Commercial Integrator May 2022 - 6

TTS SPOTLIGHT
Edwards Technologies:
Modernization, Automation and Innovation
The venerable creative technologists utilize TTS to bond, learn and foster strategic relationships.
By Dan Ferrisi
EL SEGUNDO, CALIF.-BASED Edwards
Technologies, Inc. (ETI), has been innovating
in the creative deployment of technology
solutions for more than 35 years. Under
the leadership of Brian Edwards, founder
and chairman of the board, ETI developed
its own toolsets, empowering the integrator
to serve clients throughout the theme park,
retail and attractions verticals. Operating
under the principles of modernization, automation
and innovation, ETI is a disruptive
force in the technology integration category.
Edwards' vision centers on infrastructure
modernization, thus allowing greater automation,
through which clients can liberate
themselves from constraints and limitations.
And that, he argues, allows genuine innovation
in the resulting experiences. Here,
we'll delve into his leadership and ETI's key
differentiators, as well as how Total Tech
Summit (TTS) continues to give integrators
like ETI a competitive advantage.
Although Edwards and ETI are now
known as the go-to partners of the world's
most famous attractions, their roots are
humble. Edwards started as an audio specialist
and then gained lighting expertise.
Before delving deeply into commercial
spaces, he outfitted celebrities' homes
with high-end custom systems. He then
integrated sound and lighting systems
into discos and clubs, offering a hint of the
immersive experiences that ETI would eventually
specialize in. It was only later, after
forging partnerships with marquee names
like Universal Studios, that ETI broke into
high-end attractions. With that pivot came
an embrace of retail environments.
ETI's ongoing use of, and confidence in,
Apple products marked an inflection point
for the company. " We realized we didn't
need to run tons of cable everywhere, "
Edwards explains. " We could just put these
intelligent boxes, which happen to be
Mac computers, all over the place. " We've
already cited ETI's custom toolsets; it's nota6
Commercial
Integrator MAY 2022
Brian Edwards, founder and chairman
of the board, ETI.
ble that its software works with all Apple
products. Edwards acknowledges that,
pre-pandemic, some technology managers
and IT personnel expressed skepticism
about Apple being a core part of integrated
systems, but he says that skepticism has
since collapsed as tech managers' understanding
has increased. And that gives ETI
a bigger advantage. Edwards notes, " We
have a growing relationship with Apple.
They supported us during this transition. "
Edwards' excitement about commercial
AV springs from his belief that there is " fertile
ground " for transformational change.
" The field is open, " he enthuses. " You can
run as far downfield as you want to go with
your ideas, and people are open to it now. "
Edwards sees particularly acute change in
the digital signage category. Post-pandemic,
consumers have little tolerance for irrelevant,
" background noise " signage content;
likewise, businesses deploying signage
want measurable ROI. This created opportunity
for firms like ETI. " Our software has
made it so that we can curate datapoints
from anywhere and everywhere and use
those datapoints and machine learning to
drive what's on the sign, " Edwards remarks.
That means signage content could actually
become viewer-personalized. That's the
kind of thing that maintains Edwards' excitement
about AV integration. " I'm excited
about actually using the technology to have
an impact, " he declares.
Speaking of impact, TTS has been
impactful enough for Edwards that he has
attended between seven and 10 times. He
highlights the access to vendor partners,
comparing TTS favorably to larger industry
gatherings. " It's more real, " he says,
noting that there aren't any 800-square foot
booths to distract attention from interpersonal
interaction.
Edwards notes, however, that TTS 2021
was " orders of magnitude better " than
anything before. That year, attendees
willingly expressed their vulnerability in the
face of various challenges, and it created a
real sense of camaraderie. " It made you feel
like, 'Hey, I'm not alone,' " Edwards recalls.
There was also no chest-beating about
how one company was sitting on top of the
world. " There was a lot of great sharing that
happened in this one, " Edwards adds.
He also cites TTS' power to facilitate valuable
relationships. At the most recent TTS,
he says he forged a strong connection with
a French audio company. Subsequently,
they leveraged that relationship for an ongoing
attraction project. " For me, that was
huge, " Edwards enthuses. " That I could just
run into somebody, with that attitude, who
would listen to me and say, 'Yes, I think I
have a way to solve this for you.' "
Between industry camaraderie, key
relationships and invaluable education
sessions, TTS helps ETI stay ahead of the
competitive curve. " It's about having
information on what's going on in the world
that's going to affect you, " Edwards concludes.
" Not what you read and pick up in
the paper, but something curated for you.
It's fantastic. "
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