By Jeannette Bitz
Recent economic indicators provide hope that we’re finally headed to toward a recovery. Cisco’s CEO, John Chambers, told the Wall Street Journal last week said that the US was in a “gradual” recovery, which is a positive sign for most of Engage PR’s clients since Cisco is considered by most to be a technology bellwether. While many economists also caution that the recovery will be slow, there are some bright spots in both the telecommunications and IT technology industries.
- Robert Half International Inc. recently conducted a survey of 1, 400 CFOs from a “stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.” When asked where the executives plan to invest their money once the recovery occurs, 40 percent of the CFOs who responded cited that they would invest in new or upgraded IT systems. The telecommunications industry is also showing signs of optimism—and far beyond the promise that the broadband stimulus funds will contribute.
- Om Malik, GigaOM, noted in a blog post recently, (The Great Internet Buildout Continues) social networking sites like Facebook
and Twitter are gaining in popularity, and devices like the Apple iPhone are so popular that subscribers are creating network congestion issues for AT&T. While the popularity of social networking sites and downloadable mobile applications may grab headlines, Om notes, “what lies beneath—the Internet’s infrastructure and the grid that powers it” will need to be upgraded.
These trends create new opportunities for technology companies at all stages of growth. As the economy recovers, we will likely see more innovation in the telecommunications and IT sectors—and thus, we will likely start to see the emergence of new start-ups entering the market. The good news is that the start-up companies entering the market are not only bringing truly innovative technologies to market, but are often founded and led by executives that have proven pedigrees and track records. What is also refreshing is that these start-ups have built strong business models with the intent to operate as viable standalone companies—and from my perspective don’t appear to be looking for short-term equity events.
I have been actively involved with supporting many of the 40 plus technology start ups that Engage PR has launched. While there has not been a lot of good news about the economy overall, I see a lot of promise in the start-ups that we’ve launched over the past few years that not only deliver innovative solutions, but have built a business that will thrive in the long-term. (Zeugma Systems, May 2008, DiVitas Networks, April 2005, and Xangati, June 2007)
Most recently, Engage PR’s start-up client, Cyan Optics, came out of stealth mode on September 15, 2009, debuting the company and its family of next generation packet optical transport products. As a part of Cyan’s launch, the company announced that it has secured 20 carrier customers, validating the company’s strategy and technology benefits. Leveraging the power of new media--and in particular, YouTube--Cyan captured customer video testimonials that further validated Cyan’s technology and approach to the market. Cyan’s proven leadership team also contributed to the success of the launch. In fact, Cyan’s founders, Mike Hatfield and Steve West, are well known for launching many successful telecom companies (Hatfield founded Cerent and Calix, and was also a part of the initial team at AFC; while West was part of the founding team at Turin Networks).
Cyan has a lot of the right ingredients that made their corporate launch a successful one. Engage PR helped Cyan hone its story and supported the launch activities leading up to their debut. The agency will outline more specifically what we did for the launch in its next InsidEPR newsletter.
Snapshot of the coverage:
- GigaOM: The Return of the Optical Startup — Cyan Optics Launches
- Light Reading: Cyan Plays God With Optics
- Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Cyan shooting for the stars
Notable Tweets on launch day:
- om (Om Malik, GigaOM): My latest post The Return of the Optical Startup -- Cyan Optics Launches http://om.bit.ly/J5eM7. Actually thrilled to write about this.
- aschmitt (Andrew Schmitt, Infonetics): Cyan is an interesting company making packet optical systems. They came out of stealth mode today. http://shar.es/1o1Q4
- EveGr (Eve Grilliches, IDC): Note on Cyan posted....very cool architecture. http://bit.ly/19t3iV Anyone testing it that can talk?
- tedappel (Ted Appel, Editor-In-Chief of Santa Rosa Press Democrat): Mike Hatfield hit a home run at Cerent. Now he is taking wraps off Petaluma telecom startup Cyan Optics. http://bit.ly/koDts
Engage PR has built a strong reputation launching some of the most innovative technology companies in the valley for over 13 years. While there are less start-up companies today than there were in the dot com era, the quality of the companies and the technologies they are bringing to market are worth a second look.
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