Monday, March 23, 2020

Travelling with covid-19 on your arse.

So, I've just returned (2 weeks early) from a round the world trip that was harassed by this blasted virus. First port of call was Hong Kong on February 5th. A ghost town where all ghosts wore masks and the few people outside walked in Zombie like fashion passing you with trepidation.

Thankfully, all my meetings went ahead and achieved what I wanted them to achieve. Unfortunately, the plan to return in April to progress these opportunities further is now a pipe dream. On the plus side, everyone seems to be open to remote learning and it will be interesting to see how deployments progress when we are no longer able to meet face to face.

From Hong Kong, next stop was London via Frankfurt. I'm sure many readers of this (ha ha) will know how loooong the walk can be from one gate to the next at Frankfurt airport. The eerie nature of this when no-one else was in the airport made this walk even creepier than Hong Kong and proves that the virus was affecting travel well before officials were banning flights. Having the spacious Lufthansa lounge to myself was seriously weird.

Two weeks in London was fantastic. While the lunchtime roadshows were an epic failure, the number of organisations accepting requests to present our product was a huge surprise. I greatly appreciate the support of our local on the ground, Brian Cairns, in setting these meetings up and in the open mindedness of the people I presented to. The UK is definitely ripe for adopting UniPhi software and we will be pushing our local branch as hard as our finances allow during these uncertain times. Watch this space for further announcements.

Two weeks with my wonderful family in Switzerland and France couldn't have been timed better and I landed in New York revved up and ready to go. Unfortunately, Italy's outbreak was in full swing and US authorities were facing the inevitable. Lonely streets and the fact that it was impossible not to implement social distancing in Times Square shows how quiet things were. Meetings were cancelled and those that went forward were conducted in the background of a virus that could destroy businesses.

Outside Rockefeller center - where's the tumbleweeds


So, flights rescheduled and I'm now in self quarantine at home, happy to see my dogs and enthused by the exciting opportunities ahead.

I love you too


Having run this business through the GFC and other local meltdowns, I'm sure we'll come through this crisis stronger than ever and I can't wait to be back in Europe deploying our software in some of the most dynamic and exciting businesses I have come across.

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