Editor’s Note: This article featuring Randy Stearns and his 2025 reflections is part of Commercial Integrator’s series that will run throughout the month of December. In this series, we’ll highlight 2025 reflections from some of the industry’s most notable luminaries.
As the pro AV industry reflects on the year 2025, it’s clear that this has been a period of both growth and transformation. To gain deeper insights into the trends, challenges and opportunities that have shaped the industry, Commercial Integrator turned to Randy Stearns, CEO of D-Tools.
Randy Stearns 2025 Reflections
Randy Stearns, CEO of D-Tools, shares insights on the industry’s embrace of data-driven strategies, the role of AI in shaping integrator efficiency and why 2026 could mark a turning point for AI as a practical tool in the pro AV channel.
Commercial Integrator: What kind of year has 2025 been for the pro AV industry?
Randy Stearns: 2025 was a resilient year for the pro AV channel. While we don’t have the figures for the full year 2025, actual data drawn from more than 100,000 proposals and more than 45,000 signed contracts in D-Tools Cloud over the first half of the year showed the overall electronic systems market up a healthy 7.4%. That growth, which includes combined statistics from both the pro AV and the residential smart home channels, occurred despite the impact of U.S. tariffs that were implemented starting in April 2025. That growth was seen as a surprise by many in the industry knowing that the technology sector is dependent on imported components.
CI: What’s getting better about the pro AV industry these days?
Stearns: There are several exciting developments taking place within the pro AV channel heading into 2026. One of the biggest is that the industry is finally embracing the importance of data to forecast effectively and operate efficiently. D-Tools is playing a part in that trend with the growth of our Industry Information & Insights (i3) Partner Program with more than 350 participating suppliers and 1,400+ brands using data to track product demand, develop new features and maintain inventory.
CI: Finish this sentence: 2026 will be remembered as the year that the pro AV industry…
Stearns: 2026 will be known as the year that AI moved from being an experiment to a functional tool that integrators can use to operate more efficiently. Business management software such as D-Tools sits at the crux of AI implementation enabling integrators to build lightning-fast, accurate and comprehensive proposals. The influence of AI will continue into 2026.
Stay tuned with Commercial Integrator as we gather year-end insights and reflections from the brightest minds in the industry. If you’d like to be featured, contact our editorial team (Alyssa Borelli, Amala Reddie and Dan Ferrisi, [email protected])
