InfoComm 2015 – The Results are In, Power Point Will Rule For Some Time
Will this be the year that PowerPoint disappears? Well… no. And as was pointed out to me prior to arriving at InfoComm, even if new software comes into play tomorrow, PowerPoint will be here for a long, long time. Much like the demise of analog and the conversion to digital, we in IT/AV need to be prepared because these technologies will last longer than planned.
Then in the keynote session, the consensus was that the new ‘apps’ and ideas will now come from the users and the independents and again we in IT/AV need to be prepared. For what, we are not real sure.
Where is the industry going? It will follow the lead of the users who will push for each of us to be a presenter or contributor or collaborator both hard wired and wirelessly showing on big screen and small in ever increasing digital detail. So the tools will lead and the cloud will follow and wherever they are we in IT/AV will be held to project, record, replay and share all of the data and the talking heads too.
Waiting for the app or something like it seemed to be the theme and the contest to win a GoPro camera drew crowds. As we see these cameras take real effect, we in IT/AV will need to display what is given, emailed or Tweeted with flawless precision. And how will network sound fit with instant feeds?
We are not exactly in a waiting game, we are in a race to see if we, the IT/AV Professionals can capture the app when we didn’t see it coming.
So what I learned is that we rarely find the innovations we desire where we used to. The manufacturers will provide equipment and we in IT/AV must make sure that equipment will perform ‘on demand.’
As I have said for years, my job is to make you look good and if you know I exist, I have somehow failed in that goal. But, it looks like I will watch from afar and you ‘youngsters’ will lead and teach the next generation. Maybe at a future InfoComm, I can be a hologram meeting and greeting attendees from my ‘home lab’ but we will see.
A sincere thanks to all the vendors and attendees, you are a source of inspiration, solutions and humor. Keep it up and let’s see where it leads.
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