Diversified, a leading global technology solutions provider, announced the addition of Diversified Global Payment Solutions to its lineup of service offerings, providing extensive equipment and technology financing options to enable client growth and innovation.

"Keeping up with the speed of technology transformation can be exhausting and expensive for large and small organizations, alike," says Michael Strand, chief revenue officer, Diversified. "With Diversified Global Payment Solutions, our clients can leverage financing options to procure technology when and where they need it, without breaking the bank.”

[Exclusive: New CEO Hutto Taking Diversified to the 'Next Level']

Given the rate of technology changes, today’s organizations would much rather invest capital in revenue-generating projects as opposed to depreciating assets that will eventually outlast their useful lives. Diversified Global Payment Solutions puts customers in the technology driver’s seat—bundling all costs into predictable “as a Service” periodic payments, simplifying procurement processes and improving asset management through structured refresh cycles.

With an extensive portfolio of financing options customized to fit each client’s unique needs, Diversified Global Payment Solutions transform how organizations procure and deploy technology while reducing costs and mitigating additional risks.

 [SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2021] 

“Diversified Global Payment Solutions brings the best of both worlds to our clients—access to the latest technology solutions they need with the added financial flexibility they want,” Doug Sobieski, director of business value and customer finance for Diversified. "Backed by Diversified’s managed services, the ability to easily adapt and scale technology solutions has never been simpler or more cost effective.”

RTI, a leading control and automation manufacturer, is partnering with SoundMachine, a music subscription service for business, to provide integrators installing the RTI Music streaming audio system with recurring monthly revenue options featuring SoundMachine's fully licensed, cloud-based music service for businesses. Together as a service, this solution enables RTI dealers to offer and monetize fully licensed music services (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, RE-SOUND and Global Music Rights) in restaurants, bars, hotels, and other commercial applications.

"Music is an integral part of the business atmosphere, engaging customers in a meaningful way and encouraging repeat visits," said Neal Ellsworth, RTI director of product management. "The RTI Music integration with SoundMachine makes it easy for integrators to create memorable customer experiences with a trusted, cloud-based licensed music service and then participate in the ongoing revenue stream."

[RTI Announces New 4K Video-Over-IP Platform]

SoundMachine makes it easy to play fully licensed music that will engage clients' customers in retail, restaurant, hospitality, and other environments. RTI dealers can offer clients two service levels: The Business Plan offers over 100 playlists with a range of style settings, preprogrammed custom announcements, multiple sources within one location, multiple locations with one central account, and a yearly prepaid service with discounts and no contracts. The Business Premium plan offers more than 500 playlists and enables importing playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more. RTI dealers will earn 10 percent of service subscription fees, generating recurring income for their businesses.

RTI Music enables seamless music streaming from directly within the control and automation system environment, combining music streaming control with TV, lighting and shades, climate, and security. This rich integration eliminates the need to exit the control app to search for music or access a playlist. The result is that staff can focus on the customer experience, not the technology. With multiple concurrent streams, RTI Music enables different areas of the business to stream unique playlists, with all music fully licensed through SoundMachine.

[SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2021]

"Ultimately, our goal is to create the best possible user experience for businesses and their customers," said SoundMachine CEO Matteo Luppi. "The RTI control integration does precisely that while providing RTI dealers with a new recurring revenue stream."

The past year has been challenging for countless businesses, but when looked at from a certain vantage point, there have been a few positive developments. For instance, the pandemic’s requirement for social distancing in workplaces has given us a reason to become proficient in services that extend the collaborative work space well beyond the conference room walls. And that’s made conversations about AV as a Service somewhat easier, said Charmaine Torruella, GMS account manager at Verrex.

“Clients are much more open to discussions that had been very hard for systems integrators to have for a while,” she said. “They understand it better now, saying, ‘Oh, I get it! Can you do this for us now?’ Having gone through this experience, they’re now open to other possibilities these services can bring.”

Adding to that understanding is the general public’s growing familiarity with as-a-service models because of the numerous subscription products we encounter in our daily lives, said Fred Loucks, CTS-D, director of technology and innovation at Level 3 Audiovisual. “Spotify, Netflix, all the SaaS platforms that we consume every day in our personal lives, as well as a part of business, it’s definitely driven an increase in comfort with them,” he said. “And that comfort comes from those platforms far more than it comes from our own industry.”

Loucks underlines a particular and not insubstantial challenge facing the AV industry: How can we explain, in simple, straightforward terms, what AV as a Service means, and then how do we best position ourselves to work within that scaffolding?

“In general, we’ve got a lot of work to do in getting a clear definition of what it means as an industry,” Loucks said. “For me, the definition of AV as a Service is the consumption of audiovisual, whether that be hardware, software services, etc., through a subscription model. So not leasing a system, for instance, but a long-term commitment.”

[ Related: Shifting to an OpEx-Based AVaaS Model ] 

Torruella agreed that the way these services are currently marketed leaves room for improvement, and she noted that it also leaves a lot of things open to interpretation. “It’s any solution that provides a virtual application to manage, monitor, or engage with,” she said. “Really, AV as a Service is whatever the client says it is.”

If a solid definition of AVaaS remains somewhat ambiguous, the reason can be pinned to two specific challenges. First, the AV installation business model has until recently been solidly project-based. Where an integrator might have occasionally worked with a client after a project was complete—to provide upgrades or scale the project up, maybe—the AVaaS model requires a much different approach. Presenting a project as an ongoing, long-term relationship is a whole new ballgame, according to Chris Miller, executive director of the PSNI Global Alliance.

“One of the fundamental shifts is that the conversation now starts with services, not technology—it’s all about services, and we’ll make the technology fit,” he said. “That’s a major shift in the sales/account manager world compared to what we’ve been doing. It’s a very different approach starting from the very first discussion.”

[ Related: Verrex's Charmaine Torruella Talks Managed Services ] 

While today’s projects may be evaluated by long-term value instead of a list of items to be purchased and installed asap, this is simply an extension of the approach the industry has taken all along. It’s creating a business relationship with a client, but shifting the terms of the relationship from a potential one-shot to something with a longer shelf life. That shift in emphasis does require a different way of thinking, however, and AV businesses will need to encourage and maintain longer commitments with clients.

“This is a fundamentally different way of offering audiovisual,” Loucks said. “Whoever the end user’s engaging with, that end user needs to make sure that’s a service-oriented organization, not a product- or job-oriented operation. They’re tying themselves to you—not just for the scope of this one install, but for the next several years. There’s an existential threat there for integrators who refuse to or are unable to figure out how to transition their business model away from that project-based work and to a recurring, relationship-based offering.”

“Most vendors don’t understand that the model for AV as a Service is a continuous one,” Torruella noted. “You’re not running away [after the project is done]. You’re implementing this, but there is a monthly recurring level of support. So the company that’s providing the service, there are probably some transitions they have to make to their approach.”

[ Related: Everything You Need to Know About AV as a Service ]

One of those changes may seem obvious enough, Miller said, but it requires significant planning and ongoing training to get it right: determining who provides that continuous support and how.

“It doesn’t stop with the initial installation, and because it’s ongoing, that’s a different skillset,” he said. “Now you need someone to take on a role as a customer experience manager, someone who has more touch points. And now that you’ve got customer service experience, you could have someone in adoption services, someone assigned to a help desk, you have to be prepared to dispatch, you need some level of asset management. Who does what? All of that is very difficult. It’s a different model, and they’re starting to learn how to price it so that it’s competitive but that they can underwrite the costs of taking on this role.”

The other big factor that complicates the issue of defining AVaaS is that the services themselves are so varied. As Torruella explained, it’s the client’s requirements that really define the services provided.

“AV as a Service is not one of those things that will do everything. It’s case by case. The client’s needs and wants will determine the AV-as-a-Service solutions you provide them,” she said. “And it’s not just one thing. It has to be customized.”

Loucks agreed: “When you’re building an AV-as-a-Service offering for a particular customer, every approach is going to be a little bit bespoke.”

The benefits of such an approach, when paired with a long-term partnership, can lead to more business opportunities, Miller explained. “It’s not a predesigned suite of services that we sell. There’s a diverse set of service offerings, and we’re defining them as customers tell us what they need. The customization is really the beauty of what AV as a Service can be. Let’s talk about services and outcomes, people and processes, and then we’ll build a package that you’ve subscribed to, and that you’ll use to achieve your goals. And as you achieve your goals, you’ll want to do more of it. And as you do more of it, I make a living.”

[ Related: AV as a Service and Managed Services for Control Rooms ] 

This idea can be applied in a variety of ways, and Torruella sees particular benefits to value-added services such as end-user training.

“I would love to see AV learn how to take on the professional services aspect to build value and provide it to customers,” Torruella said. “Training is a very big value proposition to a customer, for instance. If they bring in a new technology, who trains them? Does the training get updated? Is there a help desk? Most customers would take advantage of that—it spares them time, and it spares them expense.”

There’s also opportunity in finding smarter ways of overseeing a system, Loucks said. “The goal is getting a centralized view of your entire system—the monitoring, alerting, reporting, data analytics, configuration management—all in one place for your ops teams or business leaders. That’s a big advantage in the AV-as-a-Service model,” he said. “For the next decade of AV, that’s got to be one of the biggest things that changes. We have to be able to see what’s going on in our systems. We can’t wait for our customers to report issues—it’s too expensive.”

The fundamental change in approach to business may seem like a difficult and off-putting idea to AV professionals who’ve spent a lifetime, or even just a few years, working with a technology-first mindset. And Loucks acknowledged that those strengths are surely still needed. But, reflecting on a difficult year in which job turmoil hasn’t passed over the AV sector, he said he hopes people will see the benefits of focusing on the next level of value they can provide to customers.

“We need to maintain that heart and soul,” Loucks said. “But we have to add skills and grow beyond that to provide a more rounded value proposition to our customers. AV as a Service comes down to how we extend the life of the audiovisual industry. How do we redefine what the audiovisual industry does, and what the AV experience is, so that we can build the next 100 years?”  

Click here to read more stories from the April 2021 issue of SCN.

This summer Almo participated in local-area fundraisers, volunteer outreach, and service projects designed to give back to non-profit organizations in the community and professional industry.

“It is both an honor and a privilege to be able to give back to our local communities, favorite charities and industry-related organizations,” said Warren Chaiken, president and CEO, Almo. “Our secret sauce has always been and always will be our people. Our culture is not only comprised of talented, hardworking professionals, but those with big hearts who want to make a difference in the community and for various causes by being actively involved and working together to change people’s lives for the better.”

P.A.L. Bike Build

On June 20, as part of the Almo Dealer Channel National Business Conference, Almo’s team-building time was dedicated to the Philadelphia Chapter of the Police Athletic League (P.A.L.). P.A.L. provides safe havens for thousands of kids, some in the toughest neighborhoods of Philadelphia. From homework clubs, computer classes, and citywide educational tournaments, to more than a dozen organized sport activities, P.A.L. helps children stay safe, productive, and engaged in worthwhile activities. Employees—along with support from Sharp Appliances—worked together to build bicycles that P.A.L. then distributed to children.

“The feeling of accomplishment after successfully completing any task is always sweeter when you know the end result benefited those in need,” said Jack Halperin, senior vice president sales and customer service, dealer channel division, Almo.

Splash for Cash

On July 12, employees at Almo's headquarters paid to take turns knocking company executives and other colleagues into a dunk tank during the second annual Splash for Cash. The event raised more than $7,000, and a Go Fund Me page was set up for additional contributions. All of the funds raised went directly to the American Cancer Society.

Integrate Baltimore

On August 1, Almo employees took time out of the company's national sales meeting to give back to Integrate Baltimore. Almo’s vendor partners made product donations worth more than $25,000. In addition, Almo made a monetary donation of more than $4,000 through a corporate contribution and raffle money raised at the event.

Other Charitable Contributions

Almo employees visited the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge-American Cancer Society to prepare “breakfast for dinner” for the patients and caregivers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Almo's interns donated their time to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity and Holy Redeemer Food Pantry.

TransAudio Group, a U.S. distributor of equipment for professional audio recording, announced its new Las Vegas-based in-house service department. The service will cover most of TransAudio Group’s major national and international manufacturers, including ATC Loudspeakers, Subwoofer Pros, Bettermaker, Daking, Drawmer and Tube-Tech. The TransAudio Service Department will remain true to the company’s longstanding mission by providing timely repairs of equipment at fair prices, regardless of whether the equipment is under warranty or not.

Veteran pro audio gear tech Tony Marra will serve as the chief technician for the new department, which is housed within the current TransAudio Group office and warehouse complex. Marra brings 45 years of experience working with audio and electronics to the department, including college electronics training and employment with Focusrite, Ted Nugent (live sound engineer and tech), Soundcraft, and Neve. Upon moving to Las Vegas 22 years ago, Marra started his own audio design and installation company for area recording studios and casinos. He repaired equipment between installation jobs and grew the business from a small home office to an entire repair facility servicing every major brand of top level manufacturers and dealers.

“We’re excited about the new TransAudio Service Department,” said Brad Lunde, TransAudio Group founder and president. “It is a crucial building block as our company continues to grow in ways that best serve our brands and gives our customers peace of mind. They know that we know how valuable their time is and how badly equipment repairs can wreck a schedule. Our goal is to expedite repairs and get our end-users up and running as quickly as possible. Plus, we thrilled to have a pro like Tony Marra heading up the service department.”

Yorktel announced that Mike Brandofino has joined the company as chief operations officer (COO), overseeing global operations for the organization. Brandofino has over 20 years of industry experience, having held executive positions with leading audio/video communications and unified communications companies. As Yorktel’s COO, he will drive efforts to expand and enhance Yorktel’s service offerings, improve operational efficiency and increase overall customer satisfaction.

Brandofino is the most recent addition to Yorktel’s C-suite, joining Ken Scaturro, who was appointed as Chief Revenue Officer earlier this year. Both appointments reflect Yorktel’s commitment to delivering industry-leading service, support and counsel to the company’s diverse and growing customer base. As COO, Brandofino will be responsible for global operations, which comprises integration delivery, managed services, maintenance help desk services, staff augmentation / on-site staffing, and media services.

“We are proud to have Mike officially join the team as Chief Operations Officer,” said Ron Gaboury, CEO of Yorktel. “Mike is a proven, well-respected leader who is eminently qualified to oversee operations during this exciting and critical phase of expansion and growth.”

Brandofino brings to the role of COO an extensive level of expertise in the services and UC industries, serving as CEO for Glowpoint, and executive committee member, as well as EVP at AVI-SPL. Immediately prior to accepting the COO position, he served as CEO and managing partner of Department 60, a consulting service Brandofino established to help companies who lack the executive level experience to foster change in their organizations.

Yorktel has been very active in expanding its reach and service portfolio with three global acquisitions in the past six years and investments in new business segments, most notably with the launch of its Univago Healthcare Edition (Univago HE) telehealth platform to capture the growing Healthcare segment. This has resulted in the company’s strategic account sales, enterprise sales and strategic alliance divisions realizing considerable success through organic growth with the addition of numerous new accounts.

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