Volume 12, Issue 3 — February 4, 2021

rAVe UCC — Volume 12, Issue 3

February 4, 2021 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 3

Did you hear? InfoComm just postponed. AVIXA, the show organizer, announced the expo will move once again — this time from June to Oct. 27-29, the show to remain in Orlando. If you recall, InfoComm 2020 didn’t happen in person (for obvious reasons), but we’ve now learned that June 2021 isn’t happening either. But it’s not just because of COVID-19. rAVe Founder Gary Kayye spoke with AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes in great detail about the move — check out that exclusive videocast here. And don’t miss the story with Gary’s prediction on whether he thinks InfoComm will actually happen in October.

Now that that’s out of the way, back to our regular programming: This week in UCC, we see manufacturer moves from the likes of Savant, which plays in the home control and automation market. Savant introduced an integration with Zoom Rooms for the home (so think Zoom-specific spaces for your reading nook, which can now easily become a UCC nook), using premium cameras and microphones like Logitech’s and Huddly’s. This definitely plays into the trend we heard from SMEs all throughout 2020 on events such as the SYNNEX LAVNCH Days, Pivot to Profit Virtual, Almo E4v, D=SIGN and, of course, multiple LAVNCH WEEK events.

Speaking of LAVNCH WEEK, I’d love to assume you have already registered for LAVNCH WEEK 3.0, taking place virtually, on the LAVNCH platform, Feb. 9-11. There, you’ll hear about important AV, UCC and Digital Signage trends like those you always see in rAVe newsletters — but LIVE, with real faces put to the names and ideas and education (yes, AVIXA CTS RUs will definitely be available). Register for LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 here. See you there!

— Leah McCann

COLUMNS

+ Kayye’s Krystal Ball: 2021 Edition [Gary Kayye]

If you’re a regular reader of my content, you already know this, but for those who don’t, my Kayye’s Krystal Ball piece is an annual article where I not only tell you what I think is going to happen in the AV, UCC and Digital Signage markets for the upcoming year, but I also look back and review the previous year’s predictions — sort of a scorecard of accuracy, if you will. 2020 sucked and surprised us all, so it was more than humbling to start this article by reviewing what I predicted for 2020.

+ RingCentral Launches Free Glip for ‘Smart Video Meetings’ [Bob Snyder]

Global managed services provider RingCentral brings out Glip, a free solution that offers video and audio conferencing — and integrates with team messaging, file sharing, contact, task and calendar management. The company refers to the integration as its “Smart Video Meetings” experience. You might have thought of Ring Central as a PBX-replacement, a telecom-as-a-solution cloud provider. That was years ago. The company’s main product, RingCentral Office, combines message, video and phone service. More than 350,000 businesses worldwide use RingCentral, according to a company spokeswoman. European rates vary from plan.