Providing security for Very Important Persons (VIPS)-range from government officials to movie stars- when they appear in public, typically means deploying protective barriers such a concrete walls or Plexiglass shields. A new product aims to replace these obstructive protection devices. IBIS Technologies, a three year-old company based in Butler, California, has developed an Instantaneous Personal Protection System (IPPS). The IPPS is a cross between an aircraft ejection seat and a car air bag. In less time than a car can register the sound of gunfire, the IPPS surrounds the intended victim with a bullet proof shield. This new security device can sit on the floor next to the VIP or terrorist target, or it can be used a security guard in a busy lobby, disguised as a set of decorative planters. How does IPPS work? A radar sensor detects incoming objects (such as bullets, knives or Page 2 missiles) and triggers an inflated air bag. The bullet-proof material traps the projectile like a baseball glove folding around a ball. In demonstrations, the shield has deployed quickly enough to survive assaults from a .22-caiber through .44-caliber magnum rounds, submachine guns, shotgun blasts at close range, and a knife-wielding attacker. Its detection range is about 150 feet. The device can also be fired by radio control. The fully installed system weighs 400 pounds. The IPPS technology can be extended to other applications, such as protecting vehicle and securing windows on buildings. A key challenge will be the ability to detect electronic signals that might set of the system accidentally, such as cellular phone or aircraft radar. Despite these challenges, IBIS Technologies Corporation has been selected as a top technology stock pick by several hedge fund managers a company that will do very well in the future. Questions Given what you have read in the case, what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing IBIS Technologies? Discuss four suitable strategic growth opportunities that IBIS Technology can pursue? What would you recommend as a suitable target market for IBIS Technology? Why? Describe a brief strategy for each of the four P’s for IBIS Technologies?
Providing security for Very Important Persons (VIPS)-range from government officials to movie
stars- when they appear in public, typically means deploying protective barriers such a concrete
walls or Plexiglass shields.
A new product aims to replace these obstructive protection devices. IBIS Technologies, a three
year-old company based in Butler, California, has developed an Instantaneous Personal
Protection System (IPPS). The IPPS is a cross between an aircraft ejection seat and a car air bag.
In less time than a car can register the sound of gunfire, the IPPS surrounds the intended victim
with a bullet proof shield. This new security device can sit on the floor next to the VIP or terrorist
target, or it can be used a security guard in a busy lobby, disguised as a set of decorative planters.
How does IPPS work? A radar sensor detects incoming objects (such as bullets, knives or Page 2
missiles) and triggers an inflated air bag. The bullet-proof material traps the projectile like a
baseball glove folding around a ball. In demonstrations, the shield has deployed quickly enough
to survive assaults from a .22-caiber through .44-caliber magnum rounds, submachine guns,
shotgun blasts at close range, and a knife-wielding attacker. Its detection range is about 150 feet.
The device can also be fired by radio control. The fully installed system weighs 400 pounds.
The IPPS technology can be extended to other applications, such as protecting vehicle and
securing windows on buildings. A key challenge will be the ability to detect electronic signals
that might set of the system accidentally, such as cellular phone or aircraft radar. Despite these
challenges, IBIS Technologies Corporation has been selected as a top technology stock pick by
several hedge fund managers a company that will do very well in the future.
Questions
- Given what you have read in the case, what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing IBIS Technologies?
- Discuss four suitable strategic growth opportunities that IBIS Technology can pursue?
- What would you recommend as a suitable target market for IBIS Technology? Why?
- Describe a brief strategy for each of the four P’s for IBIS Technologies?
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