New Survey from Avnet Offers Insights into Moving Technology from
Development to Market
Company Website:
http://www.avnet.com
PHOENIX -- (Business Wire)
For the growing entrepreneur community, there is good news and
continuing challenges. The good news is that designers say they are
finding it much easier today to identify the right technologies for
their ideas and use those technologies to develop and test prototypes.
On the flip side, they are finding it more difficult to identify the
right market for sales for the products they are developing and to get
financing. These results come from a U.S. survey of makers conducted by
global technology distributor Avnet
(NYSE: AVT).
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Based on survey findings, Avnet infographic depicts challenges facing hardware designers developing new technology and bringing it to market. (Graphic: Business Wire)
To meet these challenges and to help creators and designers bring new
technologies to market faster, today Avnet, Dragon Innovation and
Kickstarter launched Hardware
Studio. Hardware Studio includes Toolkit, a community site where
creators can participate in tutorials and live webinars with industry
experts before launching their projects on Kickstarter. Additionally, Hardware
Studio Connection, a venture between Avnet and its Dragon Innovation
division, gives creators and designers access to hands-on support from
the companies’ engineers as well as discounts on components and services.
These new programs are designed to help guide startups through the
product development cycle and get their ventures into the right channels
as quickly as possible.
“Entrepreneurs are working on multiple projects at once, across various
technologies and industries, and the development process can be long and
complicated. While it’s getting easier to build products, startups are
finding it more difficult to overcome key obstacles in taking their
technology products to market. Often times these challenges are
avoidable,” said Bob Merriman, business development manager, Avnet. “The
results of our survey help us underscore the challenges we know that
Hardware Studio can tackle as startups move their projects forward.”
Insights from the survey highlight the advantage Hardware Studio offers
to creators and designers at startups. Some of these insights include:
-
More than two-thirds (76 percent) of those surveyed find that it’s
getting easier for them to develop and test prototypes, while nearly
half (45 percent) say that that it’s getting easier to identify the
right technologies for their project.
-
According to those surveyed, the period of time following initial
design and preceding manufacturing is the most significant stage of
product development. More than half said that the most critical stages
for product development were prototype development (33 percent) and
early stage development (22 percent).
-
Sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies were, by far, those
technologies considered most important by makers for the design of
their products and services. Four out of five (84 percent) said
sensors were a critical technology and three in four (77 percent) said
IoT was a critical technology. After that there was a considerable
drop, with 36 percent identifying lighting and display, and 28 percent
selecting artificial intelligence as a critical technology.
Merriman added, “Through Hardware Studio Connection, we can facilitate
access to technology and tools and help makers and engineers alike
understand the cost and path to deliver their products to market.
Together with Dragon Innovation, we’re leveraging our expertise to help
customers of all sizes, from the individual creator and smallest of
startups to large multinationals, by taking the risk out of their
campaigns and increasing the success of their technology projects.”
The survey, conducted by Avnet of its Hackster.io
community, provides insights into the maker and engineering
community. The company’s recent expansion into the startup community
underscores its commitment to supporting customers of all sizes through
each stage of the technology product lifecycle.
Additional key findings from the survey include:
-
Forty-three percent of startups are currently working on developing
technology applications for two or more projects. Thirty-two percent
of these projects are focused on consumer goods, while nearly a
quarter (23 percent) are in IT and data analysis or utilities (22
percent). One in five (20 percent) projects are in the not-for-profit
space.
-
Nearly one in three (30 percent) report it’s getting more difficult to
identify the right market for sales.
-
Roughly three-quarters of those surveyed (73 percent) have not sought
funding. Further, a majority (61 percent) of designers surveyed who
secured funding for their products did so during the prototype phase.
-
Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of those surveyed say that it’s getting
much or somewhat more difficult for them to get financing for
development.
The launch of Hardware Studio and the release of Avnet’s survey of 400
entrepreneurs in the U.S., including hobbyists, students, and
professional engineers and makers, underscores the company’s continued
commitment to support this community in bringing their technology
solutions to market.
Avnet’s acquisition of both Premier
Farnell (including its element14
community) and Hackster.io
last year expanded the company’s reach to more than two million
customers and an active community of more than 750,000 entrepreneurs,
makers and engineers worldwide. Announced in August, Avnet’s acquisition
of Dragon Innovation strengthens the company’s role in developing new
technology products by simplifying the manufacturing process,
particularly for those projects that advance Internet of Things (IoT).
To see how Avnet is helping guide its customers through each phase of
the technology product lifecycle, please visit: https://www.avnet.com/wps/portal/us/company/about-avnet/success-stories.
Follow Avnet on Twitter: @Avnet
Connect
with Avnet on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/avnet
Connect
with Avnet on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AvnetInc
All brands and trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are the properties of their respective owners. Avnet disclaims any
proprietary interest in marks other than its own.
About Avnet
From idea to design and from prototype to production, Avnet supports
customers at each stage of a product’s lifecycle. A comprehensive
portfolio of design and supply chain services makes Avnet the go-to
guide for innovators who set the pace for technological change. For
nearly a century, Avnet has helped its customers and suppliers around
the world realize the transformative possibilities of technology. Learn
more about Avnet at www.avnet.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170919005972/en/
Contacts:
Avnet
Maureen O’Leary, 480-643-7499
maureen.oleary@avnet.com
or
Brodeur
Partners, for Avnet
Jamie Ernst, 480-308-0286
jernst@brodeur.com
Source: Avnet
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