Commercial Integrator December 2022 - 30

Software
own reluctance to migrate to software-based
solutions. " It's chicken and egg, " he adds.
" Manufacturers cannot build systems that
the integrators don't know how to sell,
implement and support! "
Some integrators, however, are clearly
further along than the median AV business
is. L3AV, for example, frames its success
delivering software-based solutions as an
extension of being client centered. According
to Loucks, " Our focus is to transcend
the project and operate at the client level. "
He adds that software like Zabbix is an ideal
way to do that " ...since it makes no sense
to integrate a monitoring tool specific to a
single integration partner. We want to enable
monitoring for all of a client's systems,
not just the ones we installed. " And that,
from Loucks' perspective is kind of the key
to software as a means of getting " sticky "
with clients. " When you operate at the client
level, you transcend the project/bid cycle
and move on to enabling deeper value for
them, " he declares.
Transcending the project/bid cycle
means your firm is no longer a contractor or
reseller - arguably, you're not even a mere
service provider. Instead, you're a trusted
strategic advisor, leveraging software to empower
clients to realize excellent outcomes.
" AVI-SPL provides customers the flexibility
they require and a path for expansion, "
Berg says. " Whether tactical steps are taken
in the moment, or strategic planning of
technology and space refreshes is required,
AVI-SPL and our clients are on a path to
analyze, optimize and improve the user experience
with data about the technologies
our clients are deploying to digitally enable
their environments. "
Does Software Produce Profits?
Although being the client's trusted strategic
advisor is an integrator's highest calling, the
economic reality of having to earn revenue
cannot be ignored. Thus, CI asks whether
leaning into software has moved the needle
on the bottom line. Spinitar's Wahid affirms
that Success Services offerings are accretive
to the bottom line but acknowledges that,
right now, they're not a large profit center for
Spinitar. " However, we do see it growing in
the future, " he adds optimistically.
Quasebarth, by contrast, indicates that
30
For forward-thinking integrators, successfully delivering software-centric solutions
is an extension of being client centered.
software is a very big part of Mechdyne's
business mix. He elaborates further, saying,
" Mechdyne is unique in the industry when
it comes to software. High-end visualization
[and] 3D immersive have required [the] organization
to invent and develop software to
support all the vertical use cases, as it's not
commercially available in the market. "
As for L3AV, Loucks once again evinces
the company's client-mindedness when he
says that, although the monetary impact
of selling software has been slight thus far,
" ...[it] has improved our strategic value
to clients. " Loucks reflects on how much
investment it has taken to get L3AV this far
but says, " That's the thing about changing
your business: It takes time, investment and
patience. "
Always willing to give voice to inconvenient
truths, Mechdyne's Quasebarth argues
that integrators' willingness to embrace
a software-centric approach might not
merely be about serving customer needs
but, instead, about our industry's long-term
survival. " The future of the AV industry is
mixed, " he declares. " Will we be lowest-cost
mechanics [who] hang boxes on the wall, or
will we be able to add additional value in a
web services world? " From his perspective,
it's imperative for integrators to become
better educated in IT systems integration,
cloud services and basic coding, including
Commercial Integrator DECEMBER 2022
API integration using Python and other
languages. " Cisco builds blue boxes that
low-level cable pullers install in racks and
plug into the network for $50 an hour, " he
states. " The real money is made by those
who can configure the Cisco box on the
network at $300 an hour! But we're currently
on the cable-puller side of that analogy. "
'Software is Eating the World'
L3AV's Loucks amplifies those comments,
citing a well-known observation from
entrepreneur/investor/software engineer
Marc Andreessen: " Software is eating the
world. " There's no reason to believe that the
AV integration industry will defy that gravity.
" My suggestion, " Loucks continues, " would
be that, if you haven't started rethinking your
business model for a software-defined world,
you'd better start now - before it's too late. "
But change, no matter how inevitable it
is, needn't be viewed with trepidation. We
are, after all, technologists and solutions
providers, working with and among some
of the world's brightest minds and evolving
our capabilities along the way. We,
together, can adapt to - even advance - a
software-driven world without boundaries
or limitations. " As long as you can develop
it, you can make it happen, " Berg declares.
" And, if you can't develop it with today's
languages, go create a new one! "
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Commercial Integrator December 2022

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