Last week the Integrate Expo took place in Melbourne, Australia and one thing seemed to stand out, according to rAVe, which was LG’s OLED Wallpaper (below). Is this indeed the future of AV? Is it the future of display technology? You can be the judge, I do have my own thoughts. Prepare to be BLOWN […]

Some say the future is now. I say the future is now, as well as in the innovations that continue to present themselves for the end user, as well as the industry integrator. In April 2013 I wrote one of my first rAVe blogs where I detailed the purchase of a new Windows laptop after […]

As a matter of course, I like to investigate certain things in order to acquire material for writing, or even to disseminate information in other ways. As we like to talk about the integrators and what they need to pay specific attention to, sometimes that direction needs to be turned to the industry manufacturers and some […]

I had an interesting conversation the other day with someone who has been talking about possibly bringing me on to do sales for his company. He has been talking for a while about a recurring revenue based solution sales position and then goes on to call it a “cloud salesman.” Then I think to myself […]

Where great stories in the audio visual industry go, I have to say that I consider this among the best I have personally been involved with. As a sales person whose career in AV and computers began in the early 90’s, and whose experiences mirrored some of what I read in an article I recently […]

Gamechanging – when one refers to the term, mistakenly in most instances, they are referring many times to a product (or “the box”) rather than a solution. I had such an instance in a meeting with representatives of a major industry company who were telling me about all the great capabilities of their new corporate […]

How the “New” industry security discussion really began Back in mid-January of this year, the AV world was rocked by a story that truly caught fire within hours after it was first reported. I watched it filter through the industry – the articles and podcasts – however I waited for the right moment to post […]

As I continue to discuss social media and application in the industry, when talking about social media and marketing, there’s a blending of the two that eventually takes place as conventional marketing methods eventually include social media reach and engagement. However, when I say engagement, I not only mean that you are engaging, but how […]

Those who have read my Disruptive Top 10 at InfoComm blog know that this year I selected Oblong Industries Mezzanine as my number one choice: At InfoComm16, Oblong Industries demonstrated its ground-breaking immersive visual collaboration solution, Mezzanine™, featuring a dynamic and interactive experience across multiple devices, display surfaces, and locations.  Mezzanine is characterized by its […]

How do we define the proper way to do business in this era of rapid technological advancement? Where business was once all about the cold-call dials and networking events, with marketing materials present in his or her briefcase as one went out on the sales call, the new age of technology and media has added […]

Today, some well-known (and even some lesser known) systems integrators have made their mark in marketing and social media, however many are still looking for the proper strategies as well as the more enhanced ways to build the industry profile – especially to gain new customers. It seems that for any company to compete and advance […]

This weekend I wrote a blog entitled Millennial Damage? and posted it on LinkedIn. Then I did something I’ve only done a handful of times concerning any one of my blogs – I deleted it. Not for fear of backlash or anything related, that I can always take although I don’t normally write to provoke, […]

Months back, I had a conversation with an associate in the industry and told him about my blog concept of the science behind AV technology. As I have been one to create certain types of interview series’ on rAVe (My first series Disruptive Forces in AV/IT was back in April, 2014), I decided to create a new […]

For those who know me, they know I like to be serious and have a good time as well, and I always call the ratio 70/30 – you can guess which falls where (getting down to business is an entirely different story though). For those who know me in person or have listened to me […]

For the third year at the show I picked my top 10 solutions, however this year I actually looked for a different angle – as in has disruptive become a worn out term in the industry? I asked around, on the verge of a social media game, to come up with that word to replace […]

To refresh the memories, when entering the UCC Pavilion at InfoComm 2016 this is what you were witness to: Videoconferencing and telepresence systems Remote worker / teleworker technologies Cloud services Unified communications and collaboration technologies Networked interactive whiteboards Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers Videoconferencing as a service (VCaaS) providers Managed services providers Collaboration […]

When you talk about immersing yourself in a tremendous endeavor as well as doing something which thoroughly drives you – you can relate first-hand if this mirrors your experiences. AV Power Up, a show which began in March 2015 with some of the AV industry’s most well-known #AVTweeps making up “The Crew” – Christa Bender, Chuck […]

First this: A record 1,000 exhibitors, including 211 new exhibitors, filled the Las Vegas Convention Center June 8-10 for InfoComm 2016, occupying 527,105 net square feet of exhibit and special events space — also a show record. Attendees registered for more than 12,000 seats at InfoComm University sessions throughout the week, more than double the […]

Let’s face it, after last year’s IoT keynote, with all of the discussions that followed, more research was certainly necessary in terms of making the subject more relevant to the commercial side of the industry. In the residential/home automation space there is a solid built approach for things connected, however the IoT approach for the commercial integration market has […]

Yes, over 1000 exhibitors for the first time at any InfoComm show. Where to begin? Here are some suggestions: Oblong (N2337) will unveil new capabilities of Mezzanine, the immersive visual collaboration solution for globally connected enterprises that is changing the way teams work at companies including IBM, Accenture, Fujitsu and Dentsu Aegis Network. Dubbed Mezz-In, this […]

Every year the largest AV trade show in the United States provides more “things to see” and this year’s show in Las Vegas is no exception as it promises to be a great one – make sure you follow those well-known rules of attending the show in terms of comfortable shoes, clothing, hydration, scheduling booth visits […]

Welcome to the show that gives you the full experience as you get to meet the Crew members: Corey Moss – host/producer (Virginia) Stacy Kringlen – co-host (Minnesota) Johnny Mota – co-host (California) Katye McGregor Bennett – co-host (Montana) Victoria Barela – co-host/assistant producer (Illinois) Deron Pinchback – co-host (Virginia) Justin Watts – co-host (California) […]

In my blog UCC and the Road To InfoComm 2016 I outlined UCC at the show, what you can expect to see at the UCC Pavilion, what the IMCCA will be providing in terms of education and training, as well as mention of certain industry company developments. This part four in the series is an interview with Joan Vandermate, […]

In my blog UCC and the Road To InfoComm 2016 I outlined UCC at the show, what you can expect to see at the UCC Pavilion, what the IMCCA will be providing in terms of education and training, as well as mention of certain industry company developments. This part three in the series is an interview with Jordan Owens, […]

Hold on to your hats – it’s just happened again… First the particulars: SMART Technologies Inc. and Foxconn Technology Group announced they have entered into an arrangement agreement under which Foxconn has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of SMART for a cash payment of US$4.50 per Common Share. The US$4.50 per Common […]

In my blog UCC and the Road To InfoComm 2016 I outlined UCC at the show, what you can expect to see at the UCC Pavilion, what the IMCCA will be providing in terms of education and training, as well as mention of certain industry company developments. This part two in the series is an interview with Brady […]

I like sitting at Starbucks for an hour or two occasionally, writing a blog, listening to music. One day recently I’m there, not too crowded, some guy walks in and sets up his laptop at a table near mine. He gets on the phone and after about 10 minutes he’s talking a bit loud, sounds […]

We all talk about collaboration in the industry, in fact numerous manufacturers as well as integrators have put grand focus to it and that’s all well and good – collaboration is certainly an important element of every day progress in the business world. It may involve certain industry solutions, it may just focus on communication and […]

As I have chosen to dedicate focus to UCC in May on rAVe, here I take a look at recent developments that have taken place at well-known vidoconferencing solutions provider Vidyo. Eran Westman, CEO at Vidyo Vidyo™ technology innovations put HD-quality, multipoint video communications within reach of anyone using any device, anywhere. Vidyo’s video collaboration solutions power […]

In my blog UCC and the Road To InfoComm 2016 I outlined UCC at the show, what you can expect to see at the UCC Pavilion, what the IMCCA will be providing in terms of education and training, as well as mention of certain industry company developments. This part one in the series is an interview with John […]

Last year at this time I decided to take a look at the UCC space prior to InfoComm 2015, which also involved interviews with notable executives in UCC. As we’re about a month before this year’s show, it’s that time again. Experience the latest collaboration and conferencing solutions in the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) Pavilion! You’ll see […]

It looks like Fridays are becoming the big news days in UCC, and today happens to be no exception. It was announced today that leading cloud video service provider Videxio has signed a global agreement with Ricoh, where the worldwide technology solutions provider will offer the Videxio service branded as RICOH Unified Communication System Advanced […]