Commercial Integrator + Security Sales Sept/Oct 2023 - 6

FROM THE EDITORS
The Great
Coming Together
M
uch as trade shows are in some sense a microcosm
of the industries that they serve, trade publications
are a microcosm of the industries that they cover.
That means, as market contours change, media properties
like Commercial Integrator naturally adapt to reflect new onthe-ground
realities. For months, the CI editorial
team has advanced the argument that the
" non-overlapping magisteria " view of the
technical trades (e.g., commercial AV,
residential AV, physical security, IT)
no longer accurately captures the
merged technology ecosystems we
find today. That outmoded, siloed
view also doesn't capture what each
trade is learning from the other. The
AV industry's emerging openness to the
standards-based approaches that reign in
IT circles is just one example.
Well, as they say, actions speak louder than words
- and we've decided to act. Starting with this issue, CI's print
publication has merged with the print issue of sister publication,
Security Sales & Integration (SSI). CI will continue to help
commercial AV integrators run their firms better by providing
inspiring thought leadership, business playbooks, profiles of
integration businesses and exclusive market research like our
Deep Dives. Likewise, SSI will continue to empower security
company management with news, information and analysis to
bolster their business prospects. We will simply wrap all this in
a common package that reflects
these worlds having grown
together. (CIX23's co-location
with CEDIA Expo likewise depicts
the growing alignment of the
commercial AV and residential
AV worlds.)
Change is always tough, and
some may question our decision
to bring CI and SSI together as a
single, more robust print package. Of those people, I'd ask this:
Think about the most recent jobsite you worked. Did your team
members and you occupy the same space as physical-security
professionals, IT specialists and other technical tradespeople?
Were there impermeable walls separating your respective
activities? Or, more likely, was there coordination and comingling
- maybe even cooperation? Consider this change our
best effort to exorcise the ghost of our walled-off past. CI
DAN FERRISI, Editor-in-Chief, Commercial Integrator
dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com, @danferrisiedit
Integrating
Integrator Info
A
s a faithful reader, seeing this
month's issue of Security Sales
& Integration no doubt caused
a double take. " What in the name
of convergence is going on?! " you
might have exclaimed. Have no fear.
After you get over the initial shock, it's
my hope you come to appreciate and
embrace this new union that has brought
SSI together with longtime sister publication,
Commercial Integrator (CI). Love it or not, the format is only for
print/digital editions. SSI's website and newsletters will remain
standalone entities - bringing you even more content and
value on those platforms.
There's a reason the adage, " If you're not growing [or changing],
you're dying, " has been overused. In business, it's as true
as it gets. This issue's shift reflects
SSI's almost half-century as
the trusted information source
and expert advisor to security
company management nationwide
on the latest opportunities,
challenges and solutions, and
technologies, while also serving
as an avid industry supporter
and community facilitator.
Some may recall this publicaConsider
this
change our
best effort to
exorcise the
ghost of our
walled-off past.
tion's beginnings as Alarm Installer
and Dealer, later AID Magazine,
then in 1989 Security Sales,
and since 2001 Security Sales &
Integration. Cast in this light, it's
apropos the new format coincides
with SSI's 45th birthday.
It's my hope
you come to
fully appreciate
and embrace
this new
union that has
brought SSI
together with
longtime sister
publication,
Commercial
Integrator.
This is actually not the first mixing of SSI with CI. For several
years, both have been components of the Total Tech Summit
event (Nov. 13-15 in Las Vegas, totaltechsummit.com). CI
covers AV integration, digital signage, IT networks and controls
across a broad range of commercial markets. Facing many of
the same issues as security firms, it's an audience you'll find
more in common with than you might expect - especially as
building technologies continue to integrate and converge. Take
a peek; you just might discover a new direction for your portfolio
of offerings or uncover a potential new partner. Welcome to
the new era of CI/SSI! Let us know what you think. SSI
SCOTT GOLDFINE, Editor-in-Chief / Associate Publisher, Security
Sales & Integration, scott.goldfine@emeraldx.com, @SSIeditor
6 Commercial Integrator+Security Sales & Integration | Sept/Oct 2023
http://www.totaltechsummit.com
Commercial Integrator + Security Sales Sept/Oct 2023

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