It is fair to say that when we approached this note, obviously, there was a great and marked evolution in the industry compared to the traditional 1/4 and 3.5 flexible disks, which dominated the storage landscape from the 80s to the beginning of this decade.
But this is a race that does not stop and already the large multinationals are doing their job on the way to offering more storage media and with greater capacity for their customers. This is the case of GE, who announced the development of a disc capable of storing 500GB of information, which is equivalent to 100 conventional DVDs or 10 Blu Ray of 50 GB each. The company has said that it will continue working to reach the disk that allows to store 1000 GB.
In the above, the most interesting thing is that it can support the backup of a hard drive of a pc and make this traumatic experience something much simpler. The not so positive thing is that the album will be available for 2011 or 2012.
For us in the A/V industry it is excellent news, because without a doubt our segment is increasingly sophisticated and demanding in the content it produces, but also in the storage needs it requires. The positive thing is also that every day the idea of mobility is accentuated more, which leads us to think about making assemblies and installations with smaller and smaller elements.
Laptops are getting smaller. Hard drives also and increasingly with greater capacities and now comes this news. The era of microtechnology is advancing by leaps and bounds. Are you already instructing yourself in the use of the new tools?
But this time I do not pretend to be a messenger of bad news or discuss what you will surely have already heard in the media. The idea of this column is to reflect on a question: and now, who will be able to defend us? The questioning is due to the fact that resources are scarce, consumers are nervous and experts talk about medium- to long-term contingency plans.
But then, the big question is what should be the strategy to be applied to protect yourself in the best way and sustain yourself, because the slogan in the specialized technical world seems to be resist and you will win.
However, in meetings held with European, American and Latin American sales and marketing managers, I found that the most experienced agreed on one detail and that is the handling and delivery of timely information for their customers. I am not only talking about the typical service and support, which we have always mentioned as the differentiating factor, but I am referring more specifically to the need to report more aggressively on the solutions that a company is developing to meet this or that need in the market.
Usually, in times of crisis the first thing that is cut is marketing and this is a huge mistake; it is at this time when everyone is letting their guard down which represents a magnificent opportunity for those who take risks. Not for free, the most powerful firms on the planet, although they control their expenses, do not radically abandon their promotion program.
Thus, in this direction, there is an opportunity for those who do not want to make hasty decisions and cancel or deteriorate communication programs with their clientele. The network offers today countless possibilities to grow in the markets so take advantage of them, because there are no longer red chapulines that defend us.
But what really worries me is what this situation may bring to price-sensitive markets, such as Latin America, which was enjoying two phenomenal situations for the massification of technology: the low prices of the US currency and the availability of significant capital flows, product of the generous sales of raw materials. This macroeconomic nirvana led to the region becoming an attractive and dynamic market, because in the midst of the stillness of markets such as the United States and Europe, our countries began to demand more and better technology. The answer is clear, there were great products at the prices that Latinos could buy.
But now the situation has changed. It already seems that we will not have so much money and the dollar went up. This will be the "August" of those unserious manufacturers of low-quality technology, who do not have a well-defined support chain and who do not train the audio and video integrator/installer. I want to clarify that I do not mean Orientals in general. The big brands have emerged from this region, but have grown based on dedicated research and development work. I'm talking about ghost brands, of which unfortunately not much is known.
It is important then that we start thinking about certain details. Buying based on the lowest price is not the best strategy in times of crisis. Latin America is a market that is in frank growth and technological development, so it is not logical that we begin to fill it with toys of little durability. Let's not forget that a market is serious when those who make it up are precisely serious actors.
Until next time
You will surely wonder what one thing has to do with the other, but the truth is that with gasoline prices as they currently are (thank goodness they are going down) traveling is practically an impossible mission. Many companies have found themselves needing to cut corporate travel because of how expensive it is for corporate finance, and are instead optimizing expenses for the acquisition of communication equipment.
With what you are seeing these days in videoconferencing, you can literally say that the barriers of distance are being cut or minimized; To name just one thing, solutions are now offered that enable perfect interaction between those side by side, with amazing sound and resolution. The most important thing is that with a dedicated channel there are practically no delays or drops in communication.
Speaking with an official of one of the companies that manufacture these solutions, she told me that in reality what has been achieved in this sector is to generate a high quality telecommunication and confirmed to me that these equipment are becoming useful tools for megacorporations, that for only a few thousand dollars their officials are prevented from wasting an entire day traveling for a meeting of a couple of hours in some city in the state. Those who must travel regularly, know that this is one of the activities that take the most time.
Among the positive aspects of this trip to InfoComm was that once the event was over I left with the feeling that technology does indeed exist to make the lives of human beings more comfortable, and that really the barriers that previously seemed to be insurmountable today are simple circumstances.
See you.