Since arriving in Brazil in 1998, Hans Ulmer formed Absolut Technologies, a company with which he has positioned himself as one of the most important integrators of the AV industry in that country. By Richard Santa
A German who arrived in Brazil almost two decades ago, became over the years one of the most important audiovisual integrators in Brazil. This is the story of Hans Ulmer, president of Absolut Technologies, a company with a presence in different Brazilian cities.
Hans Ulmer was born in Ellwangen, a town in southern Germany. Although for three years he worked as a lumberjack in Bavaria and then became part of his country's army, his life has always been linked to technology. His professional background is mechanical engineering and he also holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.
His first job related to technology was in 1993, when he joined the company EST, located in Kaiserslautern, under the modality of student worker. At this time I was writing an article about virtual reality - the human-machine interface.
"In 1994 I was sent from the University to the second Congress on Virtual Reality at the Fraunhofer Institute. In this congress I negotiated for EST the distribution rights of a virtual reality software, called Sense8. From this day forward, I've put a lot of work into selling virtual reality, both software and hardware. We did a lot of Pioneer projects, with DLR, Dornier and several universities. Since 1994 I have been passionate about virtual reality and simulation," he said.
Breaking new ground
In 1998 Hans Ulmer moved to the city of Bahia, Brazil. Immediately, with the help of his wife, Lucymerire Ferraz, with whom he has two children, they prepared their participation in a business start-up program created by the Government of Bahia. The result was in June of that year when they began activities with the company, initially based on software and hardware for virtual reality.
Their first approach to the audiovisual industry came in 2000, when they sold the first five-sided Cave in Latin America to the University of São Paulo. After this first sale, they made several projects in conjunction with SGI, huge Powewalls in the oil and gas industry in different countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.
"In 2002 we started developing complex AV projects for oil, gas and automotive. We have produced and integrated a large number of projects locally. The next big milestone was our work in conjunction with the Global Presence Alliance, GPA. Today we are a full and active member in Latin America, especially in Brazil. We started being an affiliate in 2010 and in 2014 we were awarded as a full member," he said.
He highlighted that the Global Presence Alliance was formed to help customers who have a global source for all audio, video and unified communications solutions. It offers a combined talent of thousands of professionals, following the same protocols and procedures in all parts of the world. They also have allies and partnerships around the world for the delivery of standardized services.
The challenges of everyday life
Hans Ulmer's workday usually starts at 8 in the morning, either in his offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or in the one he has adapted at home, but always aware of all the details thanks to the videoconferencing systems. He said his main challenge is to maintain the same contact with all his colleagues. "But in a growing company sometimes it's difficult. My goal is to keep everything as a family."
"Right now the converged AV and IT process is running at a high speed and we have to be prepared to enter the IT world. Our industry will not be the same in the next 24 months." Therefore, our Professional of the Month pointed out what in his view will be the demands of the business and the challenges for the following years:
Business Demands
Organizations' cost-cutting programs are driving demand for AV, video conferencing, and communication infrastructure.
Increased attention to green organizations that require reducing carbon emissions and travel.
Users demand unified communications strategies instead of different platforms for voice, video, data, and messaging.
The responsibility of AV and video conferencing on the move to IT services. Requirement for global service delivery models using ITIL-based methodologies
Challenges
- AV and video conferencing has traditionally been targeted on separate high-cost networks with proprietary hardware and infrastructure.
- High cost of providing services with limited process automation and no integrated software.
- HD and web-based applications that require AV and video conferencing to be networked and delivered over IP networks.
- Requirement to deliver a consistent and compliant service based on network infrastructure.
Industry grows and transforms
Hans Ulmer has witnessed the development of the industry over the past 20 years. His experience and knowledge allow him to foresee the challenges that the industry will have for the coming years. "The most important change is that we are going from assisted AV services as it has been for the last 15 years, to a self-service model, as in the IT industry."
Finally, he concluded that "Despite the deep crisis that Brazil is currently experiencing, the audiovisual industry in the country is constantly growing, because it helps people communicate better and faster."
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