Commercial Integrator December 2022 - 3

EDITOR'S NOTE
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EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Dan Ferrisi,
914-383-9030, dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com
Blueprints for Success
OVER 18 YEARS as a technology journalist, I've
attended countless industry events. But last
month marked the fi rst time I've helped plan
and execute an integrator-focused gathering:
Total Tech Summit. A hosted-buyer event, it
unites CI's, CE Pro's and Security Sales & Integration's
audiences for 48 hours of meetings,
education, networking and mind-sharing. At
a time when running an integration business
is deeply challenging, I was thrilled to see 80plus
integrators participate in the
CI track alone.
I was honored to shape CI
increases its fi nancial valuation and that, unlike
reselling hardware for a capital project, selling
services can off er gross margins exceeding
50%. The panel urged approaching the shiſt in
small bites, such as by striving to double your
service business each year.
Zoom's Gary Sorrentino oversaw an interSummit's
education sessions. I
was also determined to avoid
dry, esoteric presentations that
would be so much background
noise, detracting from mealtime
conversations. And, having been
to several revelatory NSCA and
PSNI content sessions, I knew CI
had to do better than just being
a pale facsimile of those, draſt ing
off their success. The goal was
simple: Give TTS integrator
attendees blueprints they could
begin executing to run their businesses better.
I'm indebted to our presenters who
single-handedly seized that vision and actualized
it. Edwards Technologies' Brian Edwards
drew on his multi-decade career as a technologist,
working with luminaries like Apple and
Disney, to argue that the art and science of technology
deployment is changing. He noted that
integrators must embrace computing devices as
central elements of their systems. In so doing, he
argued, systems will not only be nimbler in using
real-time data to deliver personalized experiences
to end users but also be far less dependent
on hot, energy-consuming rack rooms.
Pro-Tech Management's Steff an Ramage,
TAMCO's Paul Metzheiser, Verrex's Jason Gago
and Logic Integration's Shawn Hansson talked
about selling services. Their discussion, which
provoked a lively Q&A that overran its end
time, pulled on key threads: For example, a
thriving service component of your business
commercialintegrator.com
CI aimed to
make Total
Tech Summit
2022 a real
game-changer.
In 2023, my
goal is to do
the same...
only better.
active workshop focused on meeting equity.
Enterprise clients are increasingly tasking
integrators with ensuring in-offi ce employees,
remote workers and other
stakeholders achieve equitable
participation in gatherings. Here,
Sorrentino focused on best practices,
discussing meeting-room
design, home-offi ce design,
platform choice and technology
selection. The bottom line? Moving
forward, it won't be acceptable
for seven people in a room
to occasionally glance at a " Brady
Bunch " grid of mostly forgottenabout
associates. There's no
tolerance for second-class
citizenship in today's enterprise
environments.
Exertis Almo's Todd Heberlein, Tebo's Joe
Michaels and Ping HD's Dave Petricig offered
fresh perspectives on digital signage,
arguing that many integrators aren't seizing a
ripe opportunity. The panelists substantively
debated developing a core competency in
content creation versus bringing on a strategic
partner. Either way, they exhorted integrators
to develop a strategic content plan, ensuring
regular updates. Finally, they touched on how
signage-related services can facilitate " stickier "
client relationships, positioning integrators as
trusted strategic partners.
CI and our parent company, Emerald, aimed
to make #TotalTech22 a game-changer. We
hope we succeeded. In '23, my goal is to do
the same thing...only better.
Dan Ferrisi, Editor-in-Chief
dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com
@danferrisiedit
Chief Content Offi cer Jason Knott,
774-505-8042, jason.knott@emeraldx.com
Associate Editor Zachary Comeau,
774-505-8006, zachary.comeau@emeraldx.com
Associate Editor Amala Reddie,
774-505-8039, amala.reddie@emeraldx.com
Technology Editor Robert Archer,
774-505-8049, robert.archer@emeraldx.com
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774-505-8057, alyssa.borelli@emeraldx.com
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EMERALD CORPORATE
Executive Vice President Brian Pagel,
770-291-5438, brian.pagel@emeraldx.com
President and CEO Hervé Sedky
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Commercial Integrator December 2022

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