Earlier this month at the Almo E4 Experience Chicago event, Commercial Integrator’s own Dan Ferrisi participated in a first-ever “Flip the Script” panel discussion. Sitting alongside multimedia journalist and content creator Alesia Hendley, as well as rAVe [PUBS] executive editor Steph Beckett, the journalists had the rare opportunity to answer, rather than ask, the questions. Almo’s director, national business team, Karen Castaño, moderated the live session.
The Almo E4 Experience is, of course, a four-yearly regional event that brings together a product-packed exhibit floor, CTS RU-accredited education and training courses, and top-tier networking opportunities. Next year, the E4 Experience is set to visit four new cities: Anaheim, Calif., (February) and Washington, D.C. (March), followed by Dallas in September and Boston in October.
Insights from Technology Journalists at Almo E4 Experience Chicago
The “Flip the Script” panel at Almo E4 Experience Chicago opened with fun, lighthearted questions — for example, “Which piece of AV gear would produce the perfect sound for your entrance?” and “What’s the most unique product demo you’ve ever had on a show floor?” Quickly, though, the panel turned more substantive, with Hendley, Beckett and Ferrisi sharing insights gleaned from dozens of conversations with AV industry stakeholders.
For example, Hendley made an impassioned case for integrators to embrace managed services as a fundamental business tenet. “I think that’s part of our problem as an industry,” she lamented. “We’re very reactive instead of proactive.” Integrators shouldn’t be thinking about truck rolls but, rather, focusing on real-time monitoring and remediation.
Another growth opportunity, from Hendley’s perspective, lies in embracing AV not as a technology tool but, rather, as the foundation of an experience. “I was really excited when AVIXA had changed their name while a back and put ‘Experience’ in the name,” she added. “But we’re not there yet. We’re still not focused on the whole experience. We’re installing, and we’re still not talking to the people who use the spaces day in and day out.”
Meanwhile, Beckett discussed the convergence of technology trades, impressing upon AV specialists the need to widen their aperture. Specifically, she name-checked broadcast, security and IT, saying that AV integrators should “…be getting in there, if they’re not already.” According to Beckett, “[These markets] intersect in so many ways — especially in broadcast. It’s such an easy [extension.]” That’s particularly true because broadcast standards (or close derivatives) are already finding their way into AV workflows, as evidenced by the prevalence of IPMX and SMPTE 2110. This is a path, Beckett said, for integrators to serve new, potentially lucrative markets.
Is Pro AV a Growth Market?
Ferrisi shared fresh AVIXA data to provide some sense of calm amid rampant economic uncertainty (e.g., inflation, high interest rates, tariffs, geopolitical strife). “We’re looking at a compound annual growth rate of about 3.9%, which is down from [AVIXA’s] estimate from about a year ago,” he explained. But, if that CAGR bears out, Ferrisi noted, it “…would be above global growth. So, it will show that pro AV is growing above and beyond the average of the global markets.” That hopeful forecast, however, does not relieve integrators from the responsibility to identify and pivot to the ripest vertical markets. Among those that he cited were live events, immersive retail, hospitality, large venues and other tentpoles of the experience economy.
One element that will likely be central to achieving forecasted growth is collaboration among industry stakeholders, including manufacturer/distributor/integrator partnerships. According to Hendley, these alliances might once have been aspirational or unattainable. When she first got into the industry, she attests, it wasn’t uncommon for certain providers to have an attitude like, “If you talk to these guys, we can’t work with you.” But Hendley thinks that has changed. “I think COVID taught us how to play nicely,” she quipped. “In my actual daily work as a business development manager, I see that across the board: having to partner with integration companies and also our distribution partners.” As an example, Hendley mentioned the outstanding results stemming from the synergies of Sennheiser, Almo and RoomReady allying as one team.
Lesson from Almo E4 Experience Chicago: Collaboration is Essential
Returning to market conditions and business challenges, Ferrisi underlined the importance of this kind of collaboration. “We look at supply chain and tariff-related issues and pricing instability and whatnot — I think [cross-functional partners] are going to need to work ever tighter than they ever have before,” he opined. “Recognizing they need to be shoulder to shoulder [from] beginning to end.” Ferrisi pointed to Almo as a positive example of this mentality, saying, “I know how leaned in you are with your customers…with your partners. You want to be shoulder to shoulder in the trenches with them.” It boils down, Ferrisi argued, to embracing the mentality that if all collaborators are not successful, no one has succeeded.
Recognizing the criticality of seeding the next generation of pro AV professionals, Beckett amplified the good work that’s already taking place to make boys, girls, women and men aware of the fantastic career opportunities that exist within the AV industry. “A lot of the organizations and 501(c)(3)s that are AV or AV-adjacent are doing a lot of grassroots work, going to colleges and then having booths at career fairs,” Beckett noted. She also shouted out the great work that Rosie Riveters does to put technology into young girls’ hands and reaffirm that tech-based careers are for everyone. “A lot of young women and young girls particularly don’t always see that [career path] and might not even know that the industry exists,” Beckett added.
‘Flip the Script’ Returning?
The observations and exhortations from Hendley, Beckett and Ferrisi to embrace an uncertain — but opportunity-filled — future earned positive feedback from session attendees. Accordingly, a “Flip the Script” session might just return at Almo’s 2026 E4 Experience events.
To learn more about the Almo E4 Experience and find out how you can attend in 2026, visit E4Experience.com.
