Volume 5, Issue 13 — July 11, 2019

BuyersClub — Volume 5, Issue 13 — July 11, 2019

July 11, 2019 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 13

We’ve been having some internal technical problems with our conference room setup as of late. These are mainly caused by the fact we are updating our networking equipment and adding devices — all of the control in the conference room is networked. I am excited for some of the new systems present in our office, but this time of transition has been quite… interesting. This is, of course, due to the fact that the position of Internal IT Manager rests perfectly under the position of none other than me, Jacob Blount.

Christopher Gillespie’s most recent column, Conference Space Stakeholders, could not be more timely in relation to the work on my desk this week. He discusses four stakeholders for a conferencing space: the users, room owners, support team and AV team. I, for one, fit into all of those categories. But you may not — and that is what Christopher analyzes.

What do you think about his perspective? Let me know by messaging me on LinkedIn here — would love to chat with you about UCC!

-Jacob Blount

COLUMNS

+ AV Industry EOL: Planned Obsolescence (Part Two) [Anthony Coppedge]

Even the IT industry, with many patterns and best practices, does not set a minimum standard for end-of-life (EOL) for IT gear. However, the IT industry does have a history of creating practical frameworks for creating sustainable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) such as ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000. It follows, then, that the AV industry could do the same, a point I've made before.

+ Conference Space Stakeholders — Trying to Please Everyone [Christopher Gillespie]

For the most part, when we design a space, we do so in order to create something for the users to use. What we don't pay near enough attention to is all the other folks who will have to touch, interface or collect data about this space. And depending on the size/age of your organization, these other folks may not be a part of the equation. But eventually all of us will hit a wall where suddenly the business realizes just how much money is invested in these spaces and will want a far more comprehensive accounting than we are able to provide. So it is critical that we try to understand who these other stakeholders are and incorporate their needs to ensure long-term success.

+ Why in the Heck Would Biamp Buy Community and Apart Audio? Hint: QSC [Gary Kayye]

Biamp CEO Rashid Skaf came from AMX — remember them? At one time, AMX was not only the second-largest control system company on earth but, they were also a full-service turnkey provider of AV room systems, switching and accessories — this was all under Rashid’s watch; then he left. AMX has floundered since. QSC has filled the AMX void with its Q-SYS control platform and a full line of room switching and signal management products. Although not number two, like AMX once was — fourth behind Crestron, Extron and Kramer — Rashid aims to rip away the QSC momentum.

+ Imminent Disaster — The Looming AV Threat [Andrew Davis]

If you are already working on rebuttals to the effect of, "nobody wants all that security," or "we don’t want to add extra complexity to the installation," or "we aren’t cybersecurity experts," or the worst and most likely, "our software devs have assured us that our product is inherently safe so there is no need to waste any resources on this…it’s fine," please feel free to address the responses to me and send them right to that magical place where discarded drafts go because this is not something you can pass on. The Titanic was unsinkable and Enigma was uncrackable, yet here we are.