Critical Thoughts on Embedded Sustainment & Obsolescence
Critical Thoughts is where we share hard-won insights from the field. It’s not a blog—it’s a working record of what we’ve learned supporting sustainment, managing obsolescence, and partnering with OEMs on legacy challenges that don’t fit the usual models.
These are the strategic, technical, and sometimes messy realities behind keeping embedded systems mission-ready over the long haul.
The problem of electronics obsolescence is uniquely potent when it comes to Defense programs. Modern Defense electronic systems tend to be rife with obsolete components or components at risk for being discontinued–some of which are mission-critical for the larger system. So not only is electronic obsolescence more prevalent, it also tends to have a much…
Tania Scroggie is back with another episode of ‘Tania’s Teachables’ over on YouTube, this time exploring the hard truth of dealing with legacy electronics in today’s modern world of fast-paced technological advancement. ‘The Inchworm Dilemma’ explores a common challenge facing the support of legacy products–a lack of infrastructure. Grand Plans that Stretch Your Company beyond…
Semiconductors are literally the backbone of all electronics–and because of that, when a semiconductor becomes obsolete, finding support for it, whether that be replacement parts, fresh components, or repair services, goes from a routine thing to a major problem. Plus, with the current U.S. administration’s tariffs, both in-progress and implemented, the global semiconductor industry has…
As a society, we are incredibly dependent on our smartphones and devices, whether we want to admit it or not, for many crucial aspects of our daily lives. But imagine one day that your smart phone just stops working. No calls, no texts, no internet connection. You can’t access your emails, your personal and office…
Dawn Dela Rosa, Director of Manufacturing at GDCA, takes the stage on our YouTube channel with a new three-part short video series exploring a recent sustainment challenge that we recently undertook for a military program struggling to find a source for their critical but obsolete hardware. The first episode introduces the major problem of this…
Tania Scroggie is back with another episode of “Tania’s Teachables” over on the GDCA YouTube channel, this week tackling the frequently asked questions that we get here at GDCA about how we support both OEMs and customers! Throughout her time at GDCA, both working directly with our customers and partners, and representing the company, Tania…
GDCA Solution Director Thomas Helmonds is the guest speaker in our most recent YouTube upload! In this short, educational video, Thomas explores the role of legacy equipment manufacturing in long product lifecycles, supply chain resilience, and cost-effective solutions for the critical and obsolete embedded electronics systems. For industries like medical equipment manufacturing, defense equipment, and…
Ethan Plotkin, CEO of GDCA, joins Amelia’s weekly Fish Fry podcast again this week, discussing what GDCA does as a legacy equipment manufacturer(LEM) and how we partner with OEM companies to take over the production line, repair, manufacturing, and sustainment of discontinued circuit cards to support the cards for those few customers who cannot yet…
GDCA is in the business of helping defense programs who can no longer get support for obsolete electronics circuit cards, like computer boards, graphics cards, power supply controllers and many more specialized electronics assemblies that make defense systems “smart”. These circuit card assemblies (CCAs) are often commercial products that have been discontinued by their OEMs.…
The day you receive that “last time buy” (LTB) notice for a crucial embedded PCB or PCB component for your systems can be stressful–even if you know it’s coming. What if you still need that circuit board five to ten years after that LTB day? Suddenly, sourcing the required parts becomes a mad scramble, resulting…