First, I don't speak for Kaleidescape, they can address this on their own, and I expect at some point they will, but they've certainly given indications in the recent past that their product line was shifting based on their current business model (dropping the 1U and 3U server offerings, not offering larger drives (6TB still largest), no longer doing repairs on out-of-warranty products, etc.).
Is this an indication of a "frail financial condition?" Absolutely NOT, and I know this for a fact, it's proper financial planning to maintain the company's business going forward. Premiere sales have been slowing significantly in favor of the Encore line, so it makes no financial sense to replenish inventory on these products given the minimum contract requirements from parts suppliers. I'm personally seeing a 10 to 1 ratio of Encore over Premiere sales, but not sure what other dealers are experiencing.
All of that said, I get it, these are expensive products, so we expect a level of support to be there going forward. I also realize that just because I've seen this coming doesn't mean that all owners have seen it as well. Clearly, the vast majority of Premiere owners out there probably have no idea these changes were coming, so yes, an official statement regarding the future of Premiere would be helpful, and as I said I think we will hear from K on this subject soon.
There may be additional, non-K related, options for "someone" to step up and fill any void in support for Premiere owners (parts, drives, etc.), we'll see.
Jim