Technology Advances Drive Gains In Test Instrumentation Software Marketplace
With the rapid emergence of new technologies, demand for simple and easy-to-use solutions has grown in the global instrumentation software market, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan. Acknowledging this need, instrumentation software companies are focused on simplifying complicated technical tasks and processes as well as adding new functionalities. As such, Frost says the global market for instrumentation software and software solutions for general purpose test instruments earned revenues of $1.52 billion in 2013 and is expected to reach $2.21 billion in 2018.
Frost says the functionality of instrumentation software has evolved throughout the last decade, with many software developers employing powerful formulas, advanced rendering, and intuitive user interfaces.
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“The close integration of electronic test equipment and software is resulting in improved efficiency of the overall system,” said Frost & Sullivan Measurement & Instrumentation Industry, Analyst Prathima Bommakanti, in a prepared statement. “The faster changeover, enhanced accuracy, and higher placement rates will all help deliver greater production yields to customers.”
Investments in R&D will give a significant boost to participants at a time when market maturity and the economic downturn are limiting the sales of associated software. However, Frost says superior customer awareness and competitive prices are generating interest in add-on and turnkey software.
Another important trend in the test instrumentation software market is the increasing heterogeneity in product/application mix at customer locations. Due to the resulting need for several types of software and products, Frost says customers gravitate towards single-source suppliers that can provide the packages and services by themselves or through partnerships.
End users' preference for a one-stop-shop drives vendors to provide the equipment in a manner that eliminates the need to procure software individually. They also tend to offer free updates of the software if there is no revision in its version.
“With the increase in complexity of DUT, customers in the global instrumentation software market are in a constant search for simple and easy-to-use solutions,” noted Bommakanti. “Identifying this need, market participants are striving to ensure that their software offer high ease-of-use to their customers”
For more information on this research, visit www.testandmeasurement.frost.com.