12-21-2022 01:51 PM
01-16-2023 11:59 AM
A friend sent me this link. I'm not surprised.
01-16-2023 12:13 PM
The company reported $428 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 16% from the same quarter the previous year.
16% huh? Isn't that the same net increase some users calculated for the switch from standalone to subscription? 😅
01-16-2023 12:21 PM
Definitely not 😀. That price increase is effectively higher but the whole sales of LabVIEW is a very small fraction of the whole NI sales. Even if LabVIEW price would double it would be barely noticeable on the sales volume.
01-17-2023 12:04 AM
With the price of equipment, i doubt software is their main selling point yeah.
300€ for what amounts to a connector box. Still salty our management won't let us replace it lol
01-17-2023 02:34 AM
@AeroSoul wrote:
With the price of equipment, i doubt software is their main selling point yeah.
300€ for what amounts to a connector box. Still salty our management won't let us replace it lol
If you would manufacture it yourself you could not even write a specification document for that price. Yes, NI gear is fairly expensive but you shouldn't quite compare these things to your standard kitchen sink appliance that is manufactured somewhere in who knows where, per several million pieces a batch, put together by workers who earn to little to have a living and to much to die and to quality standards that go just about as far to ensure it survives the first few months, until the consumer has thrown away the purchase ticket and doesn't feel like bothering about trying to get a refund, since it didn't cost a lot anyhow.
And an employer who pickers about replacing something like this when it got damaged or something, because the costs are to high, is likely trying to save on other things too including his employees! Sounds not really like a place you want to work at. That he thinks a few times about buying new equipment is one thing, but trying to cut on repairs and safety is definitely saving at the wrong end.
01-17-2023 10:10 AM - edited 01-17-2023 10:12 AM
@joeqsmith wrote:
A friend sent me this link. I'm not surprised.
https://www.emerson.com/en-us/news/2023/emerson-national-instruments-announcement
Well, at least they spelled LabVIEW correctly in their offer letter.
01-17-2023 10:58 AM
It doesn't sound like NI is very keen 🤣
01-17-2023 11:05 AM
NI makes rock solid equipment that integrates well with other NI equipment and LabVIEW. With the new direction the company seems to be heading, and a potential sale on the horizon, the company will have to either raise prices further, or reduce the cost of manufacturing, probably starting with cutting back on development staff, and then finding ways to cheapen the manufacturing process. None of that bodes well for the future.
01-17-2023 10:25 PM
The acquisition drama exemplifies precisely why I dislike NI's move to subscription licensing of LabVIEW. If I had purchased a subscription license and if LabVIEW was canceled consequential to a hostile takeover of NI, then I would be screwed. Fortunately, I bought the last of the permanent licenses.
NI has grounds to be skeptical of the acquisition offer. There are several problems with it:
1. Emerson already has a software portfolio. So, we cannot be sure that the intent of the acquisition is not hostile and anti-competitive -to destroy LabVIEW. There is history of such behavior in industry. For example, Adobe acquired their main competitor, Macromedia, and shut down nearly all of their products -some of which were better than Adobe's.
2. Emerson's product line competes with some of NI's customers. Thus, an acquisition could create a scenario where there is a perceived conflict of interests in sales, marketing and support. Customers could fear potential for information collected during sales, marketing and support being leaked into the industrial control hardware side of the business. Thus, a merger could result in a decline in market share and diminished shareholder value.
3. Emerson's marketing of their software portfolio is gloss and hype, with little substance. Typically, when I see this it implies low IQ in the team. This raises questions regarding Emerson's ability to effectively manage NI's software products, moving forward.
4. Emerson's proposal fails to articulate a strategy that provides value for NI customers, NI employees and NI investors.
5. Emerson's long term business performance is weaker that NIs. Emerson could potentially benefit from acquiring NI. But, it is uncertain if NI would benefit from Emerson.
These concerns must be resolved by Emerson.
Personally, I hate merger mania because I've been burned by acquisitions and mergers several times in the past. Elimination of Macromedia's products was the first time.
The best thing the LabVIEW user community can do now is organize collectively and build a compatible open source replacement.