Editor’s Note: This article featuring WyreStorm Technologies’ Ken Vanier, 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 Ken Vanier, VP sales & operations, Americas, WyreStorm Technologies.
Ken Vanier 2025 Reflections
The pro AV industry in 2025 has been a year of stability and transformation. With the global market valued at $332 billion and projected to grow to $402 billion by 2030, the sector has shown resilience despite economic pressures. Key trends include the rapid adoption of IP-based systems, AI automation and hybrid-space integration, alongside a shift toward IT-driven decision-making. As AV matures into a unified, intelligent ecosystem, it’s clear that the industry is evolving to meet the demands of a connected, scalable future.
Commercial Integrator: What kind of year has 2025 been for the pro AV industry?
Ken Vanier: 2025 has been a mixed but stable year for the pro AV industry. According to AVIXA, the global market is valued at around $332 USD billion this year, with steady growth expected toward $402 billion by 2030. Despite some economic pressure, many integrators and vendors reported solid activity and continued demand.
At the same time, 2025 has pushed the industry further into IP-based systems, cloud workflows, AI automation, and hybrid-space integration. Market reports highlight growing investment in flexible, scalable AV designs and immersive technologies, especially for enterprise, education and large events.
CI: What has been the most surprising development in the pro AV industry this year?
Vanier: The speed of adoption for high-resolution and ultrawide workflows has been a big surprise. What used to be niche, 5K, 8K and panoramic formats, has quickly become part of mainstream expectations in control rooms, universities and creative environments.
Another surprising shift has been the rise of AI-assisted functionality, not as a gimmick, but as a practical tool. Auto-framing, voice isolation, predictive analytics for remote management and intelligent switching have all become far more common.
And perhaps the biggest surprise: with the popularity of AV-over-IP signal distribution, IT teams are now leading many AV decisions. That shift has changed the way solutions are evaluated, deployed and supported across organizations’ network infrastructures.
CI: What has been the most important change we’ve seen this year in pro AV?
Vanier: The most important shift in 2025 has been the move toward fully unified, network-driven and cloud managed AV ecosystems, systems that are easier to deploy, easier to scale and easier to monitor remotely. Organizations want solutions that reduce complexity and integrate cleanly with existing IT environments. AV-over-IP and NDI have progressed from emerging technologies to fully established, mainstream standards.
Again mentioning AI is important here, as it also played a significant role helping automate tasks that used to require constant manual oversight, from optimizing camera behavior, to assisting in control system programming, to identifying system issues before they cause downtime. While AI isn’t replacing human engineering, it is improving the speed, accuracy and reliability of AV operations.
We have also seen a stronger emphasis on security, resilience and lifecycle sustainability. Customers want systems that are visually impressive, but also secure and reliable under pressure as well as future-ready.
If anything, 2025 has been the year where AV matured into an intelligent, IT-aligned ecosystem, and that change is shaping everything about where the industry goes next.
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).
