SCN sat down with integrators and consultants to learn a bit about their InfoComm show priorities: what they want to see, what they hope to achieve, what they think will steal the show, and so on. This batch of insight comes from John Greene, vice president of sales and marketing for Advanced AV.
What is your number 1 priority (or top priorities) at InfoComm this year?
Our clients are seeking to simplify tech solutions for their workflow and workplace. We will be seeking software and cloud offerings deliverable to rooms and will have less of an emphasis on hardware. We will be seeking out different approaches toward control and collaboration solutions. Cloud migration is prevalent in the verticals we service, so acceptance and demand for a similar approach from their AV vendors is anticipated.
What do you see as the top areas/categories to focus on for training, whether you are participating or recommending for others.
Each of our employees is required to take general curriculum topics outside of their responsibilities. As an example, our sales engineers are recommended to take a social media class; sales need to balance with a tech class. We have weekly meetings and presentations from manufactures on products, InfoComm is a time to look at “business subject matter” learning.
What technological trends will you be on the lookout for most?
I would anticipate that cloud offerings, and IOT, both will be demonstrated in some form or fashion but will be central to the discussion held among all attendees. UX User Experience will be a common theme with clients requesting a more personal experience and on demand as they walk into meeting spaces with their own devices. This year network security will become an emphasis and common in our vernacular.
What business or vertical market trends will you be pursuing most?
Our emphasis for 2016 and beyond is XaaS (Any Tech As a Service). We will be expanding our network operations center to 24/7, as well as offering hosted cloud solutions, such as video and network monitoring. We are also participating in the Infocomm Career Fair, seeking additional employees for our managed services.
What specific product categories or service solutions are you most interested in seeing or hearing about?
Control, DSP, apps, and I anticipate audio products and capabilities to be highlights of InfoComm for me.
