Word came over various mailing lists and forums today that Promax, longtime VAR to the video industry and sponsor of the NAB Digital Media Cafe, is shutting down. Lots of people are justifiably lamenting this, and wondering what it represents to the industry as a whole.
Personally, we hadn't order anything from Promax in close to a decade, after some bad experiences with them selling us removable media (Jazz cartridges, when they were all the rage) that were clearly used, some even containing other people's data. The first time it happened I wrote it off as a simple mix up. But it happened again, and Promax never was able to provide a decent explanation, or, for that matter, an apology. So, needless to say, we stopped ordering from them.
Our situation must have been the exception, however, because Promax had a reputation for integrity, something that isn't always easy to find in the cut-throat world of hardware sales. Charles was a good guy, always friendly and gracious when I'd see him at industry events.
The industry has changed a lot since Promax opened in 1994. Building hard drive arrays is no longer the black art it once was back in the SCSI days, and technical information and support is readily available online, making it much easier for people to build their own systems without having to rely on VARs. Margins are razor thin, competition fierce. Our faltering economy only makes matters worse.
Interesting times...
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