Worst DIY Installs Ever Part 7
10 Must-Have Products for Your Next Install
6 Amazing High-End Home Theaters
8 Awesome Turntables for Spinning Vinyl
Print
Email
Comments (10)
Share
Atomoo to Cease Operations
Atomoo founders Brian Post (left) and Thad Glavin
The company says a key investor withdrew, causing its “new strategic plan to falter and ultimately fail.”
Rumors that the Chicago-based company had ceased operations circulated during CEDIA Expo 2009.Phone calls and e-mails to Post have gone unanswered.
Post sent out the following e-mail this morning:
It is with much regret and sadness that at the end of this week, operations for Atomoo will cease. Over the last couple of months we had put a strategy together based on feedback from all our customers that we felt would be the next step in providing superior service to the end customers and an exciting future technical advantage that would greatly expand our market.
We met with many investors and this spring and early summer and we believed we had the funding relationships to move forward with a viable strategic plan. Unfortunately, a key member of the new funding round decided not to proceed, causing our new strategic plan to falter and ultimately fail. Family and financial pressures on Atomoo's management team members caused them to seek other alternatives.
Over the next two weeks we will be working with another party to have a monitoring solution in place for you to work with if you choose. Even though day to day activities will cease, I believe that Atomoo has the right strategy for the future and will look forward to any help or advice you can give.
Thank you for all your support,
Brian Post
Atomoo, which emphasized the value of a recurring revenue foundation for CE pros, launched in 2008. Post and VP of sales and services Thad Glavin were partners at LouisClark Ltd., a residential systems integration business in Evanston, Ill.
The news comes on the heals of a report that a withdrawn investor may cause Colorado vNet also shut down.
Subscribe to the CE Pro Newsletter
Read more News stories
People On the Move: Milestone AV, Definitive Technology, JL Audio, NACERIP Eugene Polley, Inventor of the Remote Control
Savant Launches Home Automation Keypads Inspired by LiteTouch
Sonos Wireless SUB Adds Bass to Multiroom Audio
Jeremy Burkhardt Leaves SpeakerCraft, Nortek
More in News
About the Author
10 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
This is a real pity and their efforts were greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your support, guys, and we hope to see you back in action soon with another venture in this space. - Julie
I remember an earlier article this year about Premiere Systems in Chicago using Atomoo. I think the idea is one that has great value to Custom Installation firms but the timing was off IMO.
The company formed in 2008 right around when most CI firms were closing down or trimming unnecessary expenses to keep from closing down. At the same time, many began discounting products and services to win the remaining few projects in their market. Selling a service that requires a reoccurring fee would have been the last things on their minds IMO.
39 Cent Stamp is referring to this ...
http://www.cepro.com/article/premiere_systems_process_kings_of_chicago/
The whole remote diagnostics element appears to work great for Premiere. I think Atomoo was on the right track. It seems like it was the investor situation that put a wrench in things.
It’s funny how people are willing to drop $10,000 on a solution in their home but not willing to pay $100/mo for the same solution.
With services, you typically get free upgrades as they evolve. In 8 years (100 months to use the example above) a lot can change and ost people will drop another $10,000 after 8 years anyway.
Managed Services are the evoultion of integration technologies providing not only control, but pro active services and features too.
Check out (under A/V services)
http://www.technologyondemand.com/
here is a veteran Crestron programmer who knows this from end to end.
JD
Do you think it’s easier to sell a year-long plan? People are sick of monthly fees. I think it may be more palatable to pay $1,200 per year vs. $100/month.
This company sells one- or three-year service contracts and lumps it into system cost. It’s not “recurring” but it’s a nice add-on.
http://www.cepro.com/article/how_to_earn_recurring_revenue_with_service_contracts/K332
CytexOne is launching it’s Atlas Platform which has been in development & in the field for years. In the next month you will see this product announcement as well as a ton of information.
A subset of it’s features are the same type of monitoring that Atomoo offered.
More info to come!
As Joel DeGray mentioned above, my company, Technology On Demand, offers remote monitoring and management of both AV devices and IT devices.
Our product is available NOW.
Please contact me for more information:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.technologyondemand.com/av-managed.aspx
Regards,
Ed Mana
President
DistinctAV provides a similar service with the addition of many more house systems.
I initially thought of Atomoo as a competitor but they were providing only a subset of our offerings so no sweat there.
Startups are difficult as is and VC funding is brutal!