagement Maturity Model is a tool designed to assess the relative
competitive position of a semiconductor company, identify opportunities for differentiation and build a roadmap for
future capabilities that align with Infosys’ recommendations. The Maturity Model evaluates the effectiveness and maturity
of semiconductor enterprises in using digital capabilities to orchestrate the customer journey. An evaluation of the efforts,
effectiveness and relative maturity of leading enterprises on their adoption of these “principles of engagement” reveals that while
there are pockets of excellence in semiconductor customer experience delivery, there is no uniform superior experience across
the customer journey. Moreover, Infosys sees market “white spaces” where semiconductor firms can differentiate the value they
deliver to OEMs and capture greater revenue. Some trends include:
1. Customer journeys lack defined “Information Architecture”: Orchestration of a customer journey appears to be executed in
an ad-hoc fashion. For example, content is organized along the customer lifecycle but “next steps” facilitation is limited.
2. Interactions appear to be one-size-fits-all: Web personalization, including the ability to save content and receive personalized
and contextually targeted content, is extremely limited. For example, while users may be prompted to sign in, they are unable
to personalize or easily access relevant information.
3. Customers forced into face-to-face transactions: Digital Engagement enablement is limited to ordering products and some
support functions. This forces users to look for information using more costly and time-intensive methods.
4. Client Advocacy is accidental: There appears to be no designed approach to enable loyal customers to act as brand ambassadors
in connection to their social graph beyond basic “share this” functionality.
Orchestrating the Semiconductor customer journey: Avoiding “accidental” interactions
Current economic turmoil, consumer behavior changes, and rapid innovations in the media and technology landscape have
created even greater urgency for semiconductor enterprises to get their customer engagement models and strategies right.
While a typical customer lifecycle within the semiconductor industry lasts 18 months, with product redesigns and restarts, this
can take years to complete. Thus, there is no room for missteps or “accidental” interactions that delay or derail customer success
and the path to profit. These interactions can negatively impact the revenue of even the most financially fortified companies in
the semiconductor space. As a result, each stage of this journey requires a designed approach that captures unique customer
requirements, touch-points and interactions that generate high knowledge transfer, low overheads and increased customer
satisfaction. In order to identify opportunities for Digital Engagement, it is important to understand the major phases of the
semiconductor customer journey (Figure 1).
Infosys – View Point | 3

4. Figure 1: The Semiconductor Customer Journey
Support 6
Negotiation & Production • Pricing / promotion
5 • Order tracking
Design is complete &
• Payment
ready for production
> More
Development & Testing
• Performance & reliability
• Hardware & software reporting 4
> More
02
010
203 10
010 010
102 2900 98
1
472 9200
182
Evaluation
3
• Detailed specifications -
1 compatibility & power
consumption
> Moree
Did you
know?
Awareness
• Advertising
• Online research
> More
Consid
Consideration
deration
•P d
Product content
• Third party / user reviews 2
> More
A robust Digital Engagement strategy can facilitate a smooth transition across each stage by addressing customer needs at every
touch-point. It is imperative that semiconductor enterprises take a proactive and design-oriented approach in ensuring that all
customer interactions are purposeful, co-ordinated and customer-centric using the principles of “digital experience design”.
Each phase of the journey requires a series of services or actions needed to facilitate movement along the lifecycle. We have
defined these functions as capabilities. Based on customer input and the evaluation of over eighty categories of industry best
practices, we defined the ideal customer journey. We then took this information and identified key capabilities for each phase
of the journey, using the stages of maturity as a metric (Figure 2).
4 | Infosys – View Point

5. Figure 2: Infosys Semiconductor Customer Engagement Maturity Model
Lagging
Minimum capability
to meet customer
expectations.
Semiconductor Mainstream
companies need to
Average capability to
Leading
rework their approach,
meet customer
unless there is a cost Above average
expectations.
constraint. capability to meet
Semiconductor
companies match their customer expectations.
Semiconductor Pioneering
competitors and
provide an ‘at par’ companies use
e-business strategy to Outstanding capability
experience.
provide clear to meet customer
differentiation to expectations.
customers. Semiconductor companies
use e-business efficiently
to gain competitive
advantage.
We analyzed each of the eighty capabilities across eight leading semiconductor companies, and then used this information to
benchmark performance and identify industry “white spaces” (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Infosys Customer Engagement Maturity Model
(Example for Semiconductor Collaboration)
LAGGING
MAINSTREAM
LEADING
PIONEERING
“My clients are looking “Nice! The partner “I enjoy helping “I like the flexibility of
to me for tools, sign-in section customers through the being able to access
software and training - provides me with trials and tribulations and share information
these are the access to the protected of silicon and software. with my peers,
foundational elements section of the website. While devices and customers and
that make the sale. There’s more to learn design tools are partners. The better
Lead times are an every day, although comparable across informed I am, the
issue as well.” competitors, it’s the better my managing
I’m on my own in
ease of use and partner does, and the
figuring out how to
number of technical faster my track to a
make it all work.” issues that is a promotion.”
deciding factor.”
This is the base This capability This capability This capability is a
level capability matches aligns with competitive
that customers competitors in the business strategy advantage and
expect. industry and to provide clear pushes the bounds
provides parity. differentiation of what has been
towards the done before.
customer or
enabling customer
processes.
Infosys – View Point | 5

6. Using this methodology, we have identified six areas of focus that semiconductor firms must embrace to enhance value for
customers and semiconductor firms. Most importantly, these capabilities are not dependent on having an office of field sales
personnel and engineers in every country on every continent. Developing capabilities in these areas will increase leads and
enable traditional and long tail prospects and customers to have seamless interactions with semiconductor firms. Reducing their
time to market leads to design wins, increased customer satisfaction and higher revenues.
The Semiconductor Digital Engagement mandate: Six foundational capabilities
1. Community and Collaboration
2. Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM)
3. Localization and User-Specific Information
4. Information Architecture
5. Content Strategy
6. Site Promotion and Branded Experience
1. Community and Collaboration
Communities provide a rich opportunity to learn from and about your customers. Observe their behavior, ask for their ideas,
recognize and reward them for their contribution. This can give your organization real-time insight into the needs and pain
points of your customers, allowing you to identify new markets, respond to issues and disseminate solutions across a wide
audience.
For example, Intel has created a robust community around various products and applications, enabling customers to create
profiles, follow other users and form custom groups around specific topics.
Source: http://communities.intel.com/
Infosys has found that improving the following features can have positive impacts on customer satisfaction:
• ersonal profiles: Create a space where customers can personalize and save content, connect with their peers, and
P
contribute to conversations that are important to them. This can reduce support costs and increase customer satisfaction.
• Rating system: Create a rating system that analyzes what is important and helpful to your customers and dynamically
generate content around their preferences. Relevant and helpful information contributes to reducing the time to market.
• Blogs and forums: Create targeted conversations around innovation and support. Allow your users to create content
around roadblocks and solutions related to their projects or expertise. Peer generated content can reduce costs and
response times.
• nalytics: Employ a robust analytics solution that can help you track and respond to customer needs in real-time. The
A
right type of analytics can increase customer satisfaction while identifying potential markets and new leads.
2. Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM)
Customer service and interaction with businesses has become social. Users often turn to forums or digital communities to
search for answers to their business-related questions.
For example, National Instruments created an online community service, enabling users collaborate on code, share development
techniques and exchange knowledge on cutting-edge technologies with a global community of engineers and scientists.
Source: http://decibel.ni.com/content/community/zone
Infosys has found that the following Social CRM efforts can create greater customer satisfaction and reduce time to market:
• ocialize your documentation: Allow documents to be tagged, saved and shared. Helping your customers organize their
S
information on your site creates greater satisfaction and encourages return visits during the awareness, consideration
and evaluation stages of the customer journey.
6 | Infosys – View Point

7. • Social design tools: Create a personalized and secure space where engineers and subject matter experts can collaborate
around a design.
• Personalized updates: Create a notification system that alerts customers to changes or updates around the products they
are interested in. Display products or subjects that have the most followers and suggest updates based on what similar
customers are tracking.
3. Localization
Localization, the ability to tailor content based on location or user segment or role preferences can create a more targeted and
thus relevant experience. Identifying unique visitors, analyzing their needs and presenting them with specific information,
products and services can reduce the time spent searching for relevant information.
For example, Texas Instruments provides seventeen region / language specific versions of its website apart from four language
specific community sites.
Source: http://decibel.ni.com/content/community/zone
The following capabilities are important for Localization:
• Single sign-on: Continuity can ease customer satisfaction and enable robust analytics across the entire customer journey.
• anguage-specific content: This can greatly reduce the time spent identifying product specifications in research and
L
allow engineers more time to design and launch products, eventually reducing time to market and increasing customer
satisfaction.
4. Information Architecture
Often confronted with a surplus of data and numerous versions of documentation, semiconductor customers are expected to
identify and build a library of relevant information. While researching product evaluation requirements, customers engage
with multiple websites to gather product specifications, pricing information, availability schedules, quality assurance, software
pricing and reliability information. This fragmented experience and the amount of time involved creates frustration during the
evaluation and selection phases of the customer journey and increases their reliance on support teams.
Most companies publish product-specific information, such as specification sheets and product comparisons. However, few
companies couple this data with product selection tools, videos and recommendation tools.
For example, Intel has a series of tools that assist in the selection and design phases of the customer journey. The embedded
design tool, for instance, is a web-based tool that allows the user to select a number of different parameters. Using these
parameters, the tool suggests corresponding products and helps facilitate a smooth transition between the consideration and
evaluation stages of the customer journey.
Source: http://edc.intel.com/
Infosys has found that improving the following capabilities are vital to the information architecture and reduce friction in
transitioning through the customer journey:
• roduct catalog: Increases the percentage of products available for online sales, providing real-time pricing and availability.
P
• roduct comparison: Provides effective comparison tools and allows consumers to customize data points.
P
• elated products: Makes it easy to find related compatible products.
R
• amples: Provides a clear and easy process for requesting kits or samples for evaluation.
S
Infosys – View Point | 7

8. 5. Content Strategy
For an industry that tends to be lacking in relevance, quality and user-friendly product information, semiconductor companies
that focus on these aspects stand to gain immensely by ensuring easy access to content that is relevant and comprehensive.
For example, National Semiconductors allows its users to sign-in, store designs, track order status, personalize RSS feeds and
email updates that are relevant to their needs.
Source: http://www.national.com/profile/login.cgi
Following are content-related enhancements that can enhance customer satisfaction and reduce support costs:
• Personalized documentation: Tracks downloads, provides alerts on product / documentation changes and recommends
profile-based content / related products or content based on profile and download history.
• ser-generated content: Supports reviews, comments and product / software tool ratings.
U
• ontent recommendation engine: Tracks the content viewing habits of customers and suggests related content.
C
6. Site Promotion and Brand Experience
Using Digital Engagement to reach customers with positive brand messages can facilitate and enhance the customer journey.
Concentrating efforts on the various aspects covered in this paper (Community / Collaboration, Localization, Information
Architecture and Content), can help your company differentiate itself from the competition, reduce friction and enhance
satisfaction throughout the customer journey, ultimately increasing brand loyalty.
Realizing economic value from Semiconductor Digital Engagement innovation
Delivering and capturing value through enhanced Digital Engagement is more than a notion for semiconductor firms. Infosys’
proprietary Value Realization Method™ (VRM) helps semiconductor firms identify the economic value levers and digital
capabilities that will move their most critical marketing, sales and support KPIs.
Infosys’ analysis of critical KPIs in the semiconductor customer lifecycle indicates that an effective Digital Engagement
transformation strategy has a formidable influence on the following metrics:
1. Conversion Rates from a Lead (e.g., Inquiry) to a “Qualified Opportunity”
2. Conversion Rates from a “Qualified Opportunity” to a Design Win
3. Conversion Rates from a Design Win to Silicon Production
4. Market Share (within a semiconductor market segment)
5. Support Metrics
• Cost per Interaction of Peer Forums (engineers supporting engineers)
• ost per Interaction for Self-service
C
• ost per Interaction for Full or Assisted Service
C
6. Share of Wallet (a.k.a. “Share of Sockets”)
• The amount of chip real estate on the board that has been won
7. “Database Vitality”
• The ability to identify new opportunities that would have otherwise been missed due to the quality of prospect and
customer data
8. Sales Force Efficiency
• The ability to increase the efficiency of the sales force through a Digital Engagement model to reach a larger base of
prospects / clients, using the same amount of resources
8 | Infosys – View Point

9. In looking at key levers and KPIs, Infosys VRMTM helps in identifying what capabilities to transform, how to measure their
economic value, and how best to effect the digital transformation. It allows semiconductor enterprises to apply critical
interaction data (traffic, conversion rates, revenues, contributions, etc.) and aims to forecast and track the benefits of an
orchestrated approach to digital engagement. Organizational benefits are calculated by assessing the impact of Infosys’ strategies
and solutions on the semiconductor enterprise’s operational and financial metrics. This framework also assists in capturing the
benefits realized during and after deployment of customer engagement solutions across the semiconductor customer lifecycle.
An example of a value diagram for the semiconductor industry is illustrated below:
Value Diagram: Semiconductor
Value Levers Operational Levers Themes
Increased Solutions, bundled • Identify solution Position solutions and value proposition
solution sales products, cross / configuration and
up-sell upgrade tools
• Personalization Provide consistent user experience
through landing with relevant and personalized content
pages and targeted
content /
promotions
Reduced effort on • Enable order / Increase visibility and transparency
order, shipment, service, shipment, for transactions
invoice reconciliation invoice and
Improved contract visibility
productivity
Increase Sales Reduced effort to
support • Issue resolution, Enhance self-help capabilities
search, alerts,
Quicker notifications etc.
time-to-resolve
Improved Customer
Satisfaction (CSAT)
Increased • Content sharing, Enable collaboration
engagement wikis, ratings /
recommendations
• Collaboration
through forums,
blogs,
ask-an-expert
Increased Strengthened • 360º Dashboard Enable relationship management
customer sales relationship with
customers
Reduce Costs
Faster proposal
turn-around
• Enable lead
management /
Increased Better deal-winning support and Improve lead management and support
indirect sales probability pricing workflow for channel partners
for partners
Improved visibility
into channel pipeline
Reduced • Enable single
infrastructure Total Reduced number sign-on
Cost of Ownership of platforms • Simplify the B2B
Provide integrated B2B portal gateway
(TCO) web touch points
through portal
consolidation
Infosys – View Point | 9

10. Conclusion: Lessons from the Long Tail
While an orchestrated and digitally enabled customer experience reduces customer friction through accidental interactions,
it increases customer satisfaction, design wins and silicon revenues. Infosys believes there are a number of proactive Digital
Engagement principles and solutions that can position semiconductor firms to build relationships with emerging long tail
customers and deepen their relevance with traditional customers. By providing a high-touch and seamless online experience,
semiconductor companies can reach a wider audience with fewer resources. A Digital Engagement strategy based on Infosys’
capabilities will allow semiconductor firms to identify and meet the rapidly transforming needs of their customers and partners,
and emerge as industry leaders relative to their competitors.
About the Authors
Steven P. Silver: Steven is Senior Principal with the Infosys Management Consulting Services Digital Transformation practice.
He has 20 years of professional and senior leadership experience across complex digitally-enabled brand, marketing, sales and
service innovation programs with emphasis on solutions for clients in high-tech manufacturing, automotive and information
technology sectors. Steven’s industry experience also spans the financial services, pharmaceutical and managed health care
industries. His consulting expertise specializes in designing and deploying multi-channel digital experience strategies across
marketing, sales and service channels, including web portals (B2C, B2B, B2E), contact centers and mobile channels and CRM
plans, campaigns, enablers, digital, direct and social marketing initiatives on a global scale. Steven was the first director of
Nissan’s North American and global digital marketing and CRM programs, has consulted with a number of global automakers
and also previously held senior marketing, digital brand and e-Business leadership roles at The TCW Group, Cisco, Siemens,
Andrx Pharmaceuticals and Prudential HealthCare. He can be reached at Steven_Silver@infosys.com
Nisrine Kaderbhay: Nisrine is an Associate with the Infosys Management Consulting Services Digital Transformation practice.
She has extensive international experience with Fortune 100 organizations in the high-tech, automobile and pharmaceutical
sectors. She has assisted global players in the pharmaceutical and automobile sectors to design their digital marketing strategy
and operations. A Motorola certified Digital Six Sigma professional, Nisrine specializes in digital marketing and multi-channel
integration and strategy, with a focus on customer experience. She can be reached at Nisrine_k@infosys.com
10 | Infosys – View Point

11. Contributors
Siddharth Ravindra Bohra: Siddharth is Associate Vice President with Infosys and manages the Telecom OEM practice. In
his previous role, Siddharth was responsible for the Semiconductor practice, specializing in building strategic relationships
between Infosys and leading technology companies. He has over 15 years of global business management experience spanning
Asia, Europe and the Americas, with focus on supporting rapid growth and innovation for customers across diverse industries
such as consumer products, retail, financial services and high-tech. He can be reached at Siddharth_Bohra@infosys.com
Debottam Datta: Debottam is Associate Engagement Manager with the Semiconductor practice at Infosys. He manages Infosys’
relationships with various semiconductor companies and has successfully delivered business transformation initiatives for these
customers in the Sales and Marketing domain. He can be reached at Debottam_Datta@infosys.com
Hirak Patel: Hirak is Principal Consultant with the Infosys Consulting & Systems Integration / Management Consulting Services
Digital Transformation practice. Hirak has been instrumental in leading various projects in the industry. He can be reached at
Hirak_Patel@infosys.com
Kim P. Mats Mats: Kim is Senior Associate with the Infosys Consulting & Systems Integration / Management Consulting
Services Digital Transformation practice. Kim is a specialist in multi-channel strategy and integration with focus on customer
experience. She can be reached at Kim_Mats@infosys.com
Infosys – View Point | 11