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So if Avid goes under, then what?
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[Jack Guthrey] “I am very confused on this reoccurring statement of “over-priced servers”… As stated many times, Avid makes it’s money off of ISIS/Interplay and services/solutions. The comparison to IBM may be an extremely apt one.”
Yes.
ISIS and Interplay is way overkill for a little guys like most of us here, who will at most spend $20,000 on a shared storage solution. Because we don’t need the enterprise features, services, and support, the solution seems overpriced.
However, for those facilities who do need those things, the kinds of solutions we often discuss here to here are not under-priced so much as under-featured.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
I think Avid will be around as long as all those other A’s keep making software that cant match its feature set.
Even if Avid did go belly up and stopped producing MC and Symphony, Hollywood would still be using it long after its death. Its too deep in the industry, and really no other NLE can match it for features and broadcast.
I mean alot of shops here are many many versions behind and there still cooking. Most dont know there is a MC 6, or even a 5 for that matter.
Neil Goodman: Editor of New Media Production – NBC/Universal
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[Craig Seeman] “The whole crossgrade lost them money. Why bother with it if it’s not a viable model?”
The crossgrade was definitely a loss as a lot of lone-man software editors bought it to have another option. The question down the road will be how many facilities bought it and end up replacing their useless FCS and Xsan with ISIS/Interplay.
What I’ve already found is that many non-Avid facilities are starting to become reacquainted with Avid and all the workflow benefits that come with it.
[Craig Seeman] “MC/Symphony should really just be the NLE tool that goes with Unity/Isis system sales.”
For a lot of facilities – it is. They buy into the infrastructure and just use whatever NLE works with it.
[Craig Seeman] “If people are buying MC/Symphony and going with other storage solutions, that’s not serving Avid’s financials. That people are finding other viable storage options with Avid’s “front end” NLEs, that indicates a problem (IMHO) also.”
That would be going back to a ‘closed’ system which used to be one of the major things people complained about. I don’t think it’ll be too long before there is an ISIS price drop (though it already isn’t far off from competitors) and you start seeing more and more of it.
I believe Avid is “sitting pretty” with all the FCP shakeup. People want infrastructure and the only company pitching a true end-to-end solution is Avid. As more and more third parties begin to integrate with Avid Interplay (StorageDNA comes to mind) the entry point for the full workflow becomes more manageable and I think we’ll see more and more shops rolling in an Avid environment.
Jack Guthrey
Carolinas Account Representative
Marshall Graphics Systems -
[Neil Goodman] “I think Avid will be around as long as all those other A’s keep making software that cant match its feature set. “
I think this is fundamentally wrong analysis. Avid does not make money selling NLEs. It’s about 12% of their revenue and declining. They lost money on the crossgrade from all reports I’ve read. This isn’t their primary market and they have no reason to compete in it.
[Neil Goodman] “I mean alot of shops here are many many versions behind and there still cooking.”
An excellent example why this isn’t a viable business model. Avid isn’t even benefiting by upgrade purchases.
Adobe had this problem so some extent and, unlike Avid, seems to be working on a more viable business model. Adobe isn’t a hardware/services company like Avid though.
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[Jack Guthrey] “The question down the road will be how many facilities bought it and end up replacing their useless FCS and Xsan with ISIS/Interplay. “
Yes, that’s certainly the question. So far, not enough. It may depend on whether Isis is a growing market vs those making due with less expensive competitors. The current economy and changes in the market are a big factor.
[Jack Guthrey] “That would be going back to a ‘closed’ system which used to be one of the major things people complained about. I don’t think it’ll be too long before there is an ISIS price drop (though it already isn’t far off from competitors) and you start seeing more and more of it.”
The people who complained were people looking for lower cost solutions. For NLE users, there were a number of them which is how FCP legacy got its foot hold. Now Adobe is pushing into that turf.
If Avid wants to prioritize value over price they need to focus on it. If they want to focus on price and volume they need to focus on that. The problem is they don’t have a business model that makes sense.
[Jack Guthrey] “I believe Avid is “sitting pretty” with all the FCP shakeup”
Absolutely NOT! Avid is not an NLE company. The market for Isis Interplay etc. hasn’t change because of FCP. At least not enough to impact their downward spiral.
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[Walter Soyka] “guys like most of us here”
You’ve hit the nail on the head again, Walter. It seems most of these “SKY IS FALLING!!” posts are all speaking on MC vs Adobe vs Apple or BMD making Avid available to the everyman. That’s not Avid’s game and not their market.
I do think Avid needs to directly show the entire industry what its wheelhouse is. I see IBM commercials on TV. I’m never going to buy a thing from them – I know what they do though. People need to know what Avid does. Especially the cool stuff like Interplay Sphere. What could be nice as well is showing an integration of a single guy on software quickly and easily handing off to a larger facility for finishing, broadcast, archive, etc.
I also would love to see and ISIS 1000 – basic shared storage that can be expanded upon when the time comes. That’s probably a pipe dream though. Avid only sells enterprise grade things and enterprise drive arrays are anything but cheap.
What’s been funny to me is coming here and seeing all this speculation when here at the office (about 80% of our business is Avid) the biggest kerfuffle was that now we have to find a good replacement to the M-Audio AV40s.
Jack Guthrey
Carolinas Account Representative
Marshall Graphics Systems -
[Jack Guthrey] “That’s not Avid’s game and not their market.”
I agree. Their big mistake is that they ARE trying to compete in it. That’s the corssgrade which sold many MCs and did nothing much for their financial situation.
[Jack Guthrey] “the biggest kerfuffle was that now we have to find a good replacement to the M-Audio AV40s.”
Why? The ones you have stopped working or suddenly sound worse? The product line was sold, not discontinued. I have no reason to replace my M-Audio BX5a.
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[Craig Seeman] “If Avid wants to prioritize value over price they need to focus on it. If they want to focus on price and volume they need to focus on that. The problem is they don’t have a business model that makes sense”
I agree with this 100%. Avid really needs to show this industry what it’s really about.
[Craig Seeman] “Absolutely NOT! Avid is not an NLE company. The market for Isis Interplay etc. hasn’t change because of FCP. At least not enough to impact their downward spiral.”
I should have clarified. There are a lot of facilities that are FCP reliant and actually have an infrastructure built around it. That infrastructure basically gets EOL’d with FCP7’s death. Avid is the only one that can really pick up that business and expand upon it.
Jack Guthrey
Carolinas Account Representative
Marshall Graphics Systems -
For those who think Avid will turn it around, are you investing in them? Stock is around $8 a share right now so if Avid rallys back there’s a potential to make a lot of money.
I think I’ll keep my Apple shares.
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[Jack Guthrey] “I believe Avid is “sitting pretty” with all the FCP shakeup. People want infrastructure and the only company pitching a true end-to-end solution is Avid. As more and more third parties begin to integrate with Avid Interplay (StorageDNA comes to mind) the entry point for the full workflow becomes more manageable and I think we’ll see more and more shops rolling in an Avid environment.”
Isn’t that a pretty limited market, though? After you eliminate large broadcasters, large networks and a few large post houses, who’s left? Few, if any, 4-12 suite facilities are going to invest in ISIS, much less Interplay. If anything, Facilis or Small Tree stand to gain more so than Avid – among this part of the market. Obviously that’s the issue here. Clearly Avid has to decide whether it’s a large-enterprise-vendor or an NLE/Storage-for-all-occasions company.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com
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