How ISE Provides a Unique Perspective

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world’s largest AV trade show, provides a great opportunity to gain perspective on the technologies and direction of the industry.  With a combination of commercial, residential, and digital signage solutions all occupying the same trade show space, ISE provides a unique opportunity to appreciate all of the ways that AV is around us in our work, home, and day-to-day lives.

Once a luxury or high end option limited to those who had access or means to afford it, AV is now an essential component of the world around us.  Life without AV is really not a reality anymore.  From communication to entertainment to presentations, video calling, streaming, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, Ethernet, and USB are common terms understood across almost all generations making it that much more important to be cognizant of the the user and the consistency of their entire AV experience.  The lines are now blurred between work and home, and expectations of technology are raised from a ”nice to have“ to a ”need to enhance life” meaning that the bar has been raised for all professionals providing AV solutions.  Nowadays, if a solution isn’t effective alternatives will be chosen by savvy end users who understand how to make things work on their own, in turn challenging integrators, consultants, manufacturers, and programmers to raise their game.

The way that the industry is responding to the increased expectations of AV solutions can be captured by exhibitors, presenters, and attendees of ISE and other trade shows and conferences.  Here are a few examples:

Successful integrators are bringing new, innovative ideas to the table making technology as seamless as possible by delivering effective, reliable systems that users can invest in and feel are familiar and modern.

Innovative consultants are thinking about how to guide organizations toward consistency and long term stability by designing standardized solutions both from a hardware and software perspective.  Standardization should not be confused with fixed system types.  Standardization involves developing solutions that deliver consistent operation built on a hardware and software architecture of changeable components with little to no impact on the overall solution.  More information on standardization, can be found in a previous post about Standardization through Custom Programming or in the Configurable Solution Development document from the Resources section of the our website.

Forward thinking manufacturers are making their products feature rich, flexible, and easy to integrate through the availability of control system modules and drivers that take the development time and guess work out of integration and programming.  Control system modules and drivers ensure reliable, consistent implementation of complex products allowing manufacturers, integrators, and programmers to be confident that solutions will be delivered with accuracy and ease.  Additional details on the value of modules and drivers can be found in a previous post on The Cost of Not Having Modules or Drivers.

Advanced programmers are exploring modern programming languages, investing in web and networking technologies, and bringing software development methodologies to the AV landscape.  Those who are only relying on what they have done in the past are not only missing opportunities, but are likely going to find themselves behind the curve in the near future.

The control system landscape is changing quickly and the ability to deliver effective solutions with only proprietary programming languages is becoming more and more difficult.  Whether it is to provide secure communications, exchange data through JSON formatting, or deliver modern user interface design through HTML5, AV programmers need to become software developers to maintain their relevance and prepare themselves for the future.  Control Concepts invests heavily in developing multi-faceted AV programmers who can adapt to learning new control platforms, leveraging mainstream programming languages and techniques, and think like software developers.

Control Concepts annually attends trade shows like ISE and InfoComm as well as conferences like the NSCA Business Business and Leadership Conference (BLC) and the AVIXA AV Executive Conference (AVEC) to keep up with the latest trends and technologies, network and learn with and from others who attend, and continuously invest in growth and a commitment to the industry.

If you will be at ISE, be sure to reach out and connect with Steve Greenblatt via text (201) 406-8656,  Twitter @stevegreenblatt, or email steveg@controlconcepts.net.  Otherwise, follow #ISE2020 on any social platforms to get the latest news, information, and takeaways from the show.