Along with the SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2025 list, we polled a selection of leading firms on current Pro AV industry trends.
How have tariffs impacted your business in 2025?
Jon Fine, VP of Solution Architecture, Vision Technologies
Tariffs have really shaken the AV industry. Equipment costs, especially for displays and cameras have jumped, sometimes by more than 10%. Integrators are dealing with tighter margins, longer lead times, and tougher budgeting as suppliers shift where they source products. With tariffs being a moving target, vendors are being forced to add in legal clauses to contracts, which creates angst for many potential buyers. Many companies are turning to U.S.-made options or locking in prices early to stay ahead of rising costs. Overall, tariffs are forcing the AV world to rethink how it buys, prices, and plans projects.
Musfik Dogancay, Executive Director, JKL Technologies
We have seen an increase in costs, some due to tariffs and some simply using the cover of tariffs, which have certainly created a budgeting challenge for our customers. However, the unpredictability around the threat and fluctuation of tariff and policy changes have created a lot of burden for us internally as well. We are either needing to reduce our quote validity dates drastically or having to stock equipment ourselves in anticipation of orders. Even when there are no pricing changes, having to revalidate manufacturer pricing so frequently creates a lot of additional burden to our internal resources. When we stock equipment, there is the financial impact of tying down capital simply to absorb the effects of uncertainty.
Bill Baretz, AV Principal and EVP, USIS AV
What looked to be a cost challenge we approached as a client relationship opportunity. Of course, tariffs created disruptions by destabilizing manufacturer prices: Quoting new projects when we could not hold pricing for more than a few weeks and the added risk on approved projects where we had to absorb costs of the tariffs or have it affect clients. What it came down to was the trust we’d already built with our clients and manufacturer partners, and the shared willingness for us all to be successful. Open communication helped and is still helping us to navigate those challenges.
Travis Askew, COO, Solutionz
The tariffs definitely made us take a pause, catch our breath, and pivot. Just like any other challenge in integration, we had to adapt. It pushed us to find new ways to tighten communication inside the company and with our clients. We also had to be more strategic with every purchase to protect our margin and keep projects moving. In the end, it’s about balance and staying flexible without losing focus.
Jeremy Elsesser, President and CEO, Level 3 Audiovisual
Tariffs have definitely added pressure, especially around cost and lead times. We’ve had to be more strategic with sourcing and forecasting. It’s pushed us to strengthen our supplier relationships and stay agile in how we deliver for clients.
Keith Neubert, CEO, WPS
Our customers have largely understood the reality of tariff impacts to projects, and added costs have not stalled projects actively underway. The biggest overall impact to business has been the administrative load in managing the varied methods deployed by manufacturers in passing along tariff costs. The inconsistency in the application of tariffs has added stress and strain to client relationships for products applying tariff fees upon shipment or invoicing.
Deb Zupancic, President, PTG
Tariffs are one of those factors that sit completely outside of our control—and just as we’ve experienced in years past, the AV industry continues to feel their ripple effects. At PTG, we made the decision early on to address the situation head-on rather than reactively. We scheduled time with each of our clients to have open, transparent conversations about the changing landscape. Internally, we rolled out consistent messaging across the company so every team member could speak clearly and confidently with our clients. We also implemented a policy that quotes were only valid for 14 days, recognizing how quickly pricing was changing. Finally, we paid close attention to how vendors responded. We noted those who were aligned with our values and collaborated closely with them, while intentionally moving away from those who engaged in opportunistic price increases.
Mike Cavanagh, President, Key Code Media
The recent introduction of tariffs has caused significant disruption across the AV industry, impacting clients, vendors, and integrators alike. In anticipation, many of our clients accelerated purchasing early in the year, pre-paying for projects so we could secure and warehouse equipment ahead of the tariff increases. This proactive approach helped protect budgets and timelines later in the year. Our operations team closely monitors U.S. government postings and executive announcements to stay ahead of changes. Internally, our engineering and procurement teams have adapted by re-specifying equivalent hardware and optimizing system designs to maintain both performance and budget alignment. I now dedicate several hours each week to monitoring and engaging on tariff developments. Since late 2024, we have worked closely with vendor partners to minimize exposure, leveraging the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) for exemptions.
Matt Thorne, EVP, ECC
Tariffs have been a volatile and challenging factor for the entire industry this year, strongly affecting our vendor partners and, in turn, us as integrators. Our team has remained nimble in staying on top of all price change communications related to tariffs and efficiently updating our systems accordingly. Since this has been such a large-scale issue throughout our economy, it’s allowed for the ability to have a mutual understanding with our clients on any changes as we remain committed to being transparent and maintaining relationships built on trust.
Kris Begnaud, VP Sales, Data Projections
They’ve added a real administrative burden. We’re in constant contact with vendors, reconciling live price lists, and updating quotes with shorter validity windows. These activities require constant management involvement at all levels; this carries real opportunity cost and takes time that could otherwise to customers and growth. We’ve diversified sourcing where it makes sense to net more orchestration and transparency with clients, steady delivery, and disciplined margins.
