NTI is 20 years old! Twenty years old may not seem old by the standards of companies dating back over 50 or 100 years. Still, for our small company, it is a major milestone achieved.
When Jeff Cook, NTI's President, started the company, technology consulting for commercial projects was vastly different. "In 1998, it was often hard to get architects or owners to even consider the services we offered. At that time, most of us relied on landline phones and dial-up modems with our PCs. Today we are answering specific technology-related questions relevant to an owner's vision. Questions like, 'will a GPON save us money?' or 'can you provide good-better-best options for a signature video wall in our lobby?' Along the way, we have had to be diligent students of our industry to remain knowledgeable of the technologies which have emerged and evolved ever more rapidly over time." Now that NTI is 20 years old, that has not changed.
The rapidly changing technology landscape has fueled higher expectations by tenants, students, and guests. Whether it is a corporate office tower, hotel, residential building, educational facility, hospital, or government facility, people expect commercial building's technology to be new. For perspective, do you remember what level of technology you expected to find when visiting any of these facilities in 1998?
What did you expect for cell phone coverage? … Or did you think the building's landline would suffice?
What did you expect for internet connection? … Was a wireless connection even a consideration?
Scott Dupuis, NTI Principal, says it this way. "Over the last 20 years, advancements in technology and the needs of building occupants have continued to evolve. As a result, a building's technology infrastructure has become a critical component of building construction and has warranted a need for professional design and consultation. NTI has been fortunate to fill that special role in the past, and we look forward to continuing to do so."
Owners and developers today are far more aware of the need for these technologies in their buildings. They may desire to future proof their facility with a question regarding copper cable or a fiber solution for the cabling infrastructure. They may want a robust audio visual system for a conference center, including interactive features or broadcast capabilities.
Technology remains ever-changing. Consider Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). In 2008, a DAS was implemented primarily in extremely large developments. For most projects, the native signal was sufficient to provide coverage ten years ago/ And the cost of implementing a solution was out of range for small venues. By contrast, today's most significant developments need to check their native cellular coverage to ensure it is adequate for employees, students, guests, or first responders. And if that signal is inadequate, there are more affordable solutions available. Today, there is an emergence of cost-effective solutions for smaller projects where cellular signal is insufficient.
Most recently, the combination of advancing technology and continued bandwidth growth has given rise to new advanced connectivity, referred to as the IoT (Internet of Things.) For those who are not familiar with the term IoT, it is a vast network comprised of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items. Each is embedded with sensors allowing the devices to connect via wireless networks, which allows for the exchange of data or the ability to control these devices remotely. Experts are predicting the IoT to experience exponential growth in the coming decade.
Why is 20 years in business a brag-worthy milestone?
We've witnessed a generation of technological breakthroughs by unknown companies in 1998. Since then, many of these companies have become household names. For perspective, NTI is the same age as Google, which began as a project by two Stanford Ph.D. students named BackRub. NTI is older than some other household names. In 1998, we did not know Facebook (founded 2004), or Twitter (2006), or Instagram (2010). If we were chatting with Siri before 2010, Siri was a family member or friend. Alexa was "born" 5 years later.
In his preamble to our first newsletter, Jeff Cook stated, "We feel that commercial technology planning will continue to grow in the coming years. As technology systems continue to evolve at an exponential rate, addressing technology requirements for commercial sectors will continue to present both challenges and opportunities.".
Jeff's prediction came true, and the experts who publish technology trends are predicting that technology shall continue to grow at a torrid pace over the next decade or two. We plan that NTI shall be there, consulting, designing, and managing that technology for our clients, just as we have for the last 20 years.
While we are proud that NTI is 20 years old, we are aware that it is our clients who have made this possible. Many of our clients have included NTI on numerous projects as their technology consultant, returning many times after their first experience. Some of them have included NTI on their team for 30 or 40 projects or more.
Please know that if you are receiving this newsletter and have never before worked with Network Technologies Inc. (NTI), we offer our services for consulting, planning, procurement, and implementation management of technology systems for new builds, renovations, and historical restoration commercial developments.