The past year demonstrated how the immense flexibility of digital signage helped many organizations quickly adapt to operate safely during the pandemic. And while we’re not yet out of the woods, this is a good time to reflect on some takeaways from the COVID-19 crisis. 1. The flexibility of digital signage has been a lifesaver […]
Rant time — I’ve been leading sales teams, directly and indirectly, for close to 15 years now, and I’ve been fortunate to hire a lot of salespeople. I have made many mistakes, learned a ton and I continue to learn more every day. However, here’s my problem: There are way too many salespeople and way […]
On March 31, THE rAVe Agency Founder and Director Gary Kayye was joined by ViewSonic’s Ryan Strayer, Dan Sharpe and Chris Graefe for another installment of our LAVNCH & LEARN sessions. The session — titled “Collaborative Education and Workplace Solutions” — aimed to discuss ViewSonic’s exciting new products designed to foster collaboration in workplace and […]
It’s helpful for managers to grasp the fundamentals of psychology, both for individuals and groups. One principle I’m going to focus on here is the tendency people have to form cliques, and to define in-groups and out-groups. At work, those in-groups often gel around shared job roles. That’s good, so far as it goes. Where […]
First let me say thank you, with a title like this one, I am surprised anyone is reading this blog. Let’s face it, asset and inventory management is not exactly a topic that sparks interest and debate. Part of the reason for that is that no one really enjoys doing this tedious, boring work. Yet, […]
Every job has a bill of materials. Telephone or network jobs only need a handful of suppliers. However, AV jobs get materials from everybody and their brother. There are enough quality manufacturers to fill a convention center — it seems they may even do that again soon. There are some lessons to learn here. The […]
By Kate Couch How will smart devices be used in the corporate world in years and months to come? Last year, the corporate office took a large turn as many of us had to begin working remotely from home. This created an entirely new world for audiovisual — Zoom. Zoom, as most companies are aware, […]
Need a creative software platform to drive your digital signage displays? Well, Fugo, formerly Pixelart, wants to be that company for you. Here’s a video explaining what Fugo is: COVID-19 has turbocharged digital signage as it’s helping everyone reopen. Things like touch-free experiences, facial recognition, proximity sensors, people counting and bridging the physical and online […]
Audio Visual Glossary Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando Whether you’re new to the audio-visual world or an old pro, a glossary of words to help you understand what we’re referencing in our articles and communications with you is a helpful tool. Below is some common audio-visual lingo with its proper definitions. It’s […]
It’s not new — a company in Netherlands has been working diligently on this for at least 20 years. It is a company you’ll want to hear all about, however, and it is a company all about hearing: Sound Intelligence. The company is a global leader in advanced audio analytics. Based upon original research at […]
You’ve likely noticed that there is a lot of chatter about technology these days as it pertains to the hybrid work environment, remote collaboration, touchless interfaces and the return to the office in general. I’ve stated in the past that you really can’t be an expert in workplace technology without first being an expert in […]
By Tom Kehr Almo Pro A/V During the spring E4v, I was asked about my resources. For me, that’s an almost overwhelming question. Yes, I’m a bit of a bookhound, but there are also people, organizations, websites and papers that I’ve found invaluable over the years. Like many of you, I tripped into this whole […]
I’ve always heard the key to sales is always be closing (ABC, right?) However, in my experience, many salespeople try close too soon or close the wrong sale. Too many professionals go into an appointment with an agenda. i.e., I am going to said clients office to close X units of Y. But do they […]
In my monthly blog series, I am highlighting some of the incredible people who work for the Audio Video Industry. In this post, we are profiling Troy Garner. Here is a brief introduction. Troy Garner – Senior Software Developer at TBD Enterprises Inc. 1. Describe your journey in the AV industry? How did it start? […]
Ongoing training and education is, ideally a fact of life. Continuing education or work will include seminars, certifications and ongoing product training. And if you’ve been around long enough, you’ll have spent plenty of time on both sides of the equation as both the learner and the presenter. Training programs, whether they’re presented by a […]
A year ago, churches nationwide unexpectedly were thrust into exclusively doing virtual events and services, over many months. With churches recently returning to live services, and the worst relating to the pandemic seemingly behind us … what now? Over these past 12 months, churches have adapted on the fly. Many have begun hosting live services […]
As you may recall from previous columns, I serve on the overall planning committee for a regional faith-based event in North Carolina. Pilgrimage, a large-scale event for United Methodist youth and their adult leaders, traditionally takes place in person during the second weekend in November each year. As you can imagine, that was not the […]
Image and Graphics By: Kate Couch with Canva When cleaning out spaces and redesigning how to decided what AV systems to reuse and what ones need new life. Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando With spring just around the corner and the days becoming more consistently in the 50s it’s time […]
I thought this general term, “FUD,” used in two different connotations would be highly relevant and appropriate to many people (domestic and international), especially within the past year. I want to point out that I am not in the medical field and that these are my own opinions based on my professional (well over 30 […]
For each column in this series, rAVe writer Paul Konikowski takes a deeper dive into a recent security event or data breach, shedding light on supply chain vulnerabilities, infrastructure, and cyber-physical security. In my last SecuringAV column about the SolarWinds hack attack, I asked rAVe readers an open-ended question: If extremists think that Big Tech is […]
In case you missed this integral part of LAVNCH WEEK 3.0, during a session of the all-new GARY: Unscripted segment, I got the honor of speaking with my old friend, Jabra’s Aurangzeb Khan. During this session, Aurangzeb told me some of the new things that Jabra has cooking for 2021. Catch the below video to […]
By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch Like many other people, I enjoy listening to (somewhat loud) music while I work. I can zone out of the background noise and get to the important stuff. I have noticed something recently that it is a shared interest, as I also hear others’ loud music while I work. […]
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts a few weeks ago (for my fellow amateur real estate investors out there check out “Bigger Pockets”), and I heard something so profound it stuck with me. “There are those who catch fish and those who rely on those who catch fish.” The simplicity is beautiful, […]
Sweden’s Bambuser announces the creation of “In-store Solutions,” a new business unit dedicated to building interactive experiences connecting physical and digital spaces. Bambuser is a software company specializing in interactive live video streaming supporting interactive, shoppable e-commerce experiences for global brands and retailers including Moda Operandi, Farfetch and Samsung. The Company’s primary product, “Live Video […]
During End User Day of LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 in February (in partnership with HETMA), I enjoyed listening to end users speak about AV security. It was particularly interesting to me since I had just written a blog on how the SolarWinds hack should serve as a lesson to the AV industry. I was tweeting a […]
Hybrid. It’s a two-syllable word that seems like it would be easy to define, but it’s actually not. The hybrid workplace is defined as one in which by default, a percentage of employees are remote while the rest are in person. If you’re watching any of the studies out there, its obvious that the five-day, […]
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we brought you live coverage of the Almo Pro A/V spring 2021 E4v virtual show experience (day one here; day two here). This time around, we were excited about some new additions and features, like a networking widget in the rAVe LAVNCH VTS platform that allowed attendees to connect together in […]
On Tuesday, we brought you live coverage on day one of Almo Professional A/V’s spring 2021 E4v. Wednesday, we were back for what Almo promised would be a very exciting day two. Spring 2021 E4v Lineup (March 10): The Reimagined Workplace: The Role of Existing and Emerging Technology (Pete “TEC MAN” Coman, PTS — People […]
Last year, AV/IT distributor Almo Professional A/V pulled together a top-rate virtual experience for resellers and tech managers. E4v is a digital version of Almo’s in-person E4: a regional, industry-education-focused show that typically features Almo vendors and their offerings. This week’s event, the spring E4v (“v” for “virtual”), marked Almo’s third full E4v Evolution, the […]
Over the last year, churches nationwide have seen how vital quality video and streaming are in spreading the message. For churches that weren’t streaming before last March, the sudden rush to begin left behind various technical issues. Following weeks of lockdowns and reduced capacity for in-person services, many churches now look to further improve their […]
In my first column “What I Learned About the Digital Signage Industry (Year One),” I provided a lot of information (especially on my link to key words and definitions) about how to engage and focus on the human senses to enhance the digital signage experience. But what if your audience members have disabilities that could […]
At the end of February, the National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) had its annual Business and Leadership Conference. If you haven’t been to one before, whether in person or virtually (like this year), then you should prioritize it next year. There were a lot of great keynotes, talks, and breakout sessions spanning sales, marketing, design […]
