By Art Reisman, CTO, http://www.netequalizer.com
Art Reisman
Article Type: Opinion
As the CEO of a small (yet growing) tech company in the current recession I often get calls from former colleagues working at larger corporations. Amidst their companies insincere rhetoric, inaction, and falling revenues, good people wait around wondering who will be next to get the ax.
The underlying problem at most of these companies is that they are continue to push products into a stagnant or declining market. The only way to have any relative security is to get on board with an industry or niche with solid growth potential.
So if your wondering where to turn for potential job security here are some tips that might help
Look for a company that is doing something with real value for society and not just jumping on the latest bandwagon.
1) Renewable energy is hot , and certainly a job in renewable energy is better than selling steam engines running off coal. Renewable energy, although here to stay is being over hyped . Right now the success of renewable energy is dependent on battery technology. Fossil fuels are nothing more than the Suns energy stored up and retrieved at will when needed. For renewable (wind, solar) energy is to compete easily with traditional fossil fuels we must come up with a clean effective battery to store energy. My advice seek out a company that specializes in battery technology and then help them make a difference.
2) Network and Internet Optimization
Internet Infrastructure companies are being forced by their stock holders to turn a profit. The days of free falling bandwidth contracts are slowing down, hence the new hot market will be companies with products that optimize internet bandwidth. Bandwidth control , WAN optimization and compression although not on the front pages, are areas of value and are holding their own in the recession. Some companies to look at , are
APconnection (NetEqualizer)
Packeteer
Allot
RiverBed
Exinda
3) Medical Technology,
From newer and better and MRI machines to prosthetics , Americans will spare no expense for anything that will make their lives more comfortable. So when will this party end and the associated demand for jobs in the Medical Industry flatten out?
Although I do not expect a crash in this field as we might have seen in other boom and bust industries, I do expect a slowdown. Every bubble has its end, and the Medical technology industry is due for a slow down. As consumers push back on medical care pricing, high end technology research will slow down. Still a better prospect than steam engines though.
4) Auto Industry
If you are entering into the field of Mechanical Engineering or electronics controls now would be a good time to focus on the Auto Industry. For the next 5 to 10 years I expect that auto makers will be looking for new innovative ideas in their engineering departments. They will also be looking for new talent. Don’t let the down turn discourage you this is an opportunity.
NetEqualizer News Blog 
Network World Blog missing the boat on Packeteer’s decline in revenue
October 22, 2009 — netequalizerThe one thing bad about being a publicly traded company is that you cannot hide from your declining sales, in the following network world blog post and related comments ,the authors make some good points as to where and why they would choose Cisco Wan Optimization over Blue Coat and vice-versa. They also comment on all sorts of reasons why Blue Coat’s revenue in this area is declining , although they neglect one obvious reason.
Prices of bandwidth have fallen quite rapidly over the last 10 years. In some larger metro areas Internet access runs for as little as $300 per month for 10 megabits. The same link 10 years ago would have run close to $5000 per month or more. Despite falling bandwdith prices, WAN optimization solutions from the likes Blue Coat, Cisco and Riverbed, remain relatively high. Many ptential WAN optimization customers will simply upgrade their bandwidth rather than invest in new optimization equipment. You would think that vendors would lower their prices to compete, and they are to some degree; however the complexity of their core solutions requires a mimumum price floor. The factors that create the price floor on equipment are related to, methodology of the internal technology, and sales channel costs, and unfortunately these fixed cost factors cannot keep pace with falling bandwidth prices .
Our prediction is that WAN optimization devices will slowly become a commodity with automated reduced complexity. One measure of the current complexity is all the acronyms being tossed around describing WAN optimization. The sales pitches filled with accronyms clearly corrolate that perhaps these devices are just too complicated for the market to continue to use. They will become turn key simple and lower cost or die. No player is bigger than the Market force of cheaper bandwith.
Related articles:
ROI calculation for packet shaping equipment
Does lower cost bandwidth foretell a decline in bandwidth shaper sales?
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