BEAVERTON, OR—Biamp Systems is pleased to announce AVConnect.org, a Web site that promotes collaboration between AV consultants, integrators, IT professionals and end users, to ease the transition as the AV and IT fields converge. “AV/IT convergence is a conversation that’s been ongoing for years, since the first AV product appeared with a network connection,” said Mark Mayfield, editor, AV Technology. “But generally, it’s taking some time to come full circle because we’re talking about basically two distinct cultures.”
AVConnect.org is an online platform that will help expedite the convergence of the two fields by enabling AV and IT professionals to connect, increase their understanding about the other discipline and, ultimately, partner with one another to grow the entire industry by sharing information. “One of Biamp’s philosophies is to provide tools and resources to industry professionals, ensuring they have the best information available. With the convergence of these two industries, information was lacking. AVConnect.org helps close that gap,” said Steve Metzger, VP business development, Biamp Systems. The site features news articles that span both industries, identifies upcoming educational and networking events, shares tips and tricks for AV and IT specialists and highlights successful cases studies from around the world.
Additionally, the site features a locator tool, enabling industry-professionals to easily find qualified integrators in their area. “My biggest hope for AVConnect.org is that it might bring together AV and IT professionals to work on appropriate standards for AV technology on networks,” said Tom Stimson, CTS, President, The Stimson Group, and creator of the AV Matters blog. “AV folks might come to better understand the demands of the unified communication networks being implemented in the IT world. And IT folks can better understand how AV can present the “face” of communications in a more user-friendly form factor than a PC.” “A forum like AVConnect.org could potentially increase the dialog between AV and IT, which should advance “convergence.” It could also help end-customers better understand where IT ends and AV begins, and vice versa,” said Mayfield. “I think that eventually we won’t think of AV and IT as two separate industries. And yet, neither will be able to exist without the other. It’s all part of communications technology … I hope we can eventually stop talking about convergence, since it seems to imply some kind of technology “melting pot” that compromises one or the other. In fact, what we need is to better comprehend the roles of both AV and IT in the overall communication process.” Visit www.AVConnect.org to learn more.
