On the Circuit
Oct 8, 2014 6:04 PM, By Cynthia Wisehart
This month we have a few ways for you to participate online that I want to point out.
As we go to print we’re working on several webcasts—on VoIP, Dante networks, and AV/ IT integration. We’ve been putting on webcasts for a while now and you can still hear some of them in our archive at svconline.com/webcasts. I like doing them because we have an informal and information-focused style. We hang out on the phone with handpicked experts, they present their data, we talk about the subject, ask each other questions, and take questions from the audience. Our webcasts are not fancy or highly produced, but they have a lot of information. Our speakers put a lot of thought into what they present, but once we’re doing the webcast we try to be connected to each other and the audience, and go where you need us to go with the subject.
Overall, I’m trying to do what I can to help with the continued shift to networked AV. I’m seeing more networks in projects across the range of applications and budgets. I’m meeting people who see their business grow as their network expertise increases. I’m seeing that networks are easier in some ways than we think, and harder in others. It is especially hard to navigate the technical and political borders of AV and IT. And it can introduce another element that may or may not be our fault, when customers come to us for help. Customers who need help (especially with someone else’s broken stuff) can be painful. But it is an opportunity. Knowing more about networks can help you rise to the occasion, just like knowing about firmware or software does.
The desire for networks is growing in part because technology has advanced. But it is also because user culture is fundamentally changing. There is a need for communication and collaboration across a building, a campus, or a global enterprise. This is becoming a real, organic need and not just something a bean counter thought would save on travel. For many users, networked communication is now expected, even non-negotiable. Biamp recently did a research paper that discovered—not surprisingly—that people’s need for communication and collaboration is not yet being sufficiently fulfilled by technology.
So the culture of our industry must become a network culture. I want to be part of that culture.
The other thing we’re doing online this month is our 4th Annual Most Innovative Product Awards, which is judged by you, the readers. Last year we had great voter turnout (though not as great as Scotland did yesterday). Please look out for the call to vote and help support and honor product engineers for the best of their work this year. I appreciate it.
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