By Peggy Aycinena

Las Vegas, NV - 38th Design Automation Conference (DAC) - This is purportedly going to be the worst earnings year in the history of the semiconductor industry. Given that as backdrop, it's not surprising that the attendance at this year's Design Automation Conference in Las Vegas is visibly down. However, in spite of a few high-volume outbursts of fear, uncertainty, and dread from a VP of marketing here and there, most have not lost faith in the show, its usefulness, or its viability going forward.

The dreariest of marketing VPs said, "DAC is dead. It simply won't happen again. I spent more than a quarter of a million dollars mounting my booth and suite here in Las Vegas and I'll get nothing out of it. This show is over and should not happen again. Why don't we do it in smaller, more regional versions in four or five venues around the world - Boston, Silicon Valley, DATE (in Europe), and Japan? That would give everyone a chance to go and would allow the vendors to focus their limited resources on more specific markets. In any case, let's get out of this booth mentality. If we have to come to this show, let's restrict our efforts to direct customer contact in the demo suites. That type of thing yields a much better return on time and resource investment."

That same executive said he anticipates with interest the EDA Front-to-Back show that will be premiering in Silicon Valley in September 2001. He said that the intention to restrict the show to demos suites is exactly the direction that EDA trade shows should be headed. Other voices here at DAC argued, however, that the booth gives vendors and customers alike a chance to visit and to sense the larger trends in the industry - even though the CEO of one of the smaller vendors openly complained that "the big guys" are not showcasing their latest tools out on the exhibit hall floor for fear of revealing proprietary GUIs and the like to their competition. Most polled, however, continued to defend the booth-and-suite strategy, although admittedly intending to throw more resources to the suite and less to the booth in future shows.

One lively topic among the exhibitors was the choice of cities for the show. Next year, DAC 2002 is scheduled to return to New Orleans. One VP of marketing said, "That was a very convenient location for the 5 designers who live within a 500 mile radius of New Orleans. By 2002 there may be 6 designers in the region and they will undoubtedly flood the convention center." Others, however, argued that New Orleans is a popular destination for people who plan family vacations around DAC and that the customers come out in droves. Those same positive voices insisted that when the economy picks up later this year, it will have a direct and positive impact on attendance at next year's DAC.

One VP of marketing was adamant in dismissing Los Angeles, however, as an appropriate place for DAC. He said, "Los Angeles was just awful last year. My hotel was awful, the infrastructure was awful, and it was impossible to get things ready in advance of the show. I'd take any city over L.A. for future DACs."

Contrary to popular intuition, not everyone would like to see DAC return permanently to the Bay Area. One Bay Area design engineer in attendance here in Las Vegas said, "I just flew in for the day to see the show. I will fly home tonight and, to tell you the truth, I'm glad it's not in Silicon Valley or in San Francisco. I'm sick of fighting the traffic and coming here by plane for the day was actually more relaxing than having to attend the show in the Bay Area."

Others, however, continued to maintain that the Bay Area is the only logical place for the show because the huge population of customers and EDA vendors in Silicon Valley translates into a packed show floor. Travel budgets don't have such a visible impact on show attendance and everyone can afford to attend - even if only for a day.

One industry analyst with a historical perspective reminisced about DAC when it was purely a place for technical conversation. He said, "DAC was kidnapped by the industry around 1984. Before that, it was principally a technical meeting where designers could share technology with each other. People who dislike DAC today need to remember that it continues to have a thriving technical component that's important to the growth of the industry."

And a CEO of one of the larger companies said, "Yes, DAC is a necessary evil, but every security analyst in the industry is here and it gives us a chance to book back-to-back meetings with these guys. Those meetings are very important, although I try hard to carve out time to go out on the floor and just find out what's new and exciting."

So who gets the final word on the success or failure of DAC? This year's exhibit hall floor was undeniably quiet and a source of visible frustration to many of the staffers eagerly awaiting any customer that might wander by. One booth staffer overheard a glib press report that said, "DAC in Las Vegas -- There's 20,000 people inside and 100 degrees outside." She laughed and said, "That should be 20,000 degrees outside and 100 people inside."