CE Pro January 2023 - 4

From the Editor
by Jason Knott
Industry Is Finally
Playing as a Team
The industry
as a whole is
working together
with a sense
of teamwork
that has been
sorely lacking for
decades.
BOTH MY DAUGHTERS play hockey at a
highly competitive level. They do it because
they love it, but little do they know they are
learning beneficial lessons by being involved
in a team sport that they will carry with
them for life. No, I'm not talking about how
to hit a slapshot or dish out a body check,
but valuable guidance in tenets that will help
them succeed as a businessperson, friend
and family member.
From team sports, both have gained
self-confidence and learned how to:
Compete - You do it every day in
business. Who likes to lose?
Get along and communicate with
others - If you don't pass the puck in
hockey, you are not going to excel. Likewise,
every day we must interact with
colleagues, clients and trade partners
even if you don't mesh well with them
personally.
Lose gracefully - There is a valuable
lesson in recognizing there can always
be someone better than you. That
bitter taste of losing makes you want to
try even harder the next time.
Why am I talking about this? Not too long
ago, the custom electronics industry was very
siloed. Integrators rarely shared information
for fear of helping a competitor. Manufacturers
constructed proprietary gear that was
virtually incompatible with other products.
The results of this isolative behavior were
Jason Knott is editor
of CE Pro. He can be
reached at jason.knott@
emeraldx.com and
@JasonWKnott
clearly apparent. For years, electricians or
other trades gained the upper hand because
they knew how to work together to pass
restrictive legislation against low-voltage
integrators. Meanwhile, customers were left
dissatisfied with incompatible, code-heavy
systems that virtually eliminated an upgrade
path for their gear. The industry unknowingly
drove customers to the DIY space.
But finally today, the industry is working
together with a sense of teamwork that has
4 | CE Pro January 2023
been sorely lacking for decades. CEDIA has
re-energizing support for its effective legislative
battles against. The buying groups are
offering training in key technology categories
and business-improvement areas for everyone
in the industry, not just their members.
Most importantly, manufacturers are
working together. Companies like Snap One
with its OvrC remote management system
now handle many different breeds of equipment
from multiple manufacturers. Sony
has initiated a broad series of partnerships
both on the technology and marketing side.
Josh.ai seems to announce a new partner
for its voice control system every month
(sometimes every week). Savant showcased
at CEDIA Expo 2022 its partnerships with in
EV chargers and enterprise-grade networks.
Origin Acoustics' partnerships are too many
to name, but include Austere, Velodyne,
Crestron, Bang & Olufsen, Flush Mount and
several others. Similarly, Somfy and Lutron
both have loads of partnerships. I could go
on and on itemizing a long list of cooperative
agreements among suppliers.
Finally, this brings us to the development
of the new Matter standard from the Connectivity
Standards Alliance. There are over
280 companies involved in the creation of
this new wireless spec. Every company in the
custom channel, plus Amazon, Apple, Google,
Samsung SmartThings and other mega
players. The standard promises to change
the industry making wireless incompatibility
a relic of the past.
All I can say is that it is about time the
manufacturers stopped being so isolated
and began working for the benefit of all. It is
setting the stage, I believe, for tremendous
growth ahead because consumer acceptance
will be so much more widespread.
With all this newfound cooperation, it
makes me think we can build a darn good
hockey team from the industry!
cepro.com
http://www.Josh.ai http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro January 2023
