Top Integrators 2021: Along with our annual Top 50 Systems Integrators feature, we polled a selection of leading firms on industry hot topics.
What do you think will be the hottest technology trends in 2022?
Danny Sasseville, Vice President of Project Engineering, Constant Technologies
With technological advances in networking technologies, streaming compression, and securities, we are able to create environments that can share mission critical information with such great speed and detail that it seems as if collaborators are in the same building—even if they are on separate continents. Video wall content sharing and collaboration across geographic distances will likely continue to grow more sophisticated and commonplace throughout 2022.
Matt Boyer, Director of Technology, Vistacom
There’s no doubt that we will continue to see an accelerated rate of digital transformation and modernizing technology infrastructures. It will all continue to be driven by virtualization, establishing business sustainability, and the need for products that support hybrid working environments and flexibility. This will include collaboration bars, auto-framing/tracking cameras, and android-based collaboration appliances.
[Top Integrators 2021: COVID-19 Recovery]
Also, smaller businesses and corporations alike will continue to realize the power and cost-saving benefits of “as-a-service” offerings as well as using remote management and technology monitoring services. On a final note, it’s likely that augmented reality and virtual reality devices will gradually start being deployed into mainstream markets for various applications.
Arash Raznahan, Director of Technology, HS Solutions
Videoconferencing technology is very much a hot trend, and we get asked about it all the time. Another trend that we see continuing is the increase in video walls and digital signage. We are seeing them becoming more and more prevalent in K-12 and higher education.
Bob Swing, CEO, IVCi
Due to the pandemic, preventative maintenance for technology needs will be critical to maintain business activity. End-user support via no touch access (such as a QR code) has also continued to grow as customers implement new technologies, such as thermal monitoring, along with conference rooms designed to allow for social distancing while optimizing the end-user experience. We should also expect continued growth for remote event consulting, technical support, and master of ceremony managed services.
[Top Integrators 2021: Growing Vertical Markets]
Dave Van Hoy, President, Advanced Systems Group
Cloud infrastructure is the platform within which everything co-exists. There are no standards for systems integration in the cloud. Hyperscalers are the new masters of protocol. The magic of being an SI has always been about being the middle person between parties. That continues but with a far different model. SIs will play an important role in creating a common interface that fills in any gaps in software and hardware.
Jason Derector, Principal, Spectra Audiovisual Design
We’re seeing soft conferencing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA), and metaverse starting to exhibit some momentum. Analytics, internet of things (IoT) and POE lighting are also gaining a lot of traction. Hottest? One of our clients is considering implementing a pizza oven that can reach temperatures above 1,000 degrees. That’s hot, too!
