Arch Systems partners with Aegis Software
Start-up business Arch Systems surprised me on Tuesday by announcing that they are are partnering with industry veterans Aegis Software. I met the founders of the American Start-up for the first time at IPC APEX EXPO in February having been suggested by the Team at Flex Ltd to go to introduce myself as they were also working with Flextronics on digitalisation projects.
The formation story of Arch Systems very much reminds me of Senseye, or really any Data-centric start-up we have seen over the last decade. A mixture of PhDs and MBAs who have been gradually introduced to real would industrial challenges after initially focusing on government funded ecological, scientific, or humanitarian schemes.
In Arch Systems case, co-founders Tim Burke and Andrew Scheuerman were working on a project to monitor the drinking water wells in Africa to detect if they were not working.
It's was enlightening to me to meet venture backed founders with fresh eyes to our SMTA industry. I had previously written off the industry to green shoot Start-ups due to its low margins and lacking any glamour or excitement.
I only work within it because I fell into it. I had questioned myself hard if I should continue starting a business within the industry.
That said, with the acceleration of the Silver Tsunami due to the 2020 global health crisis betting on the next generation to catapult the industry forward is a easy bet.
I haven't had much exposure to Aegis Software offerings, only from what our customers have told us. I did ask a Aegis Service Engineer at a Europlacer Open Day why their software was still using Windows desktop applications and not web browser based User Interfaces. He said they were 'too slow' but I would never quote this (just did) because I know how tribal knowledge can build up in organisations that are never tested. I have been the Engineer trying to move the Company forward with the elders saying it can't be done.
The Startup Playbook
While you would expect Arch Systems to bring to the table their data crunching skills, I feel you can also presume they will be the go-to for any Web Tech modernisation for Aegis, or what we like to call "Connecting with the Digital Economy". Ultimately what we believe Industry 4.0 is.
There is something else that venture capital backed Arch will bring to the table; access to new money.
Following the acquisition of Cogiscan by iTAC, who had also been previously acquired by the Dürr Group, I asked Co-Founder of Aegis Software Jason Spera at Apex Expo whether he would sell Aegis Software. To paraphrase his reply, he said 'everyone has a price'. My reply was simply to hang in there, as the industry is only just getting exciting.
Using the Start-up Playbook, it could mean that Arch Systems could acquire Aegis Software using their venture capital network giving the impression of rapid growth to investors.
Partnerships are common within the Machine Builders and often create unhelpful silos within what is a relativity small industry. Innovation can be slow and duplication of products can occur. While your goal should be to outgrow your partner, think Apple-Google, Apple-Intel, they often remain in place for what seems like forever within the Machine Builder and Distributor community.
Partnerships within Software companies are less common because collaborations are easier made without any formal commitment. So without any legal knowledge, I can only presume there is more to this that we will find out in the future.
Being equipment-agnostic, our SMEMA Adaptor Family have opened us up to a broad customer base that avoids us from these silos, however opening up new dialogue directly with the industry has been a difficult task due to the current closed culture.
This partnership may give Arch Systems, as Steve Jobs would put it, a 'Saturn V booster' that IBM gave Microsoft. History records would also show that Microsoft would go on to support Apple's success too.
Tim Burke, Left. Andrew Scheuerman, Right at IPC APEX EXPO
About 4IR.UK British Systems
We are a Smart Factory solutions provider for the SMT Electronics Assembly manufacturing industry. We were founded in 2016 after the support of a seed funded Business Accelerator. We create hardware Adaptors that operate in more than 20 countries that extend the life of SMEMA based manufacturing equipment by providing solutions for production monitoring and supporting data connections to the Hermes Standard and the Connected Factory Exchange CFX. We also develop Software Extensions for the Low-Code No-Code MultiPlug Edge Computing Platform. The flexibility of off-the-shelf software combined with inside industrial experience means that 4IR.UK is ideally placed to anticipate and respond to a factory's changing needs.
