Versonic have spent the last two years developing an innovative technology, which challenges existing ways of working in the audio-visual industry, and are now ready to launch the new concept, recently christened 'Prodigy'. Asia Pacific Media Group will manage Prodigy's debut to distributors and will drive the sales management in these early stages. Says Ken Tovich, APMG, 'It's an exciting time for the audio industry to have a radically different technology that challenges the status quo and traditional ways of working. We're looking forward to introducing it to key players across Asia Pacific and we anticipate an overwhelming response when they see the simplicity of Prodigy in action.'

Prodigy is a unique audio mixing concept developed by a team of designers, headed by Mr Jim Miller, ex-Euphonix. Mr Miller's vision was to allow untrained and less experienced individuals involved in live event performances to deliver high quality audio output by allowing them to concentrate on the final mix itself, rather than getting bogged down by using often more complex audio mixing desks.

Mr Miller explains 'our vision was to create an audio mixing console that was clear and intuitive in its design; easy enough in fact, that someone who has never managed the sound at a live event before, could use it. By having this as our precept, Prodigy opens the doors to a new group of people who run live events but who have not necessarily been trained as audio engineers.'

In advance of Prodigy's official launch, first rounds of introductions are being made to the industry professionals. Prodigy is expected to be ready by the end of 2009 just in time for NAMM and Musikmesse shows in 2010.

What is Disruptive Innovation?
The Disruptive Innovation model from Clayton Christensen, the founder of Innosight Ventures, one of Versonic's investors, is a theory that can be used for describing the impact of new technologies (revolutionary change) on a firm's existence. Clayton Christensen first coined the phrase "disruptive technologies" in 1997, in his book "The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail". He showed that time and again almost all the organizations that have "died" or been displaced from their industries (because of a new paradigm of customer offering) could see the disruption coming, but did nothing until it was too late.

By doing what good companies are supposed to do - cater to their most profitable customers and focus investments where profit margins are most attractive - established industry leaders are on a path of Sustaining Innovations and leave themselves open for disruptive technologies to bury them. This happens because the resource allocation processes of established companies are designed to maximize profits through sustaining innovations, which essentially involve designing better and better mousetraps for existing customers or proven market segments. When Disruptive Innovations (typically cheaper, simpler to use versions of existing products that target low-end or entirely new customers) emerge, established companies are paralyzed. They are almost always motivated to go up-market rather than to defend these new or low-end markets, and ultimately the disruptive innovation improves, steals more market share, and replaces the reigning product.

Companies have two basic options when they seek to build new-growth businesses. They can try to take an existing market from an entrenched competitor with sustaining innovations. Or they can try to take on a competitor with Disruptive Innovations that either create new markets or take root among an incumbent's dissatisfied customer base.

There are two distinct types of Disruptive Innovations. The first type creates a new market by targeting non-consumers. The second competes in the low end of an established market.

Since Professor Clayton Christensen defined 'disruptive innovation' in 1995, it has been used to describe ideas driven by developers whose ideas are derived outside institutional confines. Recently, a new A/V technology company has arrived to join the elite list of destructively innovative producers.

Jim Miller's view of disruption
Established in 2007, Versonic was created by one of the Euphonix System 5 design team, Jim Miller. Having relocated from Silicon Valley, California to Singapore, Mr Miller set out to create a mixing console from the ground up: 'There are fewer trained engineers and more novice engineers than ever before,' he points out. 'I started to think - what are these end users really trying to get out of this piece of equipment? All consoles follow the same design concept in that they all have knobs and faders, whether they are digital or analogue, and are somewhat difficult to operate without proper training. I realised that these users needed a radically different approach. Being able to properly mix on a traditional console is something of a luxury if you operate a console in a school or a church, for example. Technology is important, but not at the expense of overpowering creativity required to mix a performance. Don't worry about the technology - concentrate on the creativity.'

The Versonic team consists of design engineers from Australia, China and Singapore in addition to Mr Miller, and has been strengthened by the addition of Neelesh Bhatia, who is now overseeing the development of products as VP. The fledgling company successfully applied for a grant with the Singapore Media Development Authority (MDA), which has allowed it to design, develop and manufacture a new audio mixing console that will see the light of day in late 2009. 'Traditionally, signal processing is the most expensive component of a console, but at Versonic we have developed methods and technologies that leverage on easily available parts and an open architecture, which helps us keep costs in check,' Mr Bhatia explains. 'We've designed the system in a way so that an engineer doesn't have to worry about channel - instrument conformity. Instead, he or she can just concentrate on creating a cleaner and well balanced mix for the band and the audience.'

Versonic - whose mission statement is 'Simpler. Better' - has several patent pending technologies that have never been seen on any product of this nature. 'Singapore is similar to Silicon Valley,' concludes Mr Miller. 'There is an interesting and diverse mix of talent from all around the world here and that is reflected in our team members, who individually look at products in a different way and bring something different to the table.

Is it all marketing hype or is it really the next big thing. Who knows. All we can suggest is that you keep your eyes open and be ready to check the thing out.