As more and more players come into the IP market and IP becomes more and more "commoditized", providers will need to identify other differentiators besides functionality and performance (ie. all providers will provide similar functionality and performance and may need to find another differentiator or be forced to differentiate on price). Test may prove to be a key differentiator for IP as testing challenges increase at the chip, board and system level and the call for quality becomes louder and louder. However, Design For Test will require a great deal more thought in an SoC flow with evolving technology.
Citation:
Bill Eklow, "IP Testing — The Future Differentiator?," date, vol. 3, pp.30006, Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition Designers? Forum (DATE'04), 2004