Commercial Integrator August 2023 - 2

CONTENTS
FEATURES
AUGUST 2023 VOLUME 13 NO. 8
18 | The Worship Market Earns Praise
The house-of-worship market might not be for everyone. But,
for integrators who understand its unique beats and rhythms,
it offers abundant opportunities for growth. By Dan Ferrisi
32 | CI BEST Awards 2023
The 2023 BEST Awards spotlight products and services that
have been genuine changemakers in the commercial AV industry
by helping integrators develop and grow their businesses.
40 | Generative AI:
The Modern-Day Gold Rush
CI asks industry thought leaders their thoughts on generative AI,
its advantages and challenges, how it will impact the integration
industry and how to implement it effectively. By Alyssa Borelli
48 | InfoComm 2023
Wrap Up and Takeaways
Although the show might not have featured product
revolutions, it did herald a willingness for our industry to
evolve positively toward strength and sustainable growth.
By Steve Greenblatt, CTS and Brittany DiCesare, CTS
50 | 15+ Hybrid-Work Solutions
CI Saw at InfoComm 2023
Remote and hybrid-work solutions were abundant at the show.
Here are more than 15 all-in-one conferencing devices and
other hybrid-work solutions that CI saw.
By Zachary Comeau and Alyssa Borelli
VIEWPOINTS
6 | AV Brains & Brawn
Having a good product, a fair
price and competitive programs
are table stakes these
days. Top-tier vendor partners
offer something more distinguishing.
By Alan C. Brawn
8 | The Service Desk
Three leading MSPs from The
ASCII Group reflect on escalating
labor costs, unstable
pricing and the imperative
to continually broaden core
competencies.
10 | AV as a Business
These five impacts of DEI
should help integrators
understand why it's a business
priority and a focus of NSCA.
By Natasha Getler-Porizkova
12 | Making Waves
What happens when the female-dominated
meeting and
event-planning space collides
with the male-dominated AV
industry? By Amanda Eberle
14 | Perfecting
Your Craft
Alesia Hendley, a ubiquitous
presence at the Orlando
show, reflects on the
top-three highlights of her
InfoComm experience, while
also sharing other #avtweeps'
reactions. By Alesia Hendley
56 | Integrator Insights
You may feel like a " nobody "
competing against the big
boys, but there are competitive
differentiators that can
earn you coup after coup.
By Lionel Felix
2
Commercial Integrator AUGUST 2023
CI TO-DO LIST
ASCII Edge Toronto
August 30-31,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
events.ASCII.com/toronto
Commercial Integrator Expo
September 7-9, Denver, Colo.
expo.CommercialIntegrator.com
CEDIA Expo
September 7-9, Denver, Colo.
cediaexpo.com
NSCA Pivot to Profit
October 3-4
Irving, Texas
NSCA.org/p2p-2023
Cover image courtesy
of Paul Leach, Ford AV.
commercialintegrator.com
18
FROM THE EDITOR
3 | Editor's Note
By Dan Ferrisi
ON THE WEB
› Projects Check out
this month's projects at
commercialintegrator.com/
category/projects
› Resources Dive deeper
into trends and topics at
commercialintegrator.com/
resources
› Newsletters Subscribe
to our free newsletters at
commercialintegrator.com/email
@commintegrator
facebook.com/
commintegrator
youtube.com/user/
commintegrator
linkedin.com/
groups/4493761
NEWS
4 | CI News in Brief
COURTESY OF PAUL LEACH, FORD AV.

http://www.twitter.com/@commintegrator http://www.commercialintegrator.com/category/projects http://www.facebook.com/commintegrator http://www.youtube.com/user/commintegrator http://www.commercialintegrator.com/resources http://www.linkedin.com/groups/4493761 http://www.commercialintegrator.com/email http://events.ASCII.com/toronto http://expo.CommercialIntegrator.com http://www.cediaexpo.com http://www.NSCA.org/p2p-2023 http://www.commercialintegrator.com

Commercial Integrator August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator August 2023