Note: This story originally appeared in the November 2008 edition of DOTmed Business News.
I attend the RSNA every year and have since 1985. The exhibit halls are always overwhelming. Approaching the entrance, an Armageddon Security employee checks my badge. Armageddon is defined in the Webster's Dictionary as "a final and conclusive battle between good and evil." I chuckle over the name while thinking some might consider this to be an appropriate metaphor for the RSNA Commercial Exhibits.
Attendees may visit with the intention of seeing only a few vendors of interest. I guess they wish to avoid being accosted by the sales people in the halls. But, the exhibit halls hold so much information, why miss any of it?
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By taking a few hours in each of the exhibit halls you can gain an appreciation of how the vendors view the marketplace and your imaging business. Passing by, taking in the displays and speaking with the vendors you'll learn where they're concentrating their efforts today and for the near future. When you take it all in, you'll gain a better understanding of where vendors think you want to go.
Every year I have a technology I plan to investigate. Last year it was multi-slice CT. Even with a specific goal in mind I still traveled every aisle. As I did, I was taken aback by the varieties of PACS and RIS software being offered. I got to the multi-slice CT vendors alright, but now my plan was modified and focused more on the ability to manage the business and store, recall and transfer the images. With this new information my plan changed as did my understanding of the market's direction.
The exhibit hall vendors are a direct reflection of where they think the marketplace (you) want to go. As you travel the aisles, you're bound to meet old friends and colleagues. Find out what they think. Ask vendors what they believe is happening in your world. Compare these views with yours.
We live in a fast changing business, technology and clinical climate. Take advantage of all that is on display at the RSNA. Add this information to your knowledge base and use it to fine-tune the plan for your medical imaging business.
See you in Chicago!
Wayne Webster is a consultant in Medical Imaging Business Development. You can send your comments or questions to W.Webster@Proactics.net
