Most observers predict anemic EDA growth in 2004, despite fairly good prospects for the semiconductor industry. How can EDA vendors maximize their prospects for the new year? Here are a few ideas.

First priority is to focus on must-have tools. With a tight lid on R&D, "nice-to-have" may not get far. Must-haves will lie in areas where designers are hitting problems, and there are plenty below 130 nanometers.

Designers need immediate help with power management. They need to predict and minimize consumption up front, and deal with issues like IR drop and leakage current. IC/package co-design also lacks tools and solutions. Functional verification, as always, is a bottleneck. Anything that truly speeds verification and debug will draw attention.

Many startups are addressing electronic system-level tools and design-for-manufacturability. I think both will be must-have technologies for leading-edge designers, but the extent to which that will happen in 2004, or contribute to this year's EDA revenues, is unclear. But demand seems to be growing for resolution-enhancement technology.

EDA vendors should think beyond traditional, digital ASICs. Designers turning to FPGAs or structured ASICs will need tools. Full-custom design needs better automation. Analog/mixed-signal and RF design are increasing, and some of that will take place on multichip modules, which get little tool support.

SystemVerilog will probably go mainstream this year, and verification providers should plan to support it. But first things first; many still need to complete their support for Verilog 2001.

For large EDA vendors, integrated "platforms" for functional verification or RTL-to-GDSII implementation may offer a good revenue source. These platforms should be as automated and comprehensive as possible. But they also need to be open, so users can plug in tools from hot startups or internal CAD groups.

What may be most important for revenue, however, is not so much hot technology, but which licenses are up for renewal at any given time. EDA vendors need to focus on winning those renewals.

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