Back to reality
19 November 2007
Well was it all worth it? All the talk. All the hype. And now Productronica has been and gone and its back to ‘plain clathes and porridge’. (*see below).
While Productronica is always good show, its atmosphere is dictated by the fortunes of the electronics industry. Eight years ago for example the industry was like a juggernaut with no brakes, barely in control. A thrill ride that nobody – not manufacturers, investors, suppliers, even the level-headed media (?) – could risk getting off – or even see the dangers of staying on board. Until it went off the cliff in 2001 and everyone shook their heads in disbelief – not that it happened, but that they didn’t see it was obviously going to happen. But Productronica back in 1999 was a boiling cauldron of frenzied activity.
Even in 2001 there was a certain amount of hope that it would be Productronica that would provide a catalyst for recovery within the industry. It didn’t, but there was still that hope at the time of the show itself.
In 2007 the industry, and Productronica, is more like a sports car. It’s in control and looking good. The driver is mature and knows where he is going. Common sense and steady progress have replaced the thrills. And that just about sums up Productronica. It seemed to me that the number of visitors was good - although without the urgency or excitement of an Apple store when iPhone’s were launched. In fact there would have been a good excuse for the attendance being well down. Not on account of the arctic conditions that Munich welcomed us with, but because there was a train strike for two days which probably kept quite a few of Germany’s domestic engineers at home.
And, with nearly one and a half thousand exhibitors, there must have been something there with the ‘WOW’ factor. Something special. Something revolutionary. Something to set the pulse racing. But if there was I did not see it. I saw loads of good stuff. But all inventive variations on a well established theme. I will highlight a number of the best things I saw in EMTWorldWide in the coming weeks.
I am sure that there are many aggrieved companies out there thinking that they had THE show-stopper – but if they have then they are welcome to get in touch so that I can share it with the wider world.
But if I had to highlight themes it would be of improved productivity and flexibility, better software, easier to use interfaces, price and performance – in truth most of the stuff that has been leading the agenda for the last five years or so. Possibly another trend was a desire for stronger branding from the suppliers. While this is a matter of supreme in difference from a technological viewpoint, it occurred to me that some of the suppliers, desperate to differentiate themselves from the pack, are possibly trying to make their own brands a differentiator in themselves – like a badge of quality. This is nothing new of course, but it used to be that companies earned their own reputations by having equipment that was cheap or expensive, reliable or fallible, fast or slow etc. Now all the equipment tends to be pretty good, you just pay more for more features or capability. There is less opportunity for a supplier to stand out from the crowd and establish a reputation for innovation or quality, and yet more companies seem to be trying to do just that. It won’t make any difference – ultimately people are lead by price and performance as our current poll shows.
So, to summarise, using my analogy of the sports car – we are in control, comfortable and maybe with a badge that reflects the ‘mature’ man – the refined quality of a Jaguar or Mercedes perhaps. And that is where I feel both the industry (from a technology perspective) and Productronica is at the moment. Mature, competent and, dare I say it, happy!
* - For those of you who are have not had the good fortune to have been brought up in Scotland, the expression ‘plane clathes (clothes) and porridge’ simply means that after the holiday, party, or any other form of excitement, its time to return to the realities of ordinary life – wearing ordinary clothes and eating ordinary food.
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