CONTENTS FEATURES JANUARY 2021 VOLUME 11 NO. 1 16 | State of the Industry 2021 We hear from some AV industry leaders about what's ahead across the space in the next 12 months and analyze the results of our annual survey. By D. Craig MacCormack 27 | The Service Desk: Where ASCII Group president Jerry Koutavas thinks there are major opportunities for MSPs in 2021. By D. Craig MacCormack 28 | Emergence of Immersive AV People are going to need immersive experiences to bring them joy once the pandemic is over. AV integrators can provide them. By Zachary Comeau 30 | Marketing Tips: Public Relations We explore how media coverage and other external methods can get the word out there for you about how great you are. By Marsha Ann Marsh 32 | Interview Tips: Service Managers We wrap up our series on questions you should ask candidates with a look at what your service managers should know. By Adam Forziati VIEWPOINTS 12 | AV Brains and Brawn Big Data is useless unless you know what to do with it. That's where analytics comes in. By Alan C. Brawn 14 | SMB Insight A closer look at the three keys of dealing with and streamlining AV supply chain issues. By Zachary Comeau 15 | AV as a Business: Why NSCA will keep using the term 'integrators' for its members. By Chuck Wilson 36 | TD Perspective Virtual assistants becoming part of the workplace. By Zachary Comeau 38 | Connected to the Community BrightTree Studios has always prioritized local Pittsburgh charities in its philanthropic work. By D. Craig MacCormack 16 FROM THE EDITORS 3 | Ed Note By D. Craig MacCormack 40 | Final Thoughts By Jonathan Blackwood NEWS 6 | CI News in Brief 9 | People + Places 10 | #TechTrending 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 CI TO-DO LIST NSCA Business & Leadership Conference (Virtual) Feb. 25-27 nsca.org/blc PSA-TEC May 3-6, Denver psatec.com 36 2 Commercial Integrator JANUARY 2021 ISE 2021 June 1-4, Barcelona, Spain iseurope.org FYI 4 | Taking a Shot 34 | Markets 37 | Products @commintegrator facebook.com/ commintegrator youtube.com/user/ commintegrator linkedin.com/ groups/4493761 InfoComm 2021 June 12-18, Orlando infocommshow.org Campus Safety Conference June 14-16 (Las Vegas); July 11-13 (Bethesda, Md.); and July 21-23 (San Antonio, Texas) campussafetyconference.com ISC West July 19-21, Las Vegas iscwest.com commercialintegrator.comhttp://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://www.infocommshow.org http://www.nsca.org/blc http://www.campussafetyconference.com http://www.psatec.com http://www.iscwest.com http://www.iseurope.org http://www.commercialintegrator.com