Category: Company

After an extremely successful 2019, we would like to thank all our customers and partners for their excellent cooperation. The spo-comm team will be there for you again from January 7, 2020 and looks forward to implementing exciting projects with you in 2020.

Until then, we wish you happy holidays and a happy new year!

spo-comm: Hello first and thank you for taking the time. Tell us, how was 2019 for you?

Michael Sporrer: Pleasing, yes, and also quite successful. Our business figures are impressive. We acquired exciting new customers and deepened existing relationships. We owe this not least to our employees. The whole team really did a great job.

spo-comm: Speaking of the team… we’ve grown again!

Michael Sporrer: Exactly. Two new trainees, Fabian and Felix, joined our production and service department in September. It has already become clear that the two have a lot to offer. Our marketing department is also in a really good position again and has been able to handle several major projects… But Bernd would perhaps prefer to tell you about that himself.

Bernd Moosmüller: (laughs) Of course. After returning to ISE in Amsterdam in February, we organized an event at the spo-comm headquarters for the first time this summer. As part of the Nuremberg Digital Festival, we hosted presentations on artificial intelligence and Nvidia CUDA . You shouldn’t praise yourself, but we, or rather our marketing department, did a really great job organizing it. The feedback from the participants was also very positive across the board. It really makes you want more.

spo-comm: It was also a really cool thing. Are there any concrete plans for further events?

Bernd Moosmüller: I have lots of ideas. Let’s see what we can implement. In any case, we will be back at ISE in February. 

spo-comm: Unfortunately, this will be the last time it takes place in Amsterdam and will then move to Barcelona. What will there be to see at our stand?

Michael Sporrer: We have two great new products with us. On the one hand, the successor to our Windbox 2 series is already in the starting blocks. And secondly, there will finally be a new model for ultra high-performance high-end graphics. If you know our products, you can probably already guess what we are talking about. Starts with “K”…

spo-comm:…and ends with “UMO”, right? I also heard something about Nvidia Turing?

Michael Sporrer: (laughs) You’re not entirely wrong. More details at the beginning of 2020. We’re all really looking forward to it!

spo-comm: Are there any other new products planned for next year?

Michael Sporrer: Yes, we are planning to include Panel PCs in our range again. During our visit to Taiwan in October, we have already spoken to various existing and potential partners.

Bernd Moosmüller: It’s not easy, of course. As with all our products, we want to end up with a PC that is configurable and can be individually tailored to the applications and needs of our customers.

Michael Sporrer: But we are on the right track and will hopefully be able to present something new soon.

spo-comm: And what else can we look forward to in 2020?

Michael Sporrer: Of course, we are working hard on other topics in the background. We are currently renewing our entire IT infrastructure internally. In addition to faster servers, this also includes switching to cloud-based solutions. This allows our employees to work more and more independently and flexibly. This is particularly important for home offices and business trips.

Bernd Moosmüller: And then there’s the big issue of the website. We have been busy developing, testing and designing for months. We hope to go live with our new webshop at the beginning of next year. And we can look forward to more than just a modern and, above all, responsive design. There will also be some new features that will make our customers’ lives much easier.

spo-comm: We are already very excited!

Discover spo-comm Mini-PCs

At the virtual campfire, CEO Michael Sporrer gave a short speech, reviewed the year 2019 and rewarded all employees with a gift. Then it was time to open the buffet! As in previous years, there were the finest delicacies from perls: from cream of celery soup with cinnamon croutons and beef salad as a starter to duck leg, salmon and chestnuts for the main course to speculoos tiramisu and gingerbread mousse as the crowning glory. There was something for every meat lover and vegetable freak! 🙂

Delicacies from perls

The evening was rounded off with lots of laughter and convivial conversation. Here are a few impressions:

From February 11 to 14, 2020, the Amsterdam RAI will open its doors for the last time to the numerous exhibitors and visitors of Integrated Systems Europe. ISE is the world’s largest trade fair for AV solutions and integrated systems and has been growing steadily until recently: in 2019, there were over 80,000 visitors and 1,300 exhibitors. For this reason, 2020 will also be the last year in which the trade fair takes place in Amsterdam. After that, it’s ¡Hola! because ISE is moving to Barcelona.

We cordially invite you to visit us at the trade fair to celebrate our 10th anniversary and our last trade fair appearance in Amsterdam. At our stand G272 in Hall 8, we will be showing the latest models that spo-comm has to offer in terms of digital signage. We also have a very special update up our sleeve for one of our successful models, which shines in the DS sector thanks to three different, super powerful graphics cards.

Get your free e-ticket for the ISE 2020

This is how it works:

• To register free of charge, go to the following page: https://registration.n200.com/survey/0b75ebat1qy4e
• Click on “Register” at the bottom of the page
• Enter the requested data and our code 247056 for free registration
• You will then receive your e-ticket

Would you like personal advice?

Our key account managers will be delighted to advise and support you with your requests, wishes and projects. If you are planning to visit the trade fair, you are welcome to make an appointment with us.

Get in touch with us

We look forward to seeing you at our stand 8-G272!

System introductions, interface training and technology wiki

In addition to providing telephone support for customers, Werner’s day-to-day business also includes test setups, some of which are returned by customers and then have to be booked back and disassembled. He also takes care of the technical components of product launches. On the one hand, this includes extensively testing new mini PCs. For example, it checks whether all connections are working and which software is running on them. If there are any queries, he will also clarify them in contact with our partners in Asia. Once the system is up and running, Werner holds internal product training sessions for marketing, sales and production (after all, they have to promote, sell and build it). Speaking of training: Werner also prepares regular technical training sessions for his colleagues, including when there is something new on the market. Werner is also responsible for maintaining our technology wiki on the spo-comm intranet. Here, spo-comm employees can access all kinds of information, such as data sheets, certificates and features of our Mini PCs.

Both Werner and Alex are closely involved in larger customer projects involving specially customized solutions. That’s why they often travel with their sales colleagues to visit customers.

Fault analysis, spare parts and first-level support

According to Alex, “no two working days are the same”. He is mainly responsible for analyzing and rectifying incoming service cases – i.e. mini PCs that are no longer working properly for whatever reason. On the one hand, this service can be used by customers whose Mini-PC has a fault – Alex then either helps directly on the phone or asks the customer to send the PC to spo-comm headquarters – on the other hand, it can also be determined during production at spo-comm that a system is not running as it should. Is it due to a component, an attitude or perhaps even something caused by a partner in Asia? Alex’s task is then to take a closer look at the device and use various tests to find out where the fault lies and how it can be rectified. In most cases, he can rectify the faults himself – if there are major faults, such as in the layout of the mainboard, he may also have to produce technical drawings for our partners and ultimately require a completely new mainboard.

Alex is also responsible for maintaining our spare parts warehouse. In order to have all common spare parts in stock at spo-comm at all times, he is in constant contact with our purchasing department and also directly with our partners in Asia, from whom some parts are sourced.

What is your favorite PC?

Werner: My favorite PC is our recently released
CORE 2
. With this mini PC, everything comes from a single source. From the mainboard design and production to the development of the BIOS, everything is made in Germany (or rather Bavaria).

Alex: My favorite PC is the
RUGGED GTX1050 Ti
. The workmanship and material are of particularly high quality and it has a sturdy, stylish design. Although it is passively cooled, it has an enormously powerful performance. It also has a versatile BIOS with many functions and a wide range power input.

Contact our support team

The speedometer on the calendar says 16.07.2019. The “X” marks an event. It was a Tuesday. Digital Festival Time at spo-comm GmbH. Excitement and enthusiasm were in the air. Not a classic Tuesday morning as usual. The tools in the spo-comm production hall were still just as neatly sorted as the day before. Silence. If a screw with a metric ISO standard thread M6 according to DIN 13-1 had fallen to the floor, you would have heard it.

Joking aside. Arrrrrr! “AI AI Captain!” was THE event. Thanks to everyone who was there! For one day, we dedicated ourselves to Nvidia’s CUDA programming technology and artificial intelligence as part of the Nuremberg Digital Festival. They worked as hard as they could. There was good food too.

That was our event:

10:15 am:

The food truck  drives into the spo-comm courtyard. Chana masala and Hungarian goulash was the forecast for the lunch break. The team from
razz & rübe
should conjure up love in our stomachs on this day!

10:30 am:

The first participants arrive.

10:45 am:

The event is launched. Welcome to “AI AI Captain! CUDA goes Artificial Intelligence!” A short briefing and a preview of the presentations at the meetup.

11:00 am:

Company founder and CEO Michael Sporrer introduces spo-comm GmbH. Some of you may have wondered what the Mini-PC professionals actually had in common with CUDA and Artificial Intelligence. After the crisp introduction to the services and products of spo-comm, the bow should have been tightened. Keyword KUMO IV and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060.

11:15 am:

It’s showtime! Norbert Kuperjans from PC Partner takes over the reins. Charming as ever and with a bit of North German humor, we were able to accompany Norbert on a journey through the history of the graphics card: “From drawing slave to supercomputer”. Apt, isn’t it? We think so too! At eye level, the technology specialist explained to the audience what the cores in a CPU and a GPU are all about, why a CPU has fewer cores compared to a GPU and why this is okay. The centerpiece of his presentation then dealt with Nvidia’s “CUDA” programming technology. If you missed it, don’t be sad. Reading our blog article on CUDA releases just as many endorphins as Norbert’s presentation!

Good to know: What is CUDA?

11:45 am:

End of part 1 of the event. Break time meant on 16.07.
razz & beet time
! ? Over delicious food (Mhhhhh. Chana Masala!) we chatted, networked and enjoyed the midday sun. Can it get any better? Yes, all right. Go. Hawaii, on the beach with a cocktail in hand. But that’s about it.

12:45 pm:

After the break, we continued directly with Christian Bahrendt from Advertima, strengthened and with broadened horizons (props go out to Norbert). With basic knowledge of CUDA and graphics cards, the audience was initially able to ask themselves the question: “What does it actually mean when physical space suddenly consists of data?”. The Advertima AG team is confronted with this question every day. The Swiss start-up’s artificial intelligence of the same name does exactly that: it converts people and their surroundings into data. But artificial intelligence would not be artificial intelligence if we were only talking about rigid analysis and data hoarding. Advertima is self-learning. Machine learning enables the software to develop further based on previously analyzed data. In the case of Advertima, this means playing targeted advertising for customers where it could be of interest. More quality content, more impressions, more conversions. Not just an exciting topic, but the future. Curious? In our reference about the collaboration with Advertima, you can find out more about the work of the digital trailblazers.

13:15:

End of the presentations. Time for networking. Our participants had the opportunity to chat to each other over a few table football matches and start the afternoon in a relaxed mood.

Without beating about the bush, it was a top event. Thanks to everyone who was there and made the event an unforgettable experience for us. Last but not least, a big thank you to our reliable and competent event technology team from Pave, who made sure that everything went smoothly.

Part 1 at 10:30 a.m. – Welcome to “AI AI CAPTAIN! – CUDA goes Artificial Intelligence

Our CUDA experts and spo-comm await you on 16.07.19 at 10:30 am at Otto-Kraus-Straße 4c in Nuremberg, at the headquarters of spo-comm GmbH.
After a brief welcome and an introduction to spo-comm, we get straight into our main program.

Part 2 around 11:00 a.m. – Norbert Kuperjans from PC Partner

At around 11:00 a.m., we can look forward to a presentation by Norbert Kuperjans, Development Manager at PC Partner. He tells us how graphics cards have developed over the decades and why you actually need a graphics card. Keyword: From “drawing slave” to supercomputer. Of course, we will also find out exactly what CUDA is and what the programming technology can do.

Part 3 around 11:30 / 11:45 – 45 minutes PAUSE

There’s food too, of course! To celebrate the day, Tanja and Robin from razz & rübe welcome our visitors to our farm! With their food truck, the two conjure up potato and sweet potato spaghetti with unusual handmade toppings. Chana masala with basmati rice is her hobbyhorse and is also on offer. The meal is of course free of charge for our registered participants. Is it just our mouths watering right now?

Part 4 around 12:15 / 12:30 – Christian Bahrendt from Advertima

Strengthened by the lunch break, we dive straight into the world of Advertima AG and its software / artificial intelligence of the same name. Christian Bahrendt is Advertima’s Product Marketing Manager and heads up market research and marketing communications. He loves being at the interface between innovation, business units and engineering, which is why he joined Advertima at the beginning of 2017. In addition to the practical application example on the topic of CUDA, we can look forward to an insight from Christian into the sticking points of the connection between the “online” and “offline” worlds.

Part 5 around 13:00 / 13:30 – end of the event

The official part of our event will end at around 13:00 / 13:30. Afterwards, all our guests are cordially invited to network over a cold drink and relax into the afternoon.

All that remains for us to say is: See you there!

Register now! Arrrrrr!

 

Find out more about our speakers!

“The customer is king”, as the saying goes, and even though this is of course the motto of all spo-comm employees, it is our sales department that deals with the customer the most on a daily basis. Colleagues Mustafa Ergin, Martin Wiesneth and Hülya Ergin tell us what else is involved in addition to traditional telephone and e-mail contact.

Mustafa: As a Key Account Manager, I am of course there for the customer first and foremost. Whether by chat, e-mail or telephone. This often involves working together with the customer on small or large projects. In addition to price calculations and personal meetings, this also includes permanent support during the live test phase. Things that always need to be done in sales clearly include tracking offers and maintaining master data.

Martin: I’ve been working in sales at spo-comm for 5 years now. Processing inquiries and orders is part of our daily business. As Key Account Manager, I am also represented at trade fairs together with Mustafa and/or the management. As a close relationship with our customers is very important to us, we are often on the road and visit them in person. On the one hand, to plan larger projects together, but sometimes it’s just about getting to know each other personally.

Hülya: Since returning from parental leave, I have been supporting Sales as a part-time Sales Manager. I create order confirmations and take care of production planning at the same time. Like my two colleagues, I process inquiries from interested parties and calculate offers. I am also responsible for maintaining our master data.

Which is your favorite PC?

Hülya: The WINDBOX III EVO, as the system is suitable for almost all cases in the digital signage sector. I also think the design is very beautiful and modern. It would also be a really great PC for use at home.

Martin: For me, the RUGGED GTX 1050 Ti is currently the most interesting product. Not only because a quad-core i5 CPU and a GTX 1050Ti are passively cooled here. All the expansion options, vehicle PC features and seven HDMI outputs also make it a real all-rounder. Of course, this comes at a price, but we are making inroads into areas that also interest me privately, such as developments in autonomous driving or machine and deep learning.

Mustafa: For me, our KUMO IV is the entertainer par excellence. Thanks to the built-in GTX 1060 from Nvidia, content can be played in 4K @ 60Hz on up to four screens simultaneously. And even sophisticated virtual reality applications are possible. So the KUMO can really cover many interesting projects in digital signage. For example, it can be used to scan the gender, age or mood of people walking past, which is often used in digital out-of-home advertising.

Hülya, Martin and Mustafa will be happy to answer any questions you may have about our mini PCs.

Get in touch with us!

Norbert Kuperjans from PC Partner

PC Partner is a leading manufacturer of computer electronics based in Hong Kong. The company’s main products are graphics cards, motherboards and mini PCs. As an industry leader, PC Partners utilizes its exceptional research and development capabilities and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to continually bring new products and innovations to market. PC Partner’s aim is to always be one step ahead of the industry.

Over the course of his career, Norbert Kuperjans has had his fingers in the pie wherever graphics cards were not far away. From his first job at NEC Deutschland GmbH as an application engineer in the field of displays and graphics cards, to technical marketing employee at ATI Technologies (now AMD). In almost 10 years at ATI, Norbert and his team have established the ATI and Radeon brands in the gaming sector and inspired most PC manufacturers to adopt Radeon graphics. In recent years at ATI, he has headed the Technical Marketing division and was an authorized signatory of ATI Technologies Europe GmbH. After ATI no longer marketed graphics cards, but only GPUs, he moved to PC Partner in Hong Kong, the manufacturer of ATI graphics cards. As a business development employee, he was initially able to win PC Partner back for the PC Partner graphics cards at . After a few years, the portfolio was expanded to include graphics cards from NVIDIA. The range was then expanded to include Mini PCs for home and office use and, for the past five years, PCs in the embedded, digital signage and industrial PC sectors. A particular strength here are the PCs with dedicated graphics, with which PC Partner, with its PCP Solutions brand, clearly sets itself apart from the competition. Norbert has been with PC Partner for over 15 years.

 

Christian Bahrendt from Advertima

Advertima AG was founded in 2016 and today, with its eponymous software, is the leading AI for understanding human behavior in the physical world and engaging customers in real time. Self-learning software uses computer vision, machine learning and big data to interpret the appearance, movement and context of people in real time. Advertima’s customers use the solution in smart retail, smart signage and smart building applications to benefit in five main areas: 360° customer insights, more reach and longer dwell time, more sales, higher customer loyalty and the connection between online and a physical world. Advertima’s 40 employees, who come from more than 20 nations worldwide, serve clients from offices in Switzerland (St.Gallen, Zurich) and Germany (Berlin).

Christian Bahrendt is Advertima’s Product Marketing Manager and heads up market research and marketing communications.
He has more than 10 years of experience in product marketing and project management for technology services. He loves being at the interface between innovation, business units and engineering, which is why he joined Advertima at the beginning of 2017. Here, he can combine his different backgrounds, which range from digital marketing for food retailers to more sophisticated services such as automated data matching or mass customization of clothing. In his past, he was responsible for product marketing for Spreadshirt’s long-tail partner business in Europe.

Register now!

Our agenda for 16.07.

Learn more about PC Partner

Learn more about Advertima