More on Echelon
Sorry about the bolds last time.
OK, here's what I've found out about Echelon. This is the first stock that I've bought solely thru my study of RTFM. I'm very excited about it, and plan to buy more. I wanted to share this with you and earn my place here, as well as open it up to the critique here. If it can stand up to you guys, it can stand up to the market, I figure!
It seems to me that Echelon is a company which is at the very beginning of the tornado, with enabling technology.
Echelon sells hardware and software to tie devices into the Internet -- which allows industries and homes to manage, control, etc. almost every electronic device out there. Its open standard -- LonWorks -- has been agreed upon by the ANSI and just today by Finland as the standard to interoperate devices through the net. It seems like this technology has a high degree of mass market potential, is a discontinuous technology, and has no remaining constraints.
The only thing I wonder about is the fact that the standard is free and open -- does this completely prevent gorillas? Is Echelon doomed to be a mere King?
It combines with SUN's java and JINI's connection technology to network homes and businesses...
Their CEO at the latest Internet convention had this to say:
People like to talk about everyBODY getting connected to the Internet, but actually, the bigger market is getting everyTHING connected to the Internet," said McNealy. "Everything with a digital electrical heartbeat is going to be connected to the Internet. By bringing everyday devices to the Internet, Echelon's LONWORKS system is central to making this happen."
The LONWORKS network in Sun's ".com Home" exhibit includes a networked CeTeLaB AB door bell/door chime, an electronic door lock powered by an Echelon LonPoint(R) module, and a Jini proxy based on Echelon's LNS(TM) network operating system. These technologies work together to bring convenience to life.
For example, a mobile phone could be used to ring the LONWORKS front door bell, causing a message to be displayed on a Web-enabled cell phone. In response, the phone's keypad can be used to command the LONWORKS door to open, allowing a parent to monitor his or her children after school or to remotely authorize entry into a home by a repair service.
Echelon is not immune to competition due to its Open Standard. However, it is a pioneer in the market, and its technological advantage and its network effect gives it a major edge.
What do you guys think?
GaryX |
