Volume 14, Issue 17 — September 9, 2021

rAVe ED [Education] — Volume 14, Issue 17

September 9, 2021 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 17

Let’s talk about AV vs. IT! It seems to be a favorite argument of the social-media-savvy #AVtweeps, and it’s recently been one of my favorites to read about. In his latest article, Scott Tiner talks about an ITSM tool his university purchased and why this has anything to do with AV. According to Scott, this tool brings together all aspects of an organization and allows them to share information and resources. That sounds pretty AV to me. What do you think?

Next up, Mark Coxon writes about a culture shift in our industry. This isn’t a secret — the culture has been shifting quite rapidly the past couple of years. But what does that mean? What are some things about the AV industry that need updating? What does that have to do with you? Read to find out.

Finally, Tom Kehr writes about an AV job description that doesn’t seem to fit with our industry. How can we source better for AV jobs? A particular degree? A certificate? What relevant experience should jobs look for? How should we clarify between AV and IT jobs — and should we?

I’ll leave you with all that to ponder this evening. Enjoy!

— Steph Beckett

COLUMNS

+ Bridging the Gap: ITSM Tools for AV and IT [Scott Tiner]

Many people consider ITSM or any structured, organized system to be “too prescriptive” and fight the idea of having to do their work around a tool. I am not that kind of person, and my experience is that people who feel that way either don’t care about sharing information or are pretty unorganized. It reminds me of the tech who is too “busy” to organize their workbench but then spends hours of the week looking for various tools and equipment.

+ Culture SHIFT [Mark Coxon]

A few years ago, a group of AV professionals were discussing our industry and the culture that we’ve inherited — some of it is good and others, well, they leave a lot to be desired. So, to create change, we headed to LinkedIn and created a group to isolate several places we thought AV could improve in regards to culture.

+ An IT Degree in an AV World? [Tom Kehr]

We in AV, like other industries, have evolved as the available technology has evolved. Originally we moved signals using analog and then digital. We did a digital video using DVI, HDMI, various flavors of SDI and used HDBaseT for some of that. Now we’re moving signals over Ethernet and that’s where the relationship to IT comes in.