Industrial Computing Ten Years Latter

In the late 90's I worked for Maxwell Technologies , http://maxwell.com/ industrial computing group -I-Bus.
The time there allowed me to meet some great people and gain a perspective of an emerging computing phenomenon. Mini Computers were dead, workstations dying and the world was thinking everything could be done on a standard PC. Cooler heads prevailed and it was realized that a core of demanding applications could not be addressed by a standard garden variety PC. The applications frequently fell and fall into the areas of medical, military, military, and highly rugged industrial and to some extent security. Industrial computer companies have come and gone over the time I've spent away from the market but I believe customers still have a core set of applications that will continue to require features not present in technology one can acquire at Best Buy.  A company I’ve followed for quite awhile is Arbor Technologies.  See:

                              http://www.arbor.com.tw/

                           http://www.arbor-usa.com/

I recall an interview with Call Center Magazine, http://www.callcentermagazine.com where I made comments on various types of channels and distribution schemes dealing with the industrial computer players of the time. Most are gone now and at the time Arbor had not started in its present form. I was interviewed by noted industry expert, Zippy Grigonis, www.richardgrigonis.com. Zippy being his insightful self forced me to spell out exactly what a good channel partner consisted of. I countered with one who is willing to make an economic investment as well as pay the “dues” to be in markets. This means going to all the right shows and being not only a corporate good citizen but also willing to advertise and make their brand know while at the same promoting yours.