IPLM Today and Tomorrow from Perforce

Today, Perforce IPLM stands at the intersection of data management, automation, and collaboration, shaping the way companies design the next generation of chips and systems. Looking ahead, its evolution will reflect the growing convergence of hardware, software, and AI-driven engineering.

WEBINAR – Future Forward: IPLM Today and Tomorrow

At its core, Perforce IPLM provides a unified framework for managing semiconductor and embedded IP throughout its lifecycle. It allows design teams to catalog every block, core, and library in a centralized database, complete with metadata, version histories, and dependency maps. This approach replaces the fragmented spreadsheets and manual versioning methods that once plagued engineering organizations. Through its hierarchical BoM capabilities, IPLM gives users visibility into which IPs are used in which projects and how changes in one component ripple through a system. The result is greater design reuse, faster project ramp-up, and reduced risk of costly mismatches or rework.

Perforce IPLM also serves as a bridge between hardware and software development workflows. It integrates with issue tracking systems such as Jira, incorporates permission controls for IP access, and provides traceability from design requirements to implementation. The recent simplification of the product’s branding—from Helix IPLM to Perforce IPLM, reflects a broader strategic vision: unifying the company’s tools under one ecosystem and highlighting the platform’s role in managing not just data, but organizational knowledge.

Perforce has also sought partnerships to expand IPLM’s role beyond traditional semiconductor design. Its collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software demonstrates a move toward unifying hardware and software development in an era of software-defined, silicon-enabled products. From autonomous vehicles to AI accelerators, the line between chip design and software architecture is blurring. IPLM’s ability to connect design data across domains positions it as an enabling technology for this convergence.

Looking toward the future, several forces will shape how IPLM evolves. The first is the rise of AI-assisted design. Second, global scalability will be essential. With design teams increasingly distributed across continents, IPLM must ensure secure and performant data access through caching, mirroring, and fine-grained permissions. Built-in compliance controls, such as geofencing and export management, will help companies navigate the complex regulatory landscape of semiconductor trade. A third trend is the growing emphasis on process maturity. Perforce’s collaboration with the Global Semiconductor Alliance on the IP Maturity Model provides a structured path for organizations to assess and improve their IP management practices. As design cycles shorten and product complexity rises, structured maturity frameworks will become essential for maintaining quality and repeatability across projects.

In parallel, the user experience of IPLM is evolving toward greater intuitiveness and interoperability. Engineers increasingly expect the same ease of use from enterprise tools that they enjoy from consumer software. Features such as advanced search filters, “shopping-cart” style IP selection, and visual dashboards are already modernizing how teams interact with data. Future iterations of IPLM will likely offer deeper integration with continuous integration/continuous deployment pipelines and EDA tools, creating a seamless bridge from specification to verification.

WEBINAR – Future Forward: IPLM Today and Tomorrow

Bottom line: The future of Perforce IPLM lies in its ability to act as both a knowledge repository and a collaborative engine. By harnessing AI, strengthening global scalability, and deepening its cross-domain integrations, Perforce is positioning IPLM to become a foundational layer of modern product development. As industries move toward AI-driven, software-defined, and silicon-enabled systems, the need for intelligent, traceable, and automated IP management will only grow. In that landscape, IPLM will not merely track design assets, it will help shape the future of how complex technology is imagined, built, and brought to market.

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