Last week, at Future B2B’s AV/IT Summit in New York City, a wide variety of integrators, consultants, manufacturers, and end users from different industry market segments discussed topics ranging from cost-effective implementation and best practice technology solutions to the practical realities of deploying AI in a rapidly changing multiformat world. Hosted by AV Technology’s Cindy Davis and SCN’s Mark J. Pescatore, the annual event included interactive sessions, networking opportunities, an insightful keynote address, exhibit area, and debate about topics that are important to AV/IT convergence.
The program opened with a “Pain Points” session that highlighted real-world installation challenges. This year’s session, featuring Bill Chamberlain, president of Verrex, and Steve Greenblatt, president and founder of Control Concepts, spotlighted the need to identify the most important stakeholders that should participate for a project to be successful. That includes bringing together the design/implementation groups and the service and support groups within a service organization to collaborate more closely and earlier in the process. It was also suggested that the traditional roles of AV and IT are merging to meet the new demands for multi-layered networked infrastructures.
This year’s keynote address was provided by Byron Tarry, founder and chief transformation officer at NEXXT. His presentation, “The AI Moment for the Collaborative Workplace,” looked at how AI is transforming collaboration environments, physical workspace design, and the AV industry while shifting the focus from basic operational uptime to measurable business outcomes.
Tarry addressed what he called the growing “AI Lifecycle Confidence Gap,” the increasing disconnect between how far into the future organizations can accurately predict technology needs (18-36 months) versus the long lifespan of the physical infrastructure to which they are forced to commit (5+ years). To overcome the challenges of physical infrastructure, he proposes a Layered Architecture Model (infrastructure, hardware, digital/software, and contextual intelligence) to decouple physical spaces from rapidly evolving technology.
"If collaboration is the engine of innovation and innovation is the engine of competitive advantage, then collaboration technology becomes the operating infrastructure through which an organization will adapt, build, and extend hopefully its competitive market advantage,” he said. “We can't let the power of AI simply be oriented towards adding another feature to yesterday’s rooms. The greatest power sits in unlocking previously unviable value, when the room begins to become not simply a container for people, but a node in a cognitive network.”
A discussion on “Broadcast-Level AV For Enterprise and Higher Education” explored how broadcast-quality video production technologies are increasingly moving into enterprise, government, and higher education environments. Panelists from EVS, Shure, and ENCO discussed the growing convergence between traditional broadcast and Pro AV, emphasizing democratization, automation, accessibility, AI, and interoperability. The panel presented a future in which broadcast-quality production becomes easier, more automated, accessible, flexible, and integrated into everyday enterprise and educational environments.
A central theme was the “democratization” of video production, making sophisticated broadcast capabilities available without requiring large production crews or expensive specialized hardware. Advances in IP-based systems, cloud workflows, software, and AI allow organizations to produce higher-quality content with fewer operators. Examples include automated camera tracking, centralized device management, remote monitoring, and software that simplifies production tasks.
Accessibility was another important focus. Captions, translations, and multilingual communication are becoming increasingly important—not only because of regulatory requirements, but because organizations are increasingly global and diverse. AI-powered transcription, real-time translation, and voice modeling can make meetings and events accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing or who speak different languages.
During the “Designing the Modern Higher Ed Classroom” panel, presented by HETMA, education industry participants from the University of Southern California (USC), Rutgers University, and Johns Hopkins University focused on the evolving challenges of higher education technology, emphasizing that successful campus AV and technology design requires understanding institutional needs beyond products and physical spaces.
Joe Way, executive director of digital spaces at UCLA and co-founder of HETMA, led the discussion by highlighting the importance of representing higher education technology professionals across the AV industry. Rather than focusing on specific products displayed at industry trade shows, panel members said it was important that AV manufacturers and integrators understand the broader challenges universities face, and encouraged vendors to understand institutional priorities so that they can develop and recommend solutions that genuinely address higher education needs.
A major theme was digital accessibility, which must be considered before technology or spaces are designed. USC's Ilana Intonato said that approximately one in five students has some form of disability, but only a portion formally report their disabilities to their institutions. Consequently, accessibility should be viewed as a universal design requirement rather than something implemented only when a disability is known.
Another session focused on the evolving role of AV consultants and how they collaborate with manufacturers, integrators, architects, and end users to deliver successful technology projects. Moderated by Sean Wargo of Apogee Insight, "The Consultant's Roundtable" explored how the consulting role has expanded beyond simple system design into strategic technology planning.
Consultants on the panel explained that they serve as an independent bridge between all project stakeholders, including clients, architects, integrators, and manufacturers. Their primary responsibility is to understand user needs, develop objective solutions, coordinate teams, and ensure projects meet functional, budgetary, reliability, and long-term service requirements. The manufacturers on the panel highlighted the importance of strong relationships with consultants, noting that consultants provide insight into future technology trends and customer expectations.
During “The State of Collaboration,” panelists focused their discussion on the evolving meaning of collaboration and the challenge of creating effective hybrid work environments. Collaboration was defined as more than simply communication—panelists emphasized that true collaboration involves connecting people, sharing ideas, and working toward measurable business outcomes, regardless of whether participants are together physically or remotely.
A major theme was that expectations for collaboration technology have changed since the pandemic. While the fundamental purpose of collaboration remains the same, users now expect seamless experiences across locations, devices, and platforms. Effective systems must allow people to easily hear, see, share, and participate without being distracted by technology issues. The group challenged the idea of “good enough” technology, arguing that solutions should be evaluated based on business needs rather than initial cost.
The discussion also addressed the return-to-office movement. Specifically, organizations must “earn the commute” by providing workplaces that offer better experiences than working remotely. This includes reliable technology, comfortable spaces, and environments designed for connection and productivity.
Finally, “The Great AI Debate” spotlighted how AI is rapidly changing the Pro AV industry, workplace technology, and business operations. The conversation focused on how AI adoption is quickly evolving, what customers truly need, and how organizations can prepare for a future where AI becomes a standard part of technology ecosystems.
During the discussion, edge AI was viewed as valuable for immediate decision making and privacy-sensitive applications, while cloud AI provides broader management, orchestration, and scalability. The panel agreed that both approaches are valid, depending upon the application. And data was repeatedly identified as the foundation of any successful AI implementation.
One talking point was that many customers ask for AI without fully understanding what problem they're trying to solve. Viral Tripathi, CIO at Diversified, explained that successful AI projects begin with identifying business challenges and determining where AI can provide measurable improvements—and where it cannot. Rather than adopting AI because it is a trend, organizations need to focus on practical applications that improve workflows, efficiency, and user experiences.
