Whoever said that "good things take time, better things take longer" probably did not think of the air traffic management market but this quote is perfectly applicable to it nevertheless. ATM projects take a lot of time. Equipment has a long lifecycle, concepts of operations take time to be produced and more to be validated and implemented. Training also takes a considerable amount of time. There are good reasons for this and many relate to the high levels of safety and reliability which are required, but they are not the only factors.
ANSPs are mostly part of the state government or they are state-owned. Just a few are totally private organisations. And this often means that budgets are planned 18 to 24 months ahead. So even if you have something great to offer to an ANSP, there is little chance they can afford it right away. An interesting way to get around this, and we see more and more of this in the market, is to offer licences instead of products, as those are often budgeted separately. Don't hesitate to reply to this email with your questions or ideas if you'd like to discuss this!
But another factor takes even more time. Air traffic management is a small world and it is a people-first business. Whatever you offer needs to be known and trusted and you need to show it to people, get in touch, keep contacts active and interested and do so repeatedly. No business happens super quickly and people are the key to success. People in your organisation but also the people at your partners, customers and intermediaries, and you need time to have good relationships with all of them before business happens.
There are exceptions, obviously, but they are exactly this, exceptions.
And now, here comes your usual news of the week, which is only a part of what we collect, so check our Market Radar for more.
Vincent