On Higher Ed Tech: Q-SYS

AVT Question: Please share insight and best practices for designing the higher ed classroom for today and the future.

Thought Leader: Joe Jackson, Senior Manager Education and Government at Q-SYS

Future-proofing is an often-used term when it comes to architecting modern AV&C systems, but there’s rarely a consensus on how this should be achieved. Tactics aside, it comes down to one term: constant flexibility. While it might sound like an oxymoron, both elements are indispensable when building for long-lasting results. 

This methodology can be implemented in many ways, for example, the AV&C platform you select should have a software foundation, so features and patches can be easily updated. Depending on the size of your campus and staff, a remote monitoring and management system might be the means to provide the consistent performance and quick adjustments that are expected. Establishing a sandbox space to exhaustively test any new technology before wider deployment, while auditing your room types to potentially create a modular package that can be later customized, also both fall into the “constant flexibility” category. 

When structuring a system that is planned on a six-to-eight-year cycle, the expectation for performance doesn’t stay static along that timeline. As equipment ages, users will continue to progress in their definition of what a great experience means. Having technology that continues to progress along with that expectation, and allows access to these improvements without having to rip and replace the system itself, is absolutely essential. 

While deploying a truly future-proof system might still be an unattainable ideal, architecting a future-facing system based on a systematic approach to innovation will bring the closest result. Partnering with an AV&C platform that shares in this constant flexibility ethos is indispensable to achieving the lofty goal of building for tomorrow.