Our ExScite Dominic Duffy requested to post this at ExScite:

"[ I'd like to ask] the Excite community in preparation for a talk I'm giving at a University toward the end of the month.
My talk is to budding software developers and is about the importance of thoroughly researching a potential market above creating a great product.
I want to draw – affectionately – upon my time at Scitex and use the example of a fantastic, highly dynamic company bursting with brilliant engineers but falling foul of making a product that was so clever but so inherently expensive, that it eliminated its own market.
The [Scitex] Lotem was truly brilliant but ultimately proved the last stride for Scitex which as we know, was bought by a company that made its fortune primarily through selling a much simpler, far less intelligent rival product.
I'd like to find out from any ex-Scitex people who were directly involved in the development of the Lotem and particularly about any market research that was conducted at the time.
I reckon it would make a very interesting study.

Please contact:  Dominic Duffy, London