This year’s Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), being held Feb. 7-10, will be my third attending. The first experience at Amsterdam’s RAI is intimidating and awe inspiring. It’s not just that managing director Mike Blackman and his team do a phenomenal job putting together the sights and sounds that make a great AV show.
The work put into the booths is equally impressive, and showcase the skills of carpenters, electricians, flooring professionals and AV crews partnering to produce top-notch exhibition booths (or stands as they’re called over there). Along with those sights and sounds, here are more reasons why you, a U.S.-based integrator, should travel across the Atlantic to go to ISE.
Product Announcements and Releases
Last year was a perfect example. Shure’s array ceiling mic was all the buzz. Some of you may have gotten the NDA conference meeting during InfoComm 2015. For those who didn’t, and the public in general, ISE 2016 was the coming out party for this innovative mic.
Blackmagic also released its video editing software at last year’s show, and Biamp, Crestron, Harman, AptoVision, and numerous others had significant announcements or product releases. ISE has become the first audio-visual show of the year for companies to demonstrate their exciting new wares.
For integrators and consultants who are designing systems that need the latest technology or are looking to fill a need that they cannot quite fill, ISE is the first stop of the year.
Intersecting Pro and Residential AV
If you don’t attend resi-focused CEDIA, there are some products and services you will have little to know knowledge of that could very well solve a problem you have. Let me give you a few examples.
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On our first trip to ISE in 2015 I interviewed two loudspeaker makers that could not have been more different. One was a commercial speaker manufacturer from the U.K. The other was an Italian company. The U.K. company created high SPL speakers that were efficient, great in concert spaces. The Italian company made works of art that also reproduced sound. These were beautifully crafted pieces that could not have been more different but here they were two booths down from one another.
Nortek is another example, its Core Brands specifically. You’ve seen them at InfoComm. Their presence there is not as big as the footprint they take up at CEDIA. However, at ISE they bring all their various brands. You get the full depth and breadth of what this company can bring to your shop.
The next time you are consulting with a client and they bemoan the fact that youmust put “ugly speakers” in their entryway or wish you had something that did awholly residential feature, you will be ableto connect them with a solution you wereexposed to at ISE.
Distribution Opportunity
It is a system called M2D; manufacturer to distributor. (You can find out more about this on ISE.org.) There are several kiosks throughout the massive 14-hall show floor. These displays list manufacturers that are not yet in certain countries but are looking to break into those markets.
This goes back to the point about finding products or services that fill a particular need. Should you find that company and they don’t yet ship to the U.S. then you could very easily become that connection point. This line of business is not for everyone and you need to check with your accounting team as well as lawyers about specific products. However, an integrator who moonlights as a distributor for an in-demand product would have a significant advantage as well as a new source of revenue.
Globalization
We live in a global economy. This is not new to you. There is a good chance at least a few of your clients have offices outside the U.S.
Being able to service their non-States offices is usually cost-prohibitive. Going to ISE will introduce you to other integrators, such as yourself, who you could partner with. In addition, they may have clients oftheir own looking to service as those clients enter the U.S. market.
Networking at a Different Pace
Yes, there are networking events. No, they are unlike the events you have been to in the U.S. Amsterdam at least, and Europe in general, goes at a slower pace than we do here. It’s not better or worse, it’s simply different.
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What it gives you is the time to stand, or sit, and talk to a rep or manufacturer’s engineer and learn about them, their product, and their processes. You have the latitude to go deeper in conversations than you have at other tradeshows simply because you do not feel the pressure of the next attendee breathing down your neck.
At the various parties, there is also a different, relaxed vibe. Most likely you have attended one company or another’s customer appreciation party in Orlando or Las Vegas. They are great events that are full of excitement and energy. At the get-togethers at ISE you are given the freedom to get to know the stateside and non-U.S. contacts you will need throughout the year.
Integrated Systems Europe has turned out to be my favorite show to attend. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with culture, food, and great people. The show itself is a serendipitous experience marrying the residential and commercial sides of audio visual.
As someone covering the AV industry from the U.S. side, it provides exposure to companies you have not yet seen on this side of the Atlantic. As an integrator, it is the first show you should attend to get the latest releases, ask the questions about these new products, and network with new companies, fellow integrators, and your fellow AV professionals from around the world.
