industryopinion
Convergence and sustainability, the
dominant themes at ISE By Richard Jonker, VP business development AV over IP – EMEA & APAC, at Netgear.
L
ast year at ISE you got the sense that the AV industry was craving a get-together. Te event was a little muted, but attendees were enthusiastic. Tis year, however, ISE fully
reflected the social and visual nature of the people who make up this sector and it exceeded all expectations. When Mike Blackman, the show organiser announced that by the
middle of the second day he knew that this ISE would attract a bigger audience than ever before, it didn’t come as a surprise to us. We’re relative newcomers to the industry and we welcomed over 1000 visitors to our stand, three times the number we saw last year. But it wasn’t just the keenness of AV professionals that made ISE
work. We are, in essence, a networking company and would have been out of place in many locations at the event. In Hall 5, however, where we were perfectly positioned amongst other technical, IPTV-focused companies we fit in well, and the audience could find us easily. Tey had an idea about what we would be selling which made for faster, deeper conversations. Another factor that contributes to ISE’s success is that it provides a
showcase for the dominating trends of today. Exhibiting and attending is a great way for visitors to get up to date, not only on what is happening now, but on the direction of travel for the future. A current theme is how the pandemic has accelerated the merging
of IT, IoT and AV. Where large corporate users were once happy to commission disparate systems to control different functions in their buildings, from video conferencing to room bookings, they are now looking to their channel partners for a complete, fully integrated system, manageable via soſtware or on the cloud – one that consistently delivers a memorable user experience. Tis hasn’t always been within the expertise of AV resellers.
Specifying, installing and providing support for this type of system means having a good grasp of the underlying infrastructure – the network and connectivity – that enables multiple functions not only to work in tandem, but to deliver the very highest performance. Video conferencing is a great example of where a second-rate
experience is no longer acceptable. Enterprises today don’t expect connectivity problems with their video calls. Tey’re not prepared to wait seven and a half minutes while someone finds the right remote
12 | March 2023
control or put up with terrible microphones in a makeshiſt meeting room. Tey want a virtual experience that happens in an instant and they’re looking for integrators to provide it. Te good news is that we provide full support to our partners thanks
to the help of our Pro AV design team. From the creation of a POC to the deployment, our experts provide extensive assistance, as we understand convergence to IT might not be easy for everybody. But that’s not all, because the other trend that dominated at ISE is
sustainability, and integrators are under pressure to help customers meet their environmental objectives too. Te energy bills associated with the merger of AV, IoT and IT are
huge. Where once this kept only CEOs awake at night, it’s now a concern for everyone, including AV pros, and it is where manufacturers can help. Our commitment as a company is to leave Mother Earth in a better
state than we found her, which means re-using all our components, avoiding scrappage and using recyclable packaging. Looking around the booths at ISE we saw a similar shiſt elsewhere and the AV industry doing so much more than just paying lip-service to sustainable practices in a way that would make a real difference. Energy efficiency is built into AV technology today and companies
are putting their minds to how devices big and small can be centrally managed, or automated, so they use the least amount of energy possible. Even remote controls, which rely on environment-damaging batteries, are being phased out. It’s important for integrators, who are at the coalface when it comes
to evangelising solutions, to understand how far the products they sell contribute to a better environment. At Netgear, for example, we manufacture switches which have been designed to conserve energy and reduce transmit power, but they also play a part in automating the switching off of energy-guzzling components, such as large screens. Talking to leaders at some of the bigger integrators during ISE,
it became clear that they fully understand the huge challenge they face to balance the demand for user experiences with the continued convergence of technology and still deliver solutions that are sustainable. It’s not an easy task, but AV and IT manufacturers are right behind them with support and cutting-edge products. As ISE 2023 showed, this is an industry moving towards the future together.
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