It's worrying how the IPO market has become completely moribund - has there been a significant tech IPO since Google? I can't think of one offhand. It makes me wonder what will happen if the credit crunch makes established companies less willing to part with cash or borrow to acquire the way they have in the past.
It's going to be very difficult to run a company like TiVo which takes a loss up-front but which makes a considerable profit on subscriptions. On the whole, each TiVo subscribe is highly profitable, but companies like TiVo need credit to fund new customer acquisition costs.
Likewise, if your customers are usually buying your products on credit, you're also going to start having big problems. Many enterprise companies -- hardware and software -- are used to leasing their products to big customers. Without easy financing, it's going to become more difficult to sell both hardware and software.
Plus indirectly, even if you don't use credit directly, your customers might. ERP software for the auto industry may help them save billions of dollars, but if people aren't buying cars, they won't be buying new ERP software. B2C companies aren't immune either. Unemployment and increased consumer savings will reduce the amount of disposable income that consumers have to spend on tech goods and services.
It's a crisis for all parts of the economy, and I don't see how the tech industry is any different.
