There was a time when charging money for a remote control was a recipe for failure. Why would consumers actually pay for a remote? After all, every new TV, VCR, DVD player and cable box came with a free one. In fact, the average home had too many remotes – precisely what a couple of software engineers figured would be the reason people would pay to simplify things.
In 2001, Intrigue Technologies launched the Harmony Universal Remote, a device that promised to render obsolete the three or four other controllers cluttering the coffee table. It retailed for a whopping $299. And consumers bought it.
A little more than two years later computer peripheral device maker Logitech bought the company for $80-million. Today, Bryan McLeod, Intrigue Technologies' former CEO, says the Harmony line of universal remotes account for ninety per-cent of remote revenue in the North American market.
Clickfree CEO Bryan McLeod says the company's philosophy is based around the idea that backing up data should be as simple and efficient as possible.
“There was no value in the product any more; retailers weren't making any money. Manufacturers weren't making any money,” said Mr. McLeod in and interview with The Globe and Mail.
“What we did was take a totally commoditized category … and turned it into a value proposition that totally changed the market.”
Today, Mr. McLeod is looking to do the same thing with PC storage and backup devices.
“The problem with a lot of big companies is they'll develop a product or technology looking for a problem – the wrong way to do it,” said Mr. McLeod. “You say, ‘what's a problem that needs solving?' and then you continue to look at ways where it may fall down.”
While external storage is a booming market, it has become increasingly irrelevant as the size of internal hard drives increases and the prices for them decrease. Most new desktop computers come with 500 Gigabyte or even 1 or 2 Terabyte drives, much more than many users will ever need.
The reason we'll be so successful is we're a software company competing against hardware companies. — Bryan McLeod
However, backing up internal hard drives to protect data in case of a computer crash is a neglected chore that consumers have not gravitated toward, says Mr. McLeod – hence a market that has potential. The company's research indicates that only 10 per cent of consumers and small-business have attempted to backup their data and even fewer do so regularly.
And it's a perception Clickfree is hoping to change.
The company's philosophy is based around the idea that backing up data should be as simple and efficient as possible. Since 2008, Clickfree has offered a range of backup devices, from desktop drives to credit card-sized portable drives – all of which organize and store a user's files automatically.
| Clickfree C2 Portable Backup |
| Let’s face it – backing up data is a hassle. Hard drives have become messier than a university dorm, and nearly as hard to organize. We store more movies and music than ever before, and it’s not always easy to keep everything in check. Perhaps that’s the reason why Clickfree’s latest backup drive works so well – you simply plug it in, and wait. The drive’s software, which is both Mac and PC compatible, automatically searches your computer for everything from music and movies to documents and databases. Nothing remains untouched, as files are collected from the deepest regions of your drive, and neatly backed up for later use. Files are even organized by type, making it easy to find long lost or misplaced files lurking on your drive. But most importantly, the task is completed without any user input, and only modified files are updated on subsequent backups. And fear not, power users – the most obscure of file types are probably already included, and even those that aren’t can be added yourself. Just don’t expect the drive to play nice with both Mac and PC systems. A format is required if you plan on moving from one to the next. |
By making the backup process accessible to less computer-savvy consumers, Mr. McLeod believes his company is poised for dominance, especially when up against traditional storage giants such as Seagate or Western Digital.
“The reason we'll be so successful is we're a software company competing against hardware companies,” he explains. “Hardware companies develop a commodity called a hard drive. They don't develop innovative product marketing ideas in software.”
And much like with Harmony, Mr. McLeod considers innovation to be the key that will made Clickfree successful. Last month, Clickfree released its latest portable backup drive, the C2. The device took an already streamlined automated backup process and refined it further. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Clickfree plans to release new products.
McLeod hints at a few of these upcoming devices, ranging from zero-configuration wireless backup to network-assisted solutions. Clickfree also hopes to take its popular Transformer product – a device that easily turns an iPod into a backup drive – and apply that methodology to additional consumer devices such as phones.
“It doesn't end with a simple automatic backup drive,” Mr. McLeod says of Clickfree's future. “It's new features, [and] new functionality. We're always analyzing what the use case is for the user, and how we can make it easier and simpler for them.”
