Commercial Integrator 2023 - 80

AV AS A BUSINESS
A Watershed Moment for IP-Ready Integrators
The train has leſt the station with so many traditional integrator-installed products moving
to the IP-endpoint environment. It's a great opportunity for those who are ready...
and a big challenge for those who are not. By Tom LeBlanc
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, NSCA laid
out our key legislative agenda, focusing on
issues facing our integration industry. Meanwhile,
just about everything else we've
written lately is about how demand for our
solutions is high but that, nevertheless,
market and economic pressures make profitability
diffi cult to achieve. There is a lot for
integration company leaders to shoulder.
Meanwhile, so many of these market
challenges, and so much of this proposed
legislation, point to one thing: The integration
industry is changing. One of the
reasons lawmakers and lobbyists are so
focused on our industry is that our industry
matters. And it matters at an increasing rate.
Integrators are well positioned to connect
the dots for their customers, as we're
seeing the systems that we install become
mission critical. It used to be that the term
" mission critical " only referred to systems in
command-and-control centers and that sort
of thing. But with the rise of remote work,
along with increased reliance on digital
presentation, communication, smart security
and healthy buildings, so much of what
integrators do is now mission critical.
Integrators are also well positioned to
be at the epicenter of an explosion of IoT
devices. So, integration company leaders -
people who already have so much weight
on their shoulders - must now face the
following questions:
› Are you ready for this IP-endpoint
environment?
› Are your people skilled for what we
need today and tomorrow?
The caveat, however, is that, really, there
is not a choice. The industry and demand
are moving ahead, whether we're ready or
not. Consider that IoT is the fastest-growing
technology trend in the connected technologies
and smart buildings sector. IoT
will connect more than 50 billion devices
ing the following:
› electrical monitoring
› emergency signage
› emergency lighting
› building-management systems
› lighting control
These are examples of how even the
most traditional hardwired things are moving
to an IP environment, as well.
this year, and it will be a $520-billion-plus
market next year. These devices will be
connected primarily using Power-overEthernet
(PoE). So, it's a great opportunity
for integrators. It's another reason that
NSCA is watching PoE legislation so closely.
Opportunity is
Coupled with Challenge
Integrators are in demand, but that demand
is evolving to require a partner who is
comfortable in an IP-endpoint environment.
This provides a big talent-recruitment and/
or talent-training challenge.
When we talk about what your teams
need to be ready for, we think of it this way:
How many of the systems, which integrators
typically install, have already shiſt ed to
a networked IP-based environment?
Many have already moved in that direction,
including the following:
› CCTV
› access control
› PA/intercoms
› elevator communications
› digital signage
› AV
These technologies have already leſt the
station. The IP endpoint is already on the
network. These are examples of why we
must already bring our A-game, complete
with networking skills, to stay relevant.
Then, there is a class of devices that are
sliding over to the IP environment, includCommercial
Integrator, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2165-9850), Vol. 13 No. 6, is published monthly by Emerald X, LLC., 100 Broadway, 14th
Cloud-Based Solutions
We're also starting to see things that are
monitoring all these systems via cloud-based
solutions, such as Air Control, and Emergency
Warning & Intercommunication Systems.
The point is simple: This is what today's
modern building looks like, and it is
mission critical. It's also important - and
perhaps obvious - to point out that it's
moving in this direction, and it's not going
back. This is being rapidly adopted, and
integrators must be ready to compete in
this IP endpoint environment.
It's likely that the moves integration
companies make now will have a signifi -
cant impact on how those companies tie
into these trends going forward. Maybe
it's hyperbole, but it feels like a watershed
moment for the integration market.
Tom LeBlanc is executive
director of NSCA. Please visit
NSCA.org or contact him at
tleblanc@nsca.org to learn
about the benefi ts of NSCA membership.
NSCA is a content partner for
Commercial Integrator Expo, scheduled
for September 7 to 9 in Denver. Sign
up for the Expo's conference program,
where you'll gain access to exclusive
NSCA thought leadership on optimizing
your integration business' operations
and being more profi table.
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