The company's revenue model is based on charging an up-front fee to develop a simulator, and then a monthly fee for hosting the site. They do not charge per hit to the site. Though the product has received favorable reviews as a marketer's tool, some experts, even Clayton, remain skeptical of its ability to shorten the sales time for semiconductor equipment, which can easily run a year or more. I can't see it reducing the actual number of visits a chip manufacturer will make to try out the equipment before purchasing. Sales teams from both companies can use simulators to better explain and demonstrate the tools they are not as familiar with when traveling to visit potential customers.
Observers also see advantages for smaller gear makers.
If simulations of a smaller company's tools are available through the Internet, they might get included in the initial evaluation process of a chip manufacturer that has never used them before. For an equipment manufacturer, it might help lower the cost of providing chip manufacturers with initial evaluations, says Hutcheson. Otherwise, you look like a pauper, even if that's not actually the case. Neither company has yet announced plans to do so. I can't say whether chip manufacturers are going to start demanding this product from equipment vendors.