ASSET® InterTech acquires
International Test Technologies

Question & Answers     

Q.  Who is International Test Technologies?
A.  International Test Technologies (ITT) (www.intertesttech.com), based in Ireland, provides functional test and hardware diagnostic solutions for electronics industries. The µMaster system traces faults on electronic circuit boards and is typically used during their development and manufacture. µMaster, which is based on processor emulation technology, supports a very wide range of processors. Typical market segments where µMaster is deployed include telecommunications, networking and internet appliances, games consoles, PC manufacture and repair, office automation, avionics and automotive.

Q.  What is µMaster?
A.  µMaster is ITT’s flagship product. It is a processor emulation-based test and debug solution for printed circuit boards (PCBs). µMaster’s test and debug routines are controlled by a processor on the PCB being tested. µMaster uses a PCB’s JTAG port to deliver test and diagnostic code, which is run at full CPU speed. This includes bus tests, memory tests and I/O tests. The result is a functional test suite with much greater fault diagnostic granularity and less cost than traditional functional testers. Applications include board prototyping, manufacturing test, fast flash memory programming, and debug and repair.

Q.  Why is ASSET acquiring ITT?
A.  ASSET and ITT have both pioneered non-intrusive electronics test solutions for electronic hardware manufacturers in all market segments. ASSET has approached this market using JTAG (aka IEEE 1149.1 or boundary scan) for structural tests which verify that a circuit board or system has been manufactured correctly. ITT has approached this market using JTAG and/or a CPU’s debug port for functional tests which verify that a system functions as expected. Combining these two complementary solutions creates a test system that can approach 100% test coverage on many hardware designs.

Also, as circuit board complexity and density increases, a market has emerged for these kinds of capabilities to validate the design of semiconductors and high-speed serial buses on circuit boards. The JTAG port is emerging as the de facto access and control mechanism for the embedded intellectual property (IP) and instrumentation that is often required for these emerging applications.

Q.  What are the financial terms of the acquisition?
A.  The terms were not disclosed.

Q.  How big are ASSET and ITT?
A.  Both companies are privately held and this information is not being disclosed.

Q.  What is the name of the merged company?
A.  The merged company will be ASSET InterTech, Incorporated. Its headquarters will remain in Richardson, Texas, USA.

Q.  What is the effective date of the acquisition?
A.  December 3, 2007

Q.  How long have ASSET and ITT been working together?
A.  A strategic partnership was formed between the two companies three years ago. For a news release announcing this relationship and the integration of µMaster and ScanWorks, click here. http://www.asset-intertech.com/news_article.html?newsID=78.

Q.  Who are some of the customers shared by ASSET and ITT?
A.  Many of the large military/aerospace, computing, telecom, medical, industrial and automotive companies which have progressively adopted boundary scan have also utilized emulation-based functional test with µMaster. For example, GE Fanuc has utilized the combination of ASSET’s ScanWorks and ITT’s µMaster for three years now (see http://www.asset-intertech.com/news_article.html?newsID=78).

Q.  What joint products have the two companies developed?
A.  The ScanWorks and µMaster software applications have been integrated so that users have a seamless way to develop and execute structural and functional tests from one platform. And the hardware interface to units-under-test (UUTs) for both boundary scan and emulation has been integrated, lowering total cost of ownership.

Q.  How are existing customers of ASSET and ITT affected?
A.  It will be business as usual in terms of Sales and Support. The two companies already share the same distribution channels to a great extent. All existing ASSET and ITT customers will use the sales and support channels they’ve been using. The existing ITT management team, contracts administration, order processing, fulfillment and invoicing will remain the same.

Q.  What’s in the future for the merged company?
A.  We are planning on greater levels of integration between ScanWorks and µMaster to address our joint customers, as well as an emerging roadmap for new CPU support for µMaster.

Just as the combination of boundary scan and emulation test yields greater test coverage than the solutions could accomplish separately, we feel that the merged company will provide solutions to our customers in terms of greater test coverage, higher quality, and lower cost.