Initially, in the board business, there were only three variations in business models: representative sales teams vs. direct sales teams, national versus international sales, and which processor technology you chose to support. Small companies start with outside sales representatives. Once sales in specific areas reach a certain level, those companies can cost effectively change to the direct sales force model and eliminate the outside representatives. If sales goals are not met, the company eliminates the direct people and goes back to the external sales representative model. I have seen this cycle time and again.

Most smaller companies maintain a purely national sales focus and avoid the export paperwork, credit issues, currency exchange, and cultural difference involved in selling in foreign countries. Even smaller companies adopt an international sales model, using foreign distributors and sales representatives. Eventually, they go through the same representative versus direct sales team oscillations.

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At the recent Components for Military and Space Electronics Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, editor Sharon Schnakenburg and I were introduced to a radical new technology called Imbedded Component/Die Technology that can conceivably provide more than 2x the energy density on a typical 6U VME LRU. I’m extremely encouraged about the possibilities, and several DoD programs, along with the Navy’s Standard Missile program office, agree with me. (And yes, the company intentionally spells “Imbedded” with an “i” for differentiation.)

At the recent Components for Military and Space Electronics Conference and Exhibition in San Diego1, editor Sharon Schnakenburg and I were introduced to a radical new technology called Imbedded Component/Die Technology that can conceivably provide more than 2x the energy density on a typical 6U VME LRU. I'm extremely encouraged about the possibilities, and several DoD programs, along with the Navy's Standard Missile program office, agree with me. (And yes, the company intentionally spells "Imbedded" with an "i" for differentiation.)

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