Vendor Viability Available to Purchase

The library automation marketplace is unstable and immature. Numerous vendors are attempting to enter the market by taking market share from the more established vendors. Profit margins are small or nonexistent for most of the vendors. The majority of vendors are selling products in the market for the first time; the companies, themselves, generally are younger than the anticipated life cycle of the technology they are producing. The lack of experience supporting technology through a full life cycle will contribute new, future challenges for vendors. The combined instability, immaturity, and unprofitability of the marketplace pose significant risks for both vendors and their library customers.