Customer dreams do not always mesh well with cold realities like modest budgets and tight timelines – integrators live that reality every day.
That’s why it’s invaluable to have adaptable and reliable business partners who can offer a wide range of products, services and support to help bring customers’ dreams to life as much as possible.
That was the case for Allenton, Pa.-based Vistacom, Inc. when it recently had a customer in the utility market that wanted to build a control room with all the bells and whistles, but whose wish list wasn’t supported by their budget. That’s when Vistacom turned to Christie Digital – and Christie stepped up.
Leaning into the Christie product line, including Christie Phoenix family of video processors, as well as the Christie Access Series of LCD panels, they were able to meet an estimated 95 percent of the client’s initial plan, while also laying the groundwork for future expansion.
“We were able to come up with a cost-efficient solution that did not sacrifice a lot of functionality, but yet met the client timeline because of Christie’s ability to deliver product quickly,” says Vistacom National Control Room Sales Manager Dan Gundry.
“So, we were able to hit all three points with the client to the point where we’re already talking to them about expanding that system both at that same location, as well as in a backup location in another area of the country.”
Coming up with creative and flexible is just part of what makes doing business with Christie so easy, Gundry says, something which is enabled by the fact that Christie sales reps focus on specific product categories, enabling them to hone category expertise and provide stronger support to their clients. [related]
“Having individuals focused into that area to help with things like business development, client showcases, streamlining of issues and just overall sales and operational activities has proven to be invaluable,” Gundry says.
“Rather than having one channel manager that is responsible for 50 different lines of products, they have kind of siloed into specialty areas, which is of tremendous valuable to an organization such as Vistacom.”
Installing Christie products is made easy by certification and training programs that Gundry says are second to none.
One of Vistacom’s newer integrators recently told Gundry that Christie University is “by and far the best that’s out there among the manufacturers that we work with,” Gundry says. Plus, when something does go wrong on-site and Vistacom needs help in the field, a national network of Christie engineers is ready to come help.
What really blows Gundry away is how Christie Digital regularly solicits feedback to find new and better ways they can provide support.
One such recent conversation Gundry had with them – initiated by Christie – was about the general inundation of information to engineers and sales teams about new products, and how Christie can do better at keeping integrators informed, without overwhelming them with information.
“So, they continue to ask us how to better engage us in keeping us informed, which is not something you hear from your average manufacturer in the industry,” Gundry says. “That’s important.”
Christie Digital and Vistacom
Vistacom’s connections to Christie Digital go far back, even before Christie itself – Vistacom was one of the original dealers for Electrohome Limited before it was acquired by Christie.
Vistacom and Christie eventually parted ways for a time as they became focused on different categories, but Christie’s reputation as an innovator, as well as its end-to-end line of product offerings – beyond the projectors and displays its most known for – was a big reason Vistacom re-engaged with Christie about five years ago.
“The breadth of the Christie product line may be misleading to the general public, but for the integrator they really do have a lot of tools in the toolbox,” Gundry says.
Those offerings across the full signal chain include ingest and control products like Spyder and Phoenix and Terra, all the way through to the wide array of displays, and even content development and collaboration tools, like the Christie Brio.
That breadth of products means that within each category is a wide range of products that satisfy all levels of needed functionality at the required price point.
“So actually, I think its misleading that Christie is just a display company, they actually really do have the entire signal chain.”
Christie’s deserved reputation as an innovator in the industry make it an attractive partner for integrators, says Gundry. Whether that’s its leading-edge products or the significance of the company signing on as a founding member of SDVoE, Christie Digital continues to confirm its reputation as an industry leader.
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“It is one of the exciting things about being on board as a Christie Digital partner, is we can always look to them to innovate and set the bench for where we need to move,” Gundry says.
“And as the industry becomes more and more commoditized, those value-added resellers such as ourselves are always looking for ways to stay ahead of that commodity curve. Christie is one of those partners we can look to help us do that.”
That commitment to well-rounded business offerings – from innovative products to proactive dealer support to integrator trainings – all stem from the same place: the love of AV that everyone in the industry shares.
“As somebody that has been doing this as long as we have been, we all do this out of passion, I think, for audio-visual and for communications technology. The people across the aisle that we work with on a regular basis, with the manufacturers, [have] to share that same passion for us to connect and to really be able to speak our language and feel the same things we feel and go about the day the same way,” Gundry says.
“Christie has always brought that to the table at an individual level, as well as at a corporate level.”
