4 Factors That Will Define the Industry in the Next 5 Years

In the next five years, businesses will have to consider how their firms fit into growing trends such as consolidation in the industry, changing sales roles, a shift in how clients make technology decisions and more.

CI Staff

The Wall Street Journal holds an annual Investment Dartboard Contest, where expert investment picks faced off against stocks “chosen” by staffers who just tossed darts at a stock table. The experts won by a narrow margin — at first — but as time went on the darts came out ahead nearly as often as the experts.

Maybe the lesson is that we take business too seriously and should make predictions about our industry based on a dartboard! However, it’s a safe bet that in 2021, technology providers will still struggle to be relevant to the end-user.

Disruption through consolidation or innovation continues. The end user will consume more and more technology. The end user will become increasingly indifferent to the integrator of hardware but more selective and aligned with their service providers.

The next five years will be an evolution — not a revolution — of ideas and solutions.

Integration isn’t an easy business today and it won’t be five years from now.

The Five-Year View

It’s safe to assume that by 2021 another global recession or military conflict somewhere in the world will impact global and U.S. economies.

The “fast will eat the slow” adage will likely play out numerous times between now and then throughout the entire technology supply chain.

Companies that started the shift to a “services first” model in the good old days of 2014 will reach maturity and continue to improve by developing processes, diversifying their offerings, expanding their expertise, and aligning themselves with other skilled technology partners.

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These companies will strive to separate themselves from traditional AV-IT integrators as their competition.

Strength in Numbers

Large and small technical solution integrators (TSIs) will likely join formal networks of partners or will acquire or absorb other entities.

They will join forces to access the skills needed beyond traditional AV to provide scalable and competitive solutions on an enterprise and global basis. Companies that provide customized solutions and are highly focused on client business outcomes will likely maintain good margins and client relationships.

The “services first” model will likely still include selling hardware and software in addition to a new crop of “as a Service” (aaS) offerings. The TSI will hopefully begin to reach their potential in fee-based selling solutions.

The relationship with the manufacturer will continue to be complex — sometimes they are partners and other times competitors.

Cloud-based companies may evolve a very different go-to-market strategy. The fluid nature of their products and marketing strategies will likely benefit the client more than the solution provider, especially as it relates to margins.

Employee Impact

Sales will likely grow more from existing enterprise accounts than with new clients. Salespeople, as we know their role today, will exist but possibly not as the primary means to grow business.

“Salespeople, as we know their role today, will exist but possibly not as the primary means to grow business.”

Their role will be to manage client relationships. International opportunities will come in more rapid fashion to those companies that have the ability to deliver services and will also be an area of “stickiness” with the client.

The TSI will begin to benefit from the influence of Millennials reaching senior management and leadership roles. They will be the agents of change that will begin to clear the slate of legacy approaches while supporting a new client-facing model. Employees will be recruited more for “attitude.”

The pool of potential AV employees will increase as more men and women are attracted to our business — partly because it will be much easier to understand and relate to what we do in 2021.

Employees, just like clients, will definitely be more mobile, creating a work-wherever-and-whenever-you-want culture. The possibility of smaller fabrication spaces, fewer racks, less copper wire, and more software and cloud solutions will change how we use building space and showcase user experience solutions.

Corporate culture will evolve to support mobile and flexible workers, and employee training will as well. They will still need training but likely in different ways, with an emphasis on small bursts of knowledge — macro learning at its best.

It may be less time intensive and costly to train staff. Certifications and badging will come in more simplified forms and formats.

Rejuvenating the Relationship

The buyer may confound the “old style” technology integrator. Clients will make more of their own technology decisions.

To stay relevant and provide measurable value, the channel will need to be increasingly more competent in the markets they serve — understanding the unique business outcomes desired by the client. Contract duration will be shorter to allow clients more flexibility as their business model changes in the same time frame.

Clients will require more metrics and data to support their investment and to achieve their business objectives. The client will expect every solution to be simple to use.

In spite of all the possible changes in this industry, I believe relationships will still mean something in 2021. Tradeshows will still exist to support those relationships.

Chris Miller is the executive director of Professional Systems Network International. Miller offers special thanks to several PSNI thought-leaders who helped with these predictions: Dana Barron, Andy Sellers, Jeff Irvin, Scott McMullan, Alex DeToro, Kevin Groves, and Mark Gottwig.

More Industry Predictions: Your 5 Year Survival Guide: What it Will Take to Succeed in the Industry

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