Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1355791
42 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2021 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE nologies they're using to build some of these boards. Shaughnessy: During the pandemic, innova- tion barely slowed, at least in our industry. Hazelett: Yes. Everyone was nervous that soci- ety might collapse, but within the tech sector, it was booming for our industry. I remember when the pandemic hit trying to find a Logitech webcam, and they were going for a markup of 200%, and I thought that's crazy. People were selling used ones for $400 and up. At Polar, we've upgraded a bunch of our net- work stuff so we could work from home. And I'm sure we're not the only ones who have been rolling out tech upgrades during this time to facilitate their employees to continue work- ing. at then feeds back into the cycle of the increased demand for tech, which then helps our business, our industry. Shaughnessy: Did you notice a change in the way that your users used your tools over the pandemic? Did it change anything? Hazelett: Yes. Just a lot more IT problems and figuring out how to make it work. Clarifying licensed contract stuff that maybe they didn't have access to before. We worked with a lot of our customers to make it so that part was con- tractually easier. I think the biggest thing that I've noticed is that I don't get as many phone calls from people anymore. I get a lot more emails. And I think that's been the most notice- able. I feel like we lose a bit of connection and touch with our customers in that way. Shaughnessy: Yes, you miss that. at's the one thing that a virtual show just can't do: re-create that whole person-to-person experience. Hazelett: And it's in those situations that I'll have a customer come up and say something that they wouldn't have said in an email or a phone call. I'm thinking of last year at APEX EXPO when it was in-person, and I had a customer come up and show me a stackup and tell me his customer was trying to get him to build a board like this. And then, it was that quick back-and-forth that occurs. It's like, "Geoffrey, can I ask you about this?" And they pull out a napkin, and they draw it out. And then we have a chat about it. Shaughnessy: Let's hold a good thought that we can get back to live events. Hazelett: I'm not going to look forward to live events if they're behind plexiglass. But that is the next step, and that is better than nothing. It's better than the virtual show, which is better than nothing. Geoffrey Hazelett