The "New" Mission of Avid Technology.
I recently received an email from the new CEO of Avid Video…it was entitled “An Update on Avid’s Business Transformation.”
I’m sorry…I appreciate the sentiment…but as an ex-Avid employee turned inheritor of a Wintel MCA HD 2.6.x, I believe the words are empty…a new mission statement is no substitute for product vision or strength/utility of code. See Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of the Start”.
Rather one has come to expect and dare I say accept the poor quality of software and hardware releases from the the Avid Video division. Resigned to having paid such a price for the “privilege” of drinking the perscribed READ ME cocktail every time one wants to avail themselves of a new “feature” through the upgrade process…sold a false bill of goods by an opportunistic channel with both parties always one step away from ownership in an ever swirling game of three card monty: Avid points to the channel > The channel points to Avid > The Sucker (sorry, customer) is left holding the dongle.
This disingenuous floatsam from my new friend Gary in Tewksbury is possibly the last clarion call for anyone without a facility support team who may still be interested in continuing their investment in Avid editorial products.
After having just installed the Media Composer Adrenaline HD 3.1 software upgrade…I came away astounded at the number of workarounds for known issues…and the amount of time one had to spend simply making sure everything that was needed on a user system was in place.
Moreover…I found once I completed the install…and the system was less responsive than the previous version…when I called Customer Assurance in exasperation…the “solution” I received from the empathetic fellow on the other end of the line in was to downgrade to a 3.0.5 version…he would be sure to email me a link for it…soon…since it wasn’t on the web site.
OMG…wake me…please wake me…I’m in a nightmare…Gary? Gary are you there? Is that you? Can you transform my system into a MacPro w/FC Studio?
Unfortunately, the only joke here is that this letter updating me will be one of probably 20 bullet points included in the 40 slide preso of “transformation milestones” during the board off-site sometime in January…how’s the buffet breakfast?
Gary, seriously…any idea where is the industry headed? Let’s take the “Strategic Principles” list point for point, cause I’ve already “realized my dream” above:
• DRIVE CUSTOMER SUCCESS – How may I ask? *Yawn* w/the CAB?
• FROM ENTHUSIAST TO ENTERPRISE – This sounds like #1 to me.
• FLUID DEPENDABLE WORKFLOWS – Umhum…see para’s 5 & 6.
• COLLABORATIVE SUPPORT – Yes, will they provide my 2nd rough cut?
• AVID OPTIMZIED IN AN OPEN ECOSYSTEM – Right, this one reeks.
“Optimized in an open ecosystem” = we intend to do our best to play nice w/others…when Avid can barely play well within its own family…I won’t hold my breath…and more over…I have friends still in building #1…which from the tenor of this email may be on fire! They have families man…is this really the best you can do?
Gary, how are you refining the editorial process, the content management process…the OPEN process needed for integration? OMF is NOT an Open Media Format…OPEN…wait a minute…I’ve heard this somewhere before…
Avid is to Apple as Microsoft is to Google…at least Microsoft wised up and took on Google’s model…will Avid management (new or old) not wake up and at the very least do likewise?
Gary? Are you listening? I do appreciate the fact that you’ve got a job to do…and I’ve got some ideas on how to “transform the business”…no kidding…call me up I’d be happy to share them…for a price…
