Many designers in small and medium-sized engineering companies still regard 'custom silicon' devices as beyond the reach of both their company's in-house engineering skills and their own design budgets. In fact, they are wrong: custom silicon technology is a viable proposition for even the smallest companies, as a new national custom silicon awareness campaign is setting out to prove. This is the message being promoted by a new campaign by the U. K. 's Department of Trade and Industry, which the article discusses.