THE #1 AV NEWS PUBLICATION. PERIOD.

Spotlight : Nawsad Joomratty, Founder & Managing Director, Home Automation by NJ

In my biweekly blog series, I am highlighting some of the incredible people who work for the Audio Video Industry. In this post, we are profiling Nawsad Joomratty. Here is his brief introduction.

Nawsad Joomratty is the Founder and Managing Director of the engineering office at Home Automation by NJ located in Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.

1. Describe your journey in the AV industry? How did it start?

After studies, I was working for an employer as a network and geo-location engineer in the public medical and military sectors in Switzerland. At some point, I realized that I rather wanted to work with private customers for more diversity. So I ended up being hired elsewhere as an audio-visual engineer, which was a new challenge for me. Little did I know that on the first day of work at this new position my first task would be to trouble-shoot a Crestron installation! Neither the brand nor the concept itself rang any bell to me, whatsoever. I remember feeling seriously off-track that day but I could not allow myself to lose face in this first mission, so I had to improvise. Quickly home automation became my biggest passion, which later led me to opening my own company in this business.

2. What do you think are the challenges that are facing a new person who wants to join the industry? 

In my opinion, the biggest challenge for a new-comer in the AV world is to have enough patience to obtain the necessary knowledge. This industry’s particularity is that it almost obliges you to be multidisciplinary. Computer network, programming, communication protocols, telecom, electrics – familiarity with all these subjects is more than useful if you aim at a consistent thought-through project. However, this only comes with time and lots of hands-on experience, which means that patience and curiosity are prerequisites. In this industry you have got to be thirsty for knowledge from the very beginning.

3. What are the positives of working in this industry?

We are working in an industry that has a bright and exciting future ahead with so many things yet to discover, develop and learn. Innovation and progress in the AV trade are unstoppable, which makes it very stimulating to work in, day after day. Also, the diversity is a definite upside: the diversity of projects, of existing technical solutions, of clients’ profiles; no day ever seems to be the same.

[RELATED] : If you have missed any of my previous interviews, please click here.

 

4. What in your opinion would you change in the industry? What are the negatives that are prevalent?

AV is very en vogue today, so lots of companies want to be a part of it, sometimes without having a single clue of what this sector is about, unfortunately. While these incompetent companies make money on the trendy AV business, they leave behind messed-up projects and dissatisfied customers, which in the end ruins the image of other integrators and of the industry in general. In French we say “Chacun son métier”, which means everyone should stick to their job where they are competent and professional. But I do agree that it sounds rather idealistic.

 

5. If you were going to start over, what would you do differently? 

Absolutely nothing. I try to have zero regrets. The mistakes I made or detours I took define me today. The experiences that came my way, especially the bad ones, were used to become more aware and prepared.

6. Describe a typical work day for you. What are your daily disciplines?

As I said earlier, no day at work is the same. Even though I am the Managing Director of my company on paper, one day you can find me with a screw driver in my hand mounting a rack on site with the rest of my technical team, and the other day I will be negotiating the terms of our work with a client and his architect. And I love doing the one as much as I love doing the other. Then for sure reading emails, having discussions with clients over the phone, preparing projects in the lab, scheduling my day, brainstorming with the team are all typical daily tasks.

7. Describe the apps and gear that you use daily which makes you more productive? 

Two things I can’t live without on a daily basis are my smartphone and my laptop. The first one helps me be available for my team and my clients, the second one is just indispensable in my work as engineer on or off site. We also use industry-specific apps that simplify our work on a daily basis, for example Ekahau Connect, Stardraw, Wireshark, Angry IP scanner and many more. Last but not least would be the people in the office who coordinate my work making me much more productive than I would be if I had to do it on my own.

8. How do you stay relevant in this industry? 

I guess that, as for any other industry, in order to stay “in”, the important rule is to never stop learning. I learn daily from my partners and my competitors alike because I believe we need to share our knowledge for the sake of our common passion. But most of all I think I learn from my clients. The more carefully you listen to them, the easier you detect the trends in their desires and adapt to the changes in their habits as AV consumers. Another important thing that I always try to find time for is technical trainings. They have never been so available as they are now, our era being extremely digitalized. So, no excuse possible here. Finally, I am always on the watch for new tech solutions. Never missed a single Integrated Systems Europe expo since I entered the industry.

 

To know more about him or his business, please connect with him on Linkedin.

Also please drop your questions in the comments below and I will make sure that he sees them.

*****

Did you like this post? Connect with me on LinkedIn or just sign up for my free email newsletter.

Top