CAD/CAM/CAE : electronic design automation, 1992 - Archive Server

Chapter 2
Executive Summary
EDA Software Market Trends
The EDA market posted a lackluster 4 percent software growth in
1991, and Dataquest anticipates that 1992 will show only a 3 percent
increase over 1991 figures. This slowdov^ni of what had been historically
high growth rates may be attributed to the following factors:
• Product transitions and mergers of the top EDA suppliers have
caused stagnation in the piirchasrag of new EDA tools. Our
research shows that consumers of EDA tools are prolonging their
evaluation process and examining new ways to shorten their design
cycles.
• Global recession and political and economic infrastructure changes
in North America and Europe have temiporarily paralyzed capital
equipment expenditiure on a broad scale. Additionally, the Japanese
economic downturn has caused revenue to fall for vendors that
supply products that are not mission critical.
• Saturation levels are being reached for certain EDA tools. In particular,
our research shows ttiat there is only a small need for additional
tools such as gate-level simulation, schematic capture, and
PCB layout. Any future growth in these markets will be brought by
applying new technologies to these problems and replace the existing
seats.
• The final vestiges of platform dependence are being removed from
the EDA industry. This has had a short-term negative effect on the
market, but shotild improve the profitability of EDA tool suppliers
in the future.
In the future, Dataquest anticipates that EDA software revenue wiU
become more closely associated with economic conditions in its target
markets. No longer are vast numbers of seats being discovered, but
instead the total number of seats will expand or contact based upon
the growth or decline of companies producing electronic products.
Yet there are still large opportunities for EDA suppliers who are able
to provide tools that improve the productivity and reduce the cost of
designing electioiuc systems. The ever-increasing demands to shorten
the design cycles and increase the functionality of electronic products
will fuel the purchasing of new EDA tools. Dataquest beUeves that
significant opportunity exists in the following areas:
• Advanced analysis tools for IC and PCB designs. Increasing clock
frequencies wOl require tighter design tolerances and sophisticated
analysis tools will be needed to ensure proper operation.
CCAM-EDA-MT-9202 ©1992 Dataquest Incorporated December 28,1992