My wife has a theory that it is always better to look forward than to look backward, and I tend to agree when it comes to painful periods of our lives, but at a moment in time like this for Object Matrix and myself, it is worth taking a look at the past in order to appreciate what is coming in our future.
The Past
The story of Object Matrix is one of community, tenacity, passion, and considerable talent (author excluded obviously) that doggedly stuck at the task of creating the best data and metadata management platform in the world.
We were told we couldn’t do it. We were told we would fail if we based ourselves in Wales. We were told nobody would buy from such a small team. They were wrong, and it only took a little over a decade to prove them wrong.
Through periods of no pay or low pay, recessions, and pandemics, our amazing team weathered everything thrown at them to create, develop, market, sell, and support MatrixStore object storage across the globe in order to make archiving, tagging, finding, sharing, and monetising content a walk in the park.
Having champagne ambitions with a lemonade budget can be a tough gig, especially when competing with hyperscale behemoths or competitors with money to burn, but often scarcity drives innovation, not only in technology but in the way we present ourselves to the global M&E community. Could we have done a lot more in the past if we had the resources? Of course. Would it have been so personality- and community-driven? Would it have had our true voice? Probably Not.
Despite the odds being stacked against us, we built a global customer and reseller community that boasts the likes of Gorilla, NBC, BBC, OPTV, NBA, and CNN, to name a few. And we did this with at most 24 people in the company at any one time.
So how is this possible?
Is it because we dedicated the last 20 years to solving the problems that come from creating massive sets of unstructured and unruly digital content in the M&E market? No one else did that or does that today. We not only speak our customers’ language; we actively take part in community events in order to keep listening and keep learning. We don’t just have one media archive specialist; we have a whole team of them. We have jumped on planes, trains, and automobiles, taken calls at all hours, and been disruptively cheeky with our social presence while building a brand that is trusted and respected by customers, tech partners, and resellers alike.
2022 was one of our best years ever at Object Matrix, adding more customers in news and sports and more customers in new regions, and we recorded our most profitable year in our history. I could not be more proud of where we have come from, what we have achieved, and where we are going.
The Future
Is bright. With the merger of Object Matrix with DataCore, we now have the ability to really take advantage of all the great work we have done to date. We will have the resources to do more, to enhance customer experience and workflows whilst building a bigger and more connected customer community. We also have the opportunity to benefit from a wider group of talented colleagues with skills and connections that will complement our own.
This merger means we will be able to do more, something we have craved for many years. More sales, marketing, and support resources with enhanced support coverage across the globe. We are super excited to see how that pans out.
DataCore puts their customers first, values support above all else, listens to their needs and learns what matters to each of them. As a result, it has built a happy customer community that trusts DataCore for mission-critical applications where downtime is not an option. There is nothing not to like about joining a team that shares Object Matrix’s core values, and I am excited for this next period in our shared future and getting a chance to work with and learn from Dave, Amanda, Kevin, and Abhi.
Diolch!
The thing about pioneers is that they normally don’t come back from the trail they are blazing or survive intact, but thanks to the many people who believed in us, we came through the other side smiling. So diolch yn fawr iawn:
- Our current and former Object Matrix colleagues. Everyone played a part in putting Object Matrix on the map. I’m really proud to have worked with all of you.
- Our customers and resellers who believed in our vision and trusted in us to deliver.
- To the pioneers who helped us on our way.
- Family and friends .. thanks for 20 years of support, encouragement, being sounding boards, shoulders to cry on, and buddies to celebrate with.
- Finally, to Zina P-T for your love, encouragement, guidance, advice, and patience. It ain’t been easy at times, but I will forever be in awe of the sacrifices you made and of your amazing achievements.
Enough of the gushing…here’s to the next 20 years!
Diolch
N
