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 Cablenomics Introduction Think back just a year ago to the start of the new millennium. Coming off a roaring stock market, anything even remotely tied to technology seemed to be an upward spiral, with no end in sight for double-digit growth. Unfortunately the world of 2001 is fundamentally different, with technology out-of-favor, capital spending on telecommunications dropping quickly and growth forecasts over the next 3-4 unlikely to exceed 2%. Our newly elected President has inherited a very difficult economic climate, something that many people in our cabling industry are experiencing first-hand. What should you do? Manufacturers will need to dramatically reduce costs and potentially postpone development of new technologies and platforms. Previous investments in the physical layer has already dramatically improved the reliability and speed of current networks. As Michael Dell from Dell Computer stated on a related subject, people are not automatically upgrading their PC’s to the latest processor – Speed does not automatically sell. As a distributor, you may need to make a critical and strategic tradeoff between continuing to offer a wide selection of products or having a fewer number of vendors but having higher profit margins on each of the remaining lines. Finally as a VAR/installer, you will need to emphasize services and on-going maintenance/support and not necessarily new installations or product revenues. Obviously this downturn will not happen overnight but it will occur much more quickly than you’d expect and companies are urged to take action sooner not later. From our own selfish perspective this time of uncertainty will hopefully inspire small business owners to consider selling their business - and using Gerber & Company, LLC to handle this transaction. Gerber’s main business is representing privately-held systems integration and cabling installation firms who want to raise capital or be acquired by a larger entity. If you are considering selling your firm and are interested in having an initial, exploratory meeting with Gerber & Company, LLC, then you should contact us at your earliest convenience. Ron Gerber, President of Gerber & Company, LLC can be reached at 212-904-1940 x 101 (phone) or via email at rgerber@gerbercompany.com. Please remember however that Cabling Business Magazine and Gerber & Company, LLC cannot be held responsible for any printing errors. Readers should use this article for informative purposes alone. Any investment decisions should be made with the advice of a financial professional. Stock Price Table
DatatecDatatec Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DATC - news), a provider of deployment services and software tools, reported results for the second quarter ended October 31, 2000. Highlights of the report were:
``We are extremely pleased with these results and remain confident that similar year over year levels of growth should now be sustainable,'' said Isaac Gaon, Datatec CEO and Chairman. ``The lack of deployment capabilities has become one of the biggest restraints to growth for all technology companies, and Datatec is the only company that is solely focused on this $70 billion market. Since its move to an indirect sales model some two years ago, indirect sales now accounts for 44% of Datatec Services' total business. The enormous leverage of the indirect model, where we have the sales forces of our strategic partners providing us with opportunities, should continue to furnish Datatec with ample top line growth, and create a much larger rate of increase to the bottom line. We are now moving to further penetrate the indirect channel on a global scale via our newly-established Global Integration Services subsidiary in the U.K.'' Tom Stevenson President & CEO of eDeploy.com commented, ``Customer response to eDeploy remains extremely positive, and the software is now being utilized by partners to manage projects on four continents. eDeploy's near term focus is to quickly extend our market lead by expanding our excellent relationships with Cisco and NCR and work toward developing reseller relationships with key players in the channel.''
Black Box CorporationBlack Box Corporation (Nasdaq:BBOX - news) announced a merger with LANmark Communications, Inc. Established in 1994 in Auburn, Massachusetts, privately held LANmark provides technical design, installation and maintenance services for premise cabling and related services to customers primarily in the northeast United States. Annual revenues of LANmark are approximately $7 million. Commenting on the merger, Henry E. Eknaian, Jr., President of Black Box Network Services - New England Operations, said, ``LANmark is a welcome addition to the Black Box family. Their technical expertise and solid customer base will strengthen our New England organization and their customers will benefit from our worldwide network services team. This is truly a win-win situation.'' Peter L. Copeland, Jr., President of LANmark, said, ``The merger with Black Box provides us with significant additional resources to better serve our customer base locally, nationally and internationally. The merger will also provide our employees additional opportunities to further their professional development.'' |
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