On AVoX: AMX HARMAN

Jamie Trader, Vice President at AMX HARMAN Professional Solutions
(Image credit: Future)

AVT Question: Please share insight into the current state of networked AV and control; what you see as barriers to entry; and what advice can you offer on how AV/IT managers can overcome limited resources or a lack of buy-in.

Thought Leader: Jamie Trader, Vice President at AMX HARMAN Professional Solutions

AV/IT managers are being tasked with creating multi-functional meeting spaces with incredible capabilities for enabling both local and remote collaboration. Room requirements include diametrically opposed features such as simple, standardized user interfaces and flexible, sophisticated BYOM support. Software-based video conferencing technologies from Zoom, Microsoft, Cisco, and others continue to usher in new ways to work and learn and are making meeting spaces more functional and collaborative than ever before. What’s more, the shift to remote work and distance learning is forcing technology upgrades to be instantiated just as suddenly.

The relentless advancement of technology has always made the process of updating existing audio video systems a non-trivial exercise." — Jamie Trader, Vice President at AMX HARMAN Professional Solutions

Rare is the instance when an AV/IT manager can perform a wholesale redesign of a space without the requirement to reuse some existing equipment or infrastructure. The relentless advancement of technology has always made the process of updating existing audio video systems a non-trivial exercise. And due to the increased significance of software integrations, the rapidity of technology change has increased significantly. Technology managers don’t have the luxury of replacing every single system component every time enhanced capabilities are desired. New products need to fit with old, enable better experiences, and be adaptable to tomorrow’s technologies yet to be identified.

At AMX, our mission has always been to simplify how users interact with technology while delivering solutions that are reliable and secure. But adding to that now is immense focus on open interoperability; making sure that now more than ever an institution’s current investment in technology can be extended and augmented—versus displaced. Open APIs, third-party app support, interoperable video codecs, and a vastly reduced need for proprietary training are just some of the underpinnings of new products we’re launching in the months to come. 

Because you shouldn’t have to undermine your past decision-making or limit future potential every time you wish to improve your collaboration and learning spaces today.

AV Technology's Thought Leader Series on AVoX

Check out what other industry thought leaders have to say about the state of networked AV. A full list with links can be found at the bottom of the On AVoX, the Intro Article

Cindy Davis
Brand and content director of AV Technology

Cindy Davis is the brand and content director of AV Technology. Davis enjoys exploring the ethos of experiential spaces as well as diving deep into the complex topics that shape the AV/IT industry. In 2012, the TechDecisions brand of content sites she developed for EH Publishing was named one of “10 Great Business Media Websites” by B2B Media Business magazine. For more than 20 years, Davis has developed and delivered multiplatform content for AV/IT B2B and consumer electronics B2C publications, associations, and companies. From 2000 to 2008, Davis was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Electronic House. From 2009 to present, as the principal of CustomMedia.Co, Davis developed content plans and delivered content for associations such as IEEE Standards Association and AVIXA, content marketing for Future Plc, and numerous AV/IT companies. Davis was a critical member of the AVT editorial team when the title won the “Best Media Brand” laurel in the 2018 SIIA Jesse H. Neal Awards. A lifelong New Englander, Davis makes time for coastal hikes with her husband, Gary, and their Vizsla rescue, Dixie, sailing on one of Gloucester’s great schooners, and sampling local IPAs.