At InfoComm 2020 Connected, Mehryn Corrigan, associate director, Alliance Partner Marketing for Sharp, spelled out five technology innovations that will have an effect on AV installations as the world recovers from the COVID-19 health crisis.
Let’s examine those innovations and their AV effects:
Mobility – This technology insinuates anywhere, anytime access to information. In some cases, working from home can be more productive. 5G and lower cost hardware has made mobility a force in all industries.
What it means for AV installations:
- expanded connectivity for both wired and wireless
- access to info on any device, anywhere
- AR, VR, facial & voice recognition
- new form factors for multiple computers
Collaboration – At this point, no meeting room can be harder to use than a laptop. The workforce had no choice but to be comfortable with tools since WFH orders went out.
What it means for AV installations:
- audio needs to step up
- leverage apps people already know
- simplified connectivity that “just works”
- multi-platform approach
IoT – To have healthier workspaces, we have to have smarter workspaces. If you don’t know what’s happening in data form, you won’t know how to fix it. Integrators should sell the idea of data collection now for better (and more profiable) decisions later; it’s about unifying data for good.
What it means for AV installations:
- proliferation of sensors
- room analytics tie data to corporate calendar info
- cloud analytics & compute for AI capabilities
- signage capturing new insights for retail
- managed services gets an upgrade
as a Service – You may have purchased your last piece of hardware, Corrigan says. There’s now an understanding of a “pay for what you use, as you use it, not what you have, because you bought it” model. The focus shifts to outcomes, not specifications; there will always be an obsolete product, but now it is integrators’ turn to plan for that.
What it means for AV installations:
- bundled solutions with software
- leveraging AVIXA community
- think cloud-first
- always ask if something can be done by subscription
AV meets IT – Soon, there won’t be AV people who don’t understand IT. They both need each other; customers have greater expectations, including self-serve models for certain interactions, meaning an understanding of secure networking is critical.
What it means for AV installations:
- every AV solution is a connected one
- IT is closer to the data than AV has been…
- …but AV is bringing the sensors!
- uptime requirements demand full-stack solutions
