Commercial Integrator April 2021 - 48

FINAL THOUGHTS

How Resimercial AV Can
Help Both Sides Get Better
at Helping Their Customers
FOR YEARS, we at Commercial Integrator
they need more speed to keep up with the
have looked to CEDIA to tell us what the next
increasing demands on their networks.
hot boardroom or classroom AV technology
" We need to recognize there is overlap, "
might be.
Sutton told me. " I don't see it as us as a group
CEOs and school leaders have urged
moving into a new area. I just see it as a refocommercial AV installers to help them bring
cusing or prioritizing more on the residential
the technology that makes their lives easier at
side. CEDIA members are already doing both
home - whether it's an iPad or similar portable
and the same goes for AVIXA members as well.
electronic device or Alexa or similar smart
" It's just about responding to the demand
speaker - into the boardroom or
right now. As long as the work is
school building.
being carried out professionally
The WFH
Now, CEDIA interim CEO
to a high standard and addressmovement
Giles Sutton says that same pheing the customers' requirements,
nomenon is playing out in homes
that's the most important thing, "
has led the
across the U.S. and around the
he says.
way to more
world as the work-from-home
One thing I didn't ask Sutton
sophisticated
life and hybrid education model
about is whether he expects
tech in the
has forced most homeowners to
the move of more commercial
home.
rethink their IT infrastructure and
integrators into residential AV to
network capabilities.
further emphasize to them the
Sutton, who is also senior VP of member sucneed for and importance of service contracts
cess and sales of CEDIA, calls the transformaon their commercial installations.
tion " a natural evolution " and says many CEDIA
Residential installers understand the
members were already dipping their toes in
importance of frequent and regular contact
commercial AV and the reverse is true of AVIXA
with their customers, to help them meet their
members doing jobs on the residential side.
ever-changing technology needs. Commercial
" It's more looking at residential as a primary
integrators were slow to pick up on this trend,
focus at the moment, " he says, highlighting
although that seems to be changing as projthe idea of bringing videoconferencing into
ect-based work becomes harder to find.
the residential space and bulking up the IT
The resimercial approach to integration
infrastructure needed to deliver the additional
seems to be one through which both sides can
content people need in their homes to work
benefit. Imagine how different board rooms
and go to school these days.
would be today without touchpanels or smart
" The benefit right now is it's not the same
speakers that can lower or raise the screen
amount of work (as pre-pandemic), " says
when it's not in use.
Sutton. " All the reports we see show this has
The same transformation can happen on the
been a really successful year for our channel.
residential side now that commercial installers
Business is booming and there's enough work
are working more frequently on that side of
for everyone in this space right now, particularthe aisle. If you ask me, that's a good thing for
ly in North America.
both sides.
It's part of why Sutton expects the advent
of resimercial AV integrators to last for a while.
Craig MacCormack, Executive Editor
There's plenty of work to go around in homes
craig.maccormack@emeraldx.com
across the country and people are realizing
@CraigMacCormack

CI Webinar: How to Combat
Integration Business-Crushing
Legislation
NSCA has worked for years fighting
against legislation that might limit
integrator's impact to work. It's a difficult
challenge, as each state has the ability
to implement its own restrictions and
regulations, forcing a fight on multiple
fronts to keep integrators able to install
systems.
In this webinar, Commercial Integrator,
NSCA and the Connected Technologies
Consortium will get together to discuss
pertinent legislation and information
integrators need to be aware of.
Topics will include:
Licensing restrictions and other
regulations that could prevent " low
voltage " integrators from working on
systems that include Power over Ethernet.
Prevailing wage: Multiple states are
looking to expand the definition of what
a " job site " is, which could impact cost
of labor. That could include prebuilding
systems, driving to and from job sites and
service work.
Cybersecurity legislation could require
integrators to have a commissioning
certificate before working on clients'
network-touching systems.
Proposed regulations around
employees and customers being
exposed to COVID.
Legislative trends that could be positive
for integrators such as Alyssa's Law for
panic alarms in public schools,
On overview of how to get involved
and use NSCA's " Track Legislation " page
to stay updated.
This webinar is available for free on
commercialintegrator.com.

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Commercial Integrator, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2165-9850), Vol.11 No. 4, is published monthly by Emerald X, LLC., 100 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, New York 10005, 800-440-2139. Commercial Integrator
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Commercial Integrator April 2021

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