Latest headlines: Gary Kayye on Zoom‘s new Hardware-as-a-Service offering, Mark Coxon on virtual events, plus news from Extron and more
July 10, 2020 | Volume: 18 | Issue: 25
I usually have a lot to say. Today I don’t. A few days ago, a dear co-worker and friend at rAVe passed away from COVID-related complications. Sara wrote this incredibly heartfelt piece about her, and the one thing I’d like to ask of you today is to read it. I want you to understand that Kelly Johnson was a bright, sparkly person who could make you feel better about anything just by being in a room with her for 5 minutes. I was scared of hosting my first LAVNCH Day, and after I did, she told me I was beautiful, kind and smart. She knew somehow I needed to hear it. She brought so much sunshine to rAVe. I don’t think I ever saw her in a bad mood. She reminded us often that she thought of all the rAVe employees as her children, and — like a mom — made us all want to act right and be better. I miss her a lot.
Look out for your friends and family. Be safe right now.
I’ve worked for Gary for a long time — 16 years or so now, by far the longest of anyone else at rAVe. But the person who’s been there the second longest is our accountant, Kelly Johnson, who has been with Gary and me at rAVe for 12 years. She died Monday from complications of COVID-19. She was 51.
I’ve been writing about offering AVaaS for over 4 years. Heck, I’ve even done two different webinars about it — and how to do it — for Almo Pro A/V since 2016. Yes, barely any AV integrators are offering it. But, now’s your chance. And, thanks to Zoom’s recent HaaS (Hardware-as-a-Service) announcement yesterday, you have a more straightforward path to success as the end users will understand it better, and you can copy Zoom’s model!
2020 is the year of remote everything. It has been a work from home, webinar heavy, travel light year for the whole country and, of course, for us in the AV industry as well. As such, our biggest events of the year have all been canceled or shifted into the ether.
Pre-COVID, we integrated two Zoom Rooms here at THE rAVe Agency. And, both have nifty touch-based panels to launch into a meeting anywhere in the world. Everyone loved the simplicity, reliability and quality of the Zoom Room experience. However, making Microsoft Teams calls was tough in those rooms — it required me, Jacob, or someone technical to “pre” set up the room. Then came Barco’s ClickShare Conference in February.