“Virtual instrumentation is often less expensive”

What possibilities will multi-core processing open for LabVIEW?
Truchard: The rules in the PC industry have changed. Up till now, all we have to do is buy a new PC and we will be a lot faster. That’s no longer true. You have to possess software that can take advantage of the multi-core PC so it can be faster. Unlike National Instruments solutions like LabVIEW, traditional programming languages can’t take advantage of this, so your performance will stop improving even as you buy new PCs. National Instruments will have a differentiated position in the marketplace relative to alternative tools such as basic, traditional and C programming languages. So that’s a major advantage that multi-core programming gives us.


Cost is the main advantage of virtual instrumentation over traditional benchtop instruments. With the increasing complex functions added to your solutions, do you think this will change?
Truchard: There’s a multiple dimension of looking at ways to get better cost. First, virtual instrumentation is often less expensive because you are using the PC. The second thing is speed. It is almost always two, three, or five times faster. So if I’m making millions of cellphones and I need 50 stations to test them, because of the speed of our solutions, I can double or triple the test speed. Instead of needing 50 stations, I may only need half as many or even less. You can lower cost by simply doing more with only half as many stations, plus whatever savings on the cost of buying the systems themselves.


How much do you invest in R&D right now?
Truchard: We invest around $120 million on R&D, plus $34 million on the software camp. In terms of the business model, that’s 16 percent.

What type of R&D activities are you doing in the India and China centers?
Truchard: We do a lot of motion and systems design work. In India we do a lot of modulation software for RF. In China we do a lot of control and mathematics that support our products like the Lookout and FieldPoint. Also, some designing of our data acquisition boards are being done there.

Despite the buzz surrounding Asia, the region is still the lowest in terms of sales for NI. Do you have plans for growth in this region?
Truchard: It’s relatively small but it is the fastest growing, along with Eastern Europe. We are investing the most in expanding our sales and marketing force in Asia. Across the board, Asia gets the most investments right now.


What specific markets and products are you focused on in Asia?
Truchard: It is test and measurement. We offer modular instrumentation like PXI-based test systems, as well as industrial products like CompactRIO, the software that deals with everything, and others. So basically everything we sell. We are investing across the board.