UCC — Volume 10, Issue 15 — August 12, 2019

August 12, 2019 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 15

Well, this may very-well be the best rAVe UCC issue, ever.

This issue is not only packed with new product news but it also includes seven awesome columns, too. I realize new products are the most exciting thing in every issue — especially this month with NEC’s quietest projector ever and the TableMIC mics from Vaddio debuting — but, the columns that are on cybersecurity and certification are two of our most popular ones on our social channels right now! You should read them as we’re connecting everything to the network now.

But I’m most excited to include our 2019 Best of InfoComm Awards in this issue. We spend a lot of time evaluating every product launched at InfoComm, annually, and this year’s awards are our best, ever. And, some of the winning products are actually listed in this issue — and just started shipping, too.

By the way, I’d love to hear from you as we enter the fall. I am curious what sorts of new products are you most excited about? What’s firing you up? I am working on a new podcast series and a new set of columns on these topics and I would love to invite you to participate. So, just email me at gary@THErAVeAgency.com or message me via my LinkedIn profile here.

In the meantime, here’s my upcoming show schedule where you can find me:

Week of August 25th: Integrate in Sydney, Australia
Week of September 9th: CEDIA in Denver, Colo.
Week of September 16th: WFX in Orlando, Fla.
Week of September 23rd: Almo ProAV E4 Experience in Teaneck, NJ
Week of October 14th: Digital Signage Week in New York City

-Gary Kayye

AWARDS

+ The BEST of InfoComm 2019 Awards [Gary Kayye]

We sent videographers to shoot product videos at EVERY SINGLE BOOTH at InfoComm 2019 — and since we shoot videos of every new product, it gives us the ability to collectively pick the best-of-the-best. No one pays to enter, no one pays to win and the products and companies awarded didn’t have a clue that they won — until we announced these at Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 2 p.m. — at the same time everyone else found out! So who won and why? In our awards, you’ll find every major product category covered — from projectors to speakers to UCC gear — and everything in-between. There are over 100 product categories — each one with a winner!

COLUMNS

+ You Got Drones in My Huddle Room [Joel Rollins]

But the important function of a teleconferencing drone or robot is a psychological one that is often underappreciated. The robot puts you at the table with a presence in the room. Beginning with Marshall McLuhan, we have understood that the feeling of "presence" is one of the things that keeps us mentally attached in a meeting or event. I know that not only do I feel more conscious of the fact that the robot is in the room, leading me to NOT check my email or watch the latest YouTube video when the conversation got boring, but it's also a constant reminder to the rest of the group that I am an equal participant. This feeling of presence and equality is one of the reasons that I have long been a proponent of virtual reality meetings. But that is another story. In the meantime, I will wobble around to today's conferences in my robot.

+ Does Certification Matter? [Scott Tiner]

As a manager, I'm often faced with the question of what requirements we should put into a job description when we are ready to hire a person. Experience is always the easiest one to figure out. You think about how senior the position is and then you base years of experience or type of experiences on that. Education and industry certifications are different and always cause a lively discussion. Do people really need them? Do they matter?

+ Cybersecurity Advice (for the AV Industry) from Robert Mueller [Paul Konikowski, CTS-D]

AV manufacturers have adopted a "security by obscurity" attitude, which has long been determined to be an ineffective approach. It’s time that manufacturers take a more "open design" approach, allow their designs to be scrutinized and share information about vulnerabilities that have been discovered in their devices, as well as information about about cyberattacks.

+ Friction, SB-327 and Zoom’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Week [Leonard Suskin]

While this particular story is about Zoom, it isn’t really; every connected device and every piece of software carries within it the potential for security risks. How we find these vulnerabilities, how we mitigate them and even how they arise in the first place is of import to us all. Last week it was Zoom, last year, Crestron, a few years before that, AMX.No, it is not about Zoom. It’s about all of us.

+ Eyes on the Future [Mark Coxon]

Technology is breaking out of the operational silo it has lived in within businesses of the past and is now taking a seat next to other disciplines to cocreate strategy. Technology teams will shift from delivering services to delivering business value, facilitated by automation, cloud and… brace yourself, as-a-service models. Given all this, technology is poised to shift from a cost center to a revenue engine. Operational spend will decrease while spending on creating innovation within the business will increase dramatically.

+ Tiner’s New Take on AVaaS [Scott Tiner]

Software has become a critical piece of our industry and will continue to grow and make some of what we do today irrelevant. However, I would argue that there are many things that software simply cannot replace, such as all the hardware we deal with as an industry. You still need projectors, displays, microphones and speakers. How you connect those pieces to each other has changed half a dozen times over the past twenty or thirty years. This next change, putting these on the network, is more than just another version of the VGA to HDMI to DisplayPort changes over the years. It will change our industry, but not kill it. So, our boxes continue to exist, but what we think of as the "glue" in our AV systems slowly shift to the cloud.