Progress constantly faces a problem: new technologies are not always profitable to introduce. Or rather, progress hits this problem and stops.
A large corporation with thousands of branches across the country has already built a huge video surveillance system with data centers based on personal computers, installed fiber-optic networks for cameras, and set up many protective boxes with cooling and heating systems for all the end devices.
Everything is already installed. Everything works well. And then we come with our new technology and suggest replacing the data centers, computers, and all this equipment with our small box, which can replace everything. It also finally provides AI video analytics that many companies promise but few actually show in real use.
To prove that it is not just words, we visit Top-companies not with presentations or videos, but with a real working product. Luckily, it is small, even though it replaces entire data centers.
We put it on the table in a modern meeting room, but there is not even a device to connect it to. The room is designed only for discussions and presentations. Nobody expects to see a real demonstration anymore.
We found a way to connect our device instead of the video conferencing system. We showed it, and we convinced them. The product itself did the job.
However, there is a problem: the old equipment has already been purchased, and it may continue working for another 10 years. No one wants to throw it away.
But there is another point. Maintaining all these data centers, air conditioners, computers, and other equipment requires a huge number of specialists. Sometimes there are not enough experts, so companies have to hire outside contractors and pay for their services.
And the math is interesting: installing new modern equipment costs about the same as one month of maintaining the old system.
The new equipment does not need all these data centers, air conditioners, and constant maintenance. It does not even need dust cleaning. Small modules can simply be replaced in seconds: take one out and put another one in.
So it is possible to reduce costs many times. But there is still the same question: what should we do with the old equipment? The money has already been spent.
Usually, customers wait until video cards start failing or air conditioners begin breaking down. They say: “Wait a little longer. We already repair it often. When the situation becomes critical, we will switch to new equipment.”
So they continue spending money on maintenance and repairs until profits fall and they are forced to reduce costs.
That is the reality of progress. Sometimes even simple mathematics loses to old habits and previous investments.
Oleg Grishanin
=SpesLab=