When did you last log onto the Internet to accomplish a design-related task? Perhaps you browsed company web sites for data sheets, or researched new design-automation tools. Maybe you even downloaded a software patch or models for some new components you want to use in your next board design. You can, for as little as $100 a month, get access to a complete set of tools and all of the required logical and physical information needed to create an electrically correct pc-board design.
In the next few years, the pc-board industry, and the way pc-board vendors market, sell, and support tools, will change dramatically. Even the way you design your next board and the tools you use to accomplish that task will change, and it's all due to one undeniable factor—the Internet. From geographically disperse design team communication to Internet-enabled design tools, it's all on the way. And this new way of working may be here sooner than we think.
Naturally, you may assume that if the Internet can have such a tremendous impact on the pc-board design industry, then it should have a similar effect on the IC and ASIC industries. If you came to this conclusion, you would be wrong. In its present form, IC design is a complicated proposition. Therefore, it does not lend itself well to being done via the Internet. ASICs, while more suitably fitted for use on the Internet by virtue of their modularity, also do not appear to translate easily to the Internet.
In contrast, pc-board design by its very nature lends itself to being accomplished via the Internet. Consider for a moment that a large number of engineers design pc boards today. According to one estimate, the market size for EDA tools used for the design of pc-boards and systems is roughly $800 million. The projected growth for 2000 is roughly 8%. That's pretty significant growth for a segment of the industry that traditionally lags behind its cohort in the IC tools market.
With all of these people doing pc-board design, you end up with a very diverse group of users and tools. Yet, despite these differences, there are certain commonalities about the information pc-board designers use as input into automation tools. Using these commonalities as a starting point, the Internet helps bring these diverse group of designers and their tools together.
Through the use of any standard browser, the World Wide Web essentially acts as a common user interface by providing a common ground for the distribution and management of information. And, by replacing the board as the user interface, the web allows information regarding the board to be made available to a multitude of people in a variety of different disciplines, not just designers.
Lots of pc-board vendors recognize these potential benefits and now offer a range of Internet-based capabilities. Not surprisingly, pc-board designers seem willing to give them a try. Many have been searching for and evaluating component data on the web for some time. They are comfortable using the web and, for the most part, know how to successfully navigate it. For these designers, adding Internet-enabled capabilities to their design tools is simply the next logical step.
Interestingly, in an industry where IC design is considered the "sexy" technology and has been given the lion's share of press coverage, pc-board vendors now seem to be leading the charge when it comes to breaking new ground and staking out new territory on the Internet. They're defining the rules of engagement when it comes to doing business on the web and helping to set the standard by which all those that follow will have to look for guidance.
What can you expect to see from pc-board vendors in the future, and what price will you have to pay to gain entrance into this emerging Internet-based design environment? This article will take a closer look at pc-board design done the Internet way.
You may be asking yourself why pc-board design seems to be playing such a crucial role in migrating design onto the web. To answer this question, it's important to first take a step back and observe some of the forces that are driving and influencing the pc-board industry today.
It's safe to say that the pc-board industry is in a state of flux—not so much driven by the need for information, but rather, by the need to communicate information. This communication revolution can be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which is the consumerization of the industry. It's forcing designers to produce faster, higher-performance, and higher functionality devices in a shorter amount of time and at a lower cost. It's also driving a change in the average designer's work environment; literally redefining the way they work.
These changes are easy to understand when you realize that engineers and designers are in short supply these days. Finding skilled workers is a daunting task that has prompted a shift in hiring practices at many companies. In the past, a company would seek out a skilled candidate who knew how to use a specific set of automation tools. Today, companies just look for the right skill set. The tool, or tools, a potential candidate knows how to use is irrelevant as many companies are now willing to standardize on more than one toolset.
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