[Craig Seeman] "Certainly they invested in making an iPad NLE."
Not that big a deal I think. It's an iteration of the consumer-oriented Pinnacle Studio that used to retail in places like K-Mart and Circuit City for $99. The (former) Pinnacle guys are software maniacs -- they probably did most of it in their sleep on a Sunday night, wrapped it up by lunch Monday. I could be wrong, but it looks like the definition of low-hanging fruit.
We can have a different conversation when Symphony makes its way to iPad.
(Note that one of the FCPX product managers was the designer of Symphony. We came close to overlapping at Avid -- he was one of the people who interviewed me, was very generous to me, but left before I started. He had my old job at Boris FX before he moved to Apple. Great guy. So Symphony winding up on an iPad, cue "Circle of Life," the Elton John version, but stick with the Debbie Allen choreography from the Oscars.)
Given that I'm mathlexic and can barely read...or wipe my own drool...here's how I read this.
Avid CAN sustain a video business that's mostly software. When I was there, it was something like 40% margin across the business (including storage, services, Pro Tools -- the whole shebang). They're now at SIXTY points. That's really good, especially for a business with so many hard costs (storage, mixing boards, etc.)
If their margin is 60%, they can survive as long as they want, as long as they're spending something less than 60% of revenue. That's not currently the case. Time to call in the MBAs, give 'em machetes, and turn 'em loose. Kidding aside, there's a lot of smart people at Avid. They can figure out how to create net profit on a 60% margin.
I'm an idiot and can probably make a step or two in the right direction.
Usual disclaimers: I'm speaking only for myself, not anybody I work for now or worked for then....and I'm an idiot.
Tim Wilson
Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW Magazine
Twitter: timdoubleyou
