As quarantine life drags on (and on and on), lately there have been some hopeful signs that we have established a framework for the new normal and are getting back to business.
In the latest AVIXA Pro AV Business Index, we learn that the industry has made the “feeble first steps” to recovery, and AVIXA’s team expects that growth to continue for the remainder of the year.
Employees who have been working from home for months are starting to go back to their offices, though in limited numbers. The list of companies testing a return includes Future, parent company of SCN, though the only offices testing reopening for us are in the U.K. Will those spaces look and function differently? Absolutely, but it won’t be long before the new systems and processes seem normal—or new-normal, at any rate.
Because of the state of the world, remote meetings will continue to dominate industry conversations for the foreseeable future. The pandemic has brought remote meetings, and specifically videoconferencing, out of its traditional corporate home and into other sectors like judicial proceedings.
[Remote Collaboration Essentials]
Sports have returned—not in the traditional way, but we’re able to cheer on our favorite teams (Go Cubbies!) remotely. In recent article about broadcasting sports, we discover that organizations are bringing in crowd noises, and many are filling empty stadiums with cardboard “fans.”
While regulations vary by state, some NFL fans will be able to attend games in person. Differently, of course. The Miami Dolphins will welcome fans beginning in September, with new policies and procedures. Face masks will be required and stadium capacity has been limited to about 20 percent of total capacity, according to reports. Most relevant to our industry, the stadium is employing technology to assist with carrying out health and safety procedures. There’ll be temperature scans, digital-only entry for tickets, touchless security scans, mobile food and beverage ordering, and more.
[Integration Guide to AV in a Post-COVID World]
COVID-19 has also impacted live events, with that industry’s future still uncertain. In fact, next year’s ISE trade show has moved from early February to early June. We sat down (virtually, of course) with AVIXA to discuss this—you can read more about that here.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has brought never-before-seen uncertainty into our work and home lives. But with outlooks beginning to improve, we are starting to see signs of life in the pro AV industry, and I’m looking forward to experiencing the “new normal.”
