Editor’s Note: This article featuring Sean Wargo and his 2026 predictions is part of Commercial Integrator’s series running throughout the month of January. In this series, we spotlight forward-looking insights from some of the pro AV industry’s most notable luminaries.
As we look ahead to 2026, the pro AV industry stands at the cusp of exciting opportunities and transformative trends. To explore what lies ahead, Commercial Integrator turned to Sean Wargo, Principal, Apogee Insights, LLC, for his expert predictions on the technologies and strategies that will shape the future of pro AV.
Sean Wargo 2026 Predictions
Commercial Integrator: Without getting into any specific vendor or particular branded solutions, what technology category or solution area do you see as 2026’s ripest, most profitable growth opportunity for pro AV integrators and installers? Explain your reasoning.
Sean Wargo: Since the wording mentioned profit, I would have to pick managed services. The ingredients for profitable growth here keep increasing. The maturation of AI is just the latest, as it adds efficient monitoring, diagnostic, and analytic capabilities to a system, making it easier for an integrator to be in the loop, without having to roll a truck. This is a bit of an old drum to beat but if ever the time was right, it really is now. Enough talking about it, time to actually make a run at it.
Commercial Integrator: Which emerging AV technologies do you think are overplayed? Which ones do you think will truly transform the practice of integration in the coming years?
Wargo: There is a lot of saturation in the collaboration space, particularly in the smart speaker and smart camera categories. This glut of product is driving down price and margin, making the corresponding conferencing and collaboration market more of a commoditized business. The same is true on the services side as well, with a broader array of integration firms vying for the same projects. Products are much more network ready as well, meaning more of the work can be done in house.
One could argue that AI is also still a bit overplayed but more because the specific use cases and value delivery are in development. This creates a situation where firms might end up throwing money at it in an inefficient way. However, it would be foolish and naïve not to acknowledge that AI will transform the practice of integration, just as it will most businesses. This creates a conundrum of knowing how to invest in a smart way for maximum return to the business, particularly when waiting it out can have competitive implications. The answer is likely some simple experimentation.
Commercial Integrator: What’s getting better about the pro AV industry these days? What seems to be getting worse?
Wargo: Supply chains are better, managing hardware costs is worse. After uneven availability of many product categories, it has become easier for the channel to get the hardware it needs for any given project. However, with tariffs in a state of flux and their true impact yet to be felt, it has become harder to peg the exact cost of the needed hardware. This can threaten margins for integrators and/or slow down project work. It’s reasonable to expect further cost impacts in 2026.
Commercial Integrator: What’s liable to catch some pro AV industry integrators and installers off guard in the coming year?
Wargo: Given tariffs, the pricing landscape will have some fluctuations and so will catch some off guard. Preparation, as was learned during the supply challenges of the pandemic, is the key. This means redundancies, partnerships and contractual structures to provide agility.
Overall though the fundamental issue is the general atmosphere of uncertainty. This makes business planning very difficult, creating the risk of exposure on multiple fronts. These risks are in both directions as well. If business is worse than forecasted, a company could end up with too much cost against revenues, whether in the form of inventory or staff. If it’s better, then revenue is left on the table, which is sometimes an ok problem to have but can lead to longer term competitive issues. The downside risk is likely very uneven across the globe, and so as always some firms in certain specific areas may suffer more in a cycle of decline. Fortunately, at a top level the market for pro AV has continued to grow, creating new opportunities along the way.
Commercial Integrator: What’s the single most pressing challenge that professionals in the pro AV industry must tackle right now? And how would you suggest tackling it?
Wargo: A singular issue continues to emerge across surveys to AV professionals – hiring and retaining talent. Per the above, this starts with gauging how much to invest in the resource pool given the uncertainties of demand.
Even once determined, finding the right resource is difficult in a competitive employment landscape, particularly for those with desirable skills and experience. This means retention is also difficult as firms try to lure away top talent. Hiring junior staff and training up has been the long-standing approach but it is a slow process with no guarantee of pay-out.
Fortunately, as convergence happens and adjacent sectors struggle, the opportunity for cross-over resources increases. This is arguably the case in IT, as AI has reduced the need for programmers and support staff, causing professionals to look elsewhere.
The broadcast industry also has seen upheaval, creating migration of talent. Creativity and a willingness to hire new or different types of talent is the key to solving both the resource challenge and the need for agility in a shifting market landscape.
Commercial Integrator: Finish this sentence: 2026 will be remembered as the year that the pro AV industry…
Wargo: Embraced and applied AI in distinctly productive ways, creating and supporting new opportunities for growth and profit.
Stay tuned with Commercial Integrator as we gather year-end insights and 2026 pro AV predictions 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).
