The Expert's Panel

In this industry you can get so much good free data that it is unbelievable. Going to SEMI luncheons and other events for fees like $35 and $65 you get a lot of good data. In a recent one, for example, Dataquest, SIA, VLSI Research, and Techcet all gave presentations with handouts. It was a tremendous bargain. What was presented represented many thousands of dollars worth of data if you had gone to those companies to purchase it. It may not be exactly what you were looking for but you can take pieces of each of the presentations and it will likely be very close. The data research companies put out all this free data to remind people that they are there. The other alternative is to have good friends. Get to know people in the research firms and when you need some small pieces of info they are likely to give it you free. Let them know you are small and can�t afford a lot. But, be willing to do favors for them from time to time.

Be aware that SEMI has a market research program. If you are a SEMI member you can get access to that information. It does cost something, but it is much less than the market research firms.

Look at some of the larger market research companies. Look for reports on the niche markets which are often cheaper. Add that data to other information you collect and you may have everything you need.