Volume 14, Issue 23 — December 4, 2023

UCC — Volume 14, Issue 23 — December 4, 2023

December 4, 2023 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 23

According to Mark Coxon, there are 5 innovation gaps that can keep an integrator (or anyone really) from achieving true potential. In a field (AV) that begs constant innovation and forward thinking, how can we get past these innovation gaps? Read more about what these gaps are here.

Plus news from Nureva, Audio-Technica, Extron and more!

P.S. It’s time for the December monthly temp check survey! This survey wraps up everything we’ve talked about all year from trade shows to the latest technologies. Please fill it out — we are giving away two $50 Amazon gift cards to two random respondents. Thanks in advance and make sure to attend ProAV Wrapped — a very special LAVNCH & LEARN on Dec. 19 that will delve into these topics as well.

— Steph Beckett

COLUMNS

+ The 5 Innovation Gaps [Mark Coxon]

As integrators, at the bare minimum, we are value added resellers of AV equipment. We make AV systems more valuable than the sum of their parts through expertise in installation, maintenance, and long term support of technology. However as prices decrease, all-in-one products replace multiple SKUs, and systems come preconfigured out of the box, that value add decreases as well. This means there is pressure on the integration market to innovate, both in system design and in business model, in order to maintain revenues and a relevant place in the customer value chain. But is innovation part of most integrator's identity? Where I work now at XTG, our mission is to innovate, and we have a culture that embraces freedom to fail, knowing that if we are going to do what has never been done, we're going to make some mistakes along the way, and that's expected.