Innovation is a many-layered phenomenon. Sometimes it involves creating a whole new alphabet and sometimes it is just about developing better materials to write with or write on. At its most awe-inspiring, it can even involve creating a whole new language but it can also manifest itself in new and better ways of doing something as mundane as sticking a stamp on an envelope, as anyone who has used the new British stamps (that don’t cost any more but don’t need to be licked) will appreciate.

We live in a world of increasing speed, where every process is accelerating, whether it is the design cycle of a new product or the time required to request, receive and accept a quotation for a commercial transaction.

The semiconductor industry is perhaps more susceptible to this than most because System-on-Chip technology is increasingly putting it at the heart of every industry that uses electronics. In a world where small margins become key advantages, every marginal advantage counts.

Innovation isn’t something that can be turned on or off according to short-term goals, nor can it be bought in at will. It must be deeply ingrained throughout the company, from the individual people who are the source of the original ideas to the corporate philosophy and working practices that encourage and foster it - and the commitment to innovation must be constant, in adverse market conditions as well as in good ones.

This issue of Challenge reflects the way in which innovation runs through ST. Sometimes, as with the new mp3PRO audio coding standard, it takes the form of being the first to develop a working silicon platform and sometimes it has a longer term aspect, exemplified by the years of thought and work that went into building up the world’s most advanced System-on-Chip capability or the pioneering role ST is playing in developing new and better ways of doing e-Business. Sometimes it just shaves another 1% from the production costs.

Semiconductor technology has a crucial role to play in stimulating renewed market growth and much of its importance comes from the continuous innovation that companies such as ST bring to the market.