There is something about the beginning of a new year.
It’s a time for reflection as well as looking forward. It’s a time to take a mental snapshot of where you’re at — and decide if that’s a good place.
I say, when it comes to the commercial integration market, where we’re at is a good place. No, I’m not ignorant to the scourge of firms fleeing the market with hastily composed exit plans. But for those firms choosing to move forward, I see uncommon opportunities.
Workplaces Are Evolving
For an industry based on improving their customers’ work-spaces, could we possibly be in a better time? Everything, literally everything, about work-spaces is evolving.
The average meeting these days includes anywhere from two to six people. That, combined with walls coming down due to open-office enthusiasm, means rethinking of rooms.
Companies are far more interested in dedicating less space to smaller huddle rooms than more space to traditional conference rooms.
When everything about your customer’s workspace is changing, everything about the technology they use needs to be addressed.
Meanwhile, companies are far more interested in obtaining data on room usage that explains whether or not their space-planning decisions make sense. Integrators can amplify their value by providing data on room and system usage.
What’s the point? When everything about your customer’s workspace is changing, everything about the technology they use needs to be addressed.
Proliferation of Video
Meanwhile, customers across all markets are using video content to communicate, train and promote. That was not the case just a few years ago when video creation was relegated to certain “broadcast” customers.
So many opportunities spring from the mere fact that customers are using more video. Most integration firms already benefit from hanging more displays and delivering video distribution solutions. Far fewer, however, are positioning themselves to take full advantage of their clients’ demand for video.
How many are offering content creation services either in-house or by partnering with a production company? How many are offering video management and storage solutions? How many are consulting customers on their video deployment options and then providing metrics?
Enthusiasm for IoT
As Millennials flood into the workspace and the generation of even younger, more tech-infused students graduates and enters the workforce, there will be an expectation of intuitiveness.
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Walk into a conference room and it should be react — lights optimize, screen drops, presentation starts, no time is wasted. The Internet of Things makes it all more possible, and who is better positioned than an integrator to deliver true integration?
Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I see this all adding up to a potentially great 2017 for the integration industry.
