Sameer Puri Well, the CEREC 27 and a half meeting is over and the secret is out - Omnicam is here. Powderfree, color streaming. What more could a CEREC doctor ask for?
I was honored to have been a part of the unveiling as I gave the first clinical presentation of the meeting on the Omnicam. What a blast to have 4,000 enthusiastic attendees screaming in approval of the new camera.
As I watched the meeting unfold over the weekend, I saw a tremendous range of emotions from the attendees.
When the Omnicam was first revealed and the crowd found out about the powderless camera and the streaming, there was mass euphoria over the fact that a powderfree camera that actually works was now a reality.
Moments later, it was divulged that not only was it streaming technology, it was also in full color. The crowd was enthusiastic as I can imagine the CEREC owners in the audience had seen anything like it before.
Over time, however, I sensed that there was a feeling of anxiety that came across from users not only at the meeting but on the online communities as well. Clinicians complained that they had just bought their system; they had just upgraded and now felt that their system was obsolete. Another common theme was the price – CEREC owners felt the price was too high for the upgrade as everyone hoped and fished for a better deal.
Let me address these two feelings that the users had and offer you my own thoughts.
To those of you who felt that you had been left in the dark about the new camera, you need to understand how secrecy works when you are dealing with government entities like the SEC. Obviously when you work with a publicly traded company such as Sirona and you are tasked with testing new products, you are obliged not to divulge any company secrets by signing a nondisclosure agreement. The threat of a lawsuit – or worse, jail time for insider trading – is not something that we beta testers take lightly. One slip of the tongue and careers are ruined and companies are destroyed.
Having said that, hopefully the need for the secrecy behind this new camera makes sense. I can promise you that if you recently upgraded or bought a machine, your specialist did not know about the Omnicam. Don’t get upset at them for not telling you. They simply didn’t know that anything like this existed or was coming. Very few did. And if someone told you they knew – they were obviously taking a shot in the dark because those who knew, didn’t talk. Those who didn’t know talked a whole lot. The entire sales team at Patterson found out about the camera this past Monday, Aug. 13. Everyone else found out a few days later on Thursday the 16th at the general session of CEREC 27 and a half. So any thoughts of getting upset at your Specialist should be ignored. They simply didn’t know.
The bright side of the secrecy is that there is an upgrade path for owners. Meaning that anyone who bought recently gets 100% of what they paid toward the newer camera. Since the newer camera is more expensive, the user has lost nothing. In fact, if you upgraded and you are now on the wait list for the Omnicam, then get the Omnicam later essentially using the Bluecam for free until your Omni arrives.
There is no upgrade path that Sirona and Patterson have set up where it’s cheaper to go directly from Redcam to Omnicam. If you have traded Redcam to Bluecam and then to Omnicam, it’s cheaper for you. Patterson knows they need to keep customers happy, and they wont be if they charged more to go from Red to Blue to Omni than going to Red to Omni straight.
Patterson and Sirona could have done the opposite – they could be more like Apple – i.e., no upgrade path. When Apple introduces the new iPhone or the new iPad, guess what? Not only is it more expensive, but there is no trade-in allowance for your older technology. I’ll take secrecy over losing money any day of the week.
This leads me to the second point. Those of you who feel the price of the Omnicam is too high need to understand the basic principle of supply and demand. Do I wish the Omnicam were less expensive? Absolutely, who in their right mind wants to pay more? But just as new models of cars, phones, TVs, etc. cost more, so does the Omnicam. Currently there is very little supply of the Omnicam and lots of demand. This creates a high price simply due to market forces.
Bottom line is, if you feel that the price is too high – don’t upgrade. Your Bluecam is a fantastic piece of technology and will serve you for years to come. As of last Thursday, it was the BEST intraoral imaging system on the market. It’s phenomenal and will remain as a great system for many years to come. In fact, the 4.0 software upgrade that has received high marks is the same for both Bluecam and Omnicam.
I’ve got lots of thoughts and lots of tips and tricks that I will be posting regularly. Stay tuned and stay excited about the new Omnicam. The future with this system is going to be absolutely amazing. This is a game changer.
