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AV + IT = UCC 2020 CI BEST Award Winners AV MBA: Game Theory
Commercial
JULY 2020 | commercialintegrator.com
INTEGRATOR
THE BUSINESS HANDBOOK FOR TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS
INTEGRATION
AWARDS 2020
Highlighting some of the most
impressive, innovative, and
successful integration projects
in 13 vertical markets. PAGE 16
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CONTENTS JULY 2020 VOLUME 10 NO. 7
FEATURES
16 | Integration
Awards 2020
Celebrating the 13 outstanding
projects that left their marks in
some of our favorite vertical markets this year.
By Jonathan Blackwood, Adam Forziati and
D. Craig MacCormack
18 | Best Corporate Campus Project: McCANN SYSTEMS
20 | Best Meeting Room Project: TEATRX
22 | Best Small Office Project: TEATRX
24 | Best K-12 Project: SNAP INSTALL
34
26 | Best Higher Ed Project: PINNACLE AVL
28 | Best Health Care Project: LEVEL 3 AUDIOVISUAL
30 | Best Bars & Restaurants Project: AUTOMATION ARTS
32 | Best Large Venue Project: SOLOTECH
34 | Best Mission Critical Project: DOMOTEK
36 | Best Museums Project: ELECTROSONIC FROM THE EDITORS
38 | Best Casinos Project: McCANN SYSTEMS 4 | Ed Note By D. Craig MacCormack
40 | Best Esports Project: ADTECH SYSTEMS 56 | Final Thoughts By Jonathan Blackwood
42 | Best Immersive Project: MIDTOWN VIDEO
NEWS FYI
44 | Commercial Integrator 6 | CI News in Brief 34 | Markets
BEST Awards 7 | People + Places
Honoring the 38 winners for product ST
2020 BE 10 | #TechTrending
innovation. By CI Staff
VIEWPOINTS ON THE WEB
› Projects Check out @commintegrator
12 | AV Brains this month’s projects at
50 | 3 Questions
commercialintegrator.com/
and Brawn With Andrew Katsoufis, facebook.com/
category/projects commintegrator
AV + IT = UCC. That’s math all CEO, TPC Staffing.
integrators should understand. By CI Staff
› Resources Dive deeper youtube.com/user/
By Alan C. Brawn into trends and topics at commintegrator
53 | TD Perspective commercialintegrator.com/
resources linkedin.com/
13 | AV MBA How COVID-19 will change groups/4493761
How game theory can set you corporate collaboration. › Newsletters Subscribe
up for sustained success. By Dana Corey to our free newsletters at
By Bill McIntosh commercialintegrator.com/email
54 | Connected to
14 | The Service Desk the Community
Why all managed services LightWerks proud of the CI TO-DO LIST Digital Signage Expo
Sept. 15-18, Las Vegas
aren’t a fit for everyone. relationships it’s built with Campus Safety Online Summit dse2020.com
By Joshua Liberman Project Giving Kids and other July 7-8 and Dec. 1-2
campussafetyconference.com Pivot to Profit (virtual)
charitable organizations. Sept. 22-23,
15 | SMB Insight By D. Craig MacCormack Enterprise Connect (virtual) nsca.org/p2p
How hiring will change for Aug. 3-6
SMBs post-pandemic. enterpriseconnect.com InfoComm China
Sept. 28-30, Beijing, China
By Zachary Comeau infocomm-china.com/en/
2 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.com
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Emerald Expositions
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commercialintegrator.com | @commintegrator
EDITORIAL
Base Salaries on WFH Editorial Director
Jonathan Blackwood, 774-505-8048,
jonathan.blackwood@emeraldx.com
Setup Short-Sighted Chief Content Officer
Jason Knott, 774-505-8042,
jason.knott@emeraldx.com
Executive Editor
LEAVE IT TO FACEBOOK’S cyborg-like leader, “We’ll localize everybody’s comp D. Craig MacCormack, 774-505-8040,
Mark Zuckerberg, to make the return to work in on January 1,” he said. “They can do craig.maccormack@emeraldx.com
an era of uncertainty more uncomfortable than whatever they want through the rest Associate Editor
Zachary Comeau, 774-505-8006,
necessary by telling employees who had been of the year, but by the end of the year zachary.comeau@emeraldx.com
in the office before the pandemic they must they should either come back to the Technology Editor
come back or see their salaries adjusted based Bay Area or they need to tell us where Robert Archer, 774-505-8049,
robert.archer@emeraldx.com
on where they live. they are.” Web Editor
That’s right: Facebook, one of the world’s I’ll be working from home until at least July Adam Forziati, 774-505-8046,
adam.forziati@emeraldx.com
largest social media platforms, is going to and possibly longer than that, according to
Art Director
nickel and dime the people who help to the plan laid out by Eerald officials. I can’t Katie Stockham, 774-505-8051,
continue making the site stacks of cash every imagine the reaction of the workforce when katie.stockham@emeraldx.com
day by making them choose whether they want we do finally get the all-clear to return to the Jr. Production Designer
Graeme Burke, 774-505-8050,
to keep working from home and run the risk of office that our salaries will be adjusted based graeme.burke@emeraldx.com
making less money to do so. on our geography. ADVERTISING SALES
This seems like a really short-sighted ap- And I hope I never have to find out. Group Publisher, Connected Brands
Ray Lyons, 774-505-8017,
proach to business, especially from a company That’s not to say I don’t understand ray.lyons@emeraldx.com
in the tech space, where the focus on how cost-cutting measures triggered by the Shawn Tobin, 774-505-8014,
working from home has been a lot more pro- pandemic across all industries and with all shawn.tobin@emeraldx.com
ductive than most people expected during the companies, but this one just seems a little Chelsea Grater-Cafiero, 774-505-8020,
chelsea.cafiero@emeraldx.com
COVID-19 outbreak. bit extreme to me. The people working for
Katie Malafronte, 774-505-8039,
Here’s more from the Bloomberg article on and with Zuckerberg weren’t hired because katie.malafronte@emeraldx.com
Zuckerberg’s plan: of where they live. They were brought in Marketing
Marsha Marsh, 774-505-8023,
Facebook is the latest, and largest, because the talents they possess were seen marsha.marsh@emeraldx.com
tech company to announce a full or as key components of moving Facebook
EMERALD CORPORATE
partial move to more permanent forward. Executive Vice President
remote work amid the COVID-19 Does that assessment of their value to the Brian Pagel, 770-291-5438,
brian.pagel@emeraldx.com
pandemic. company now change because they were
COO, Interim President & CEO Brian Field
Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., forced to work at home for several months? Chief Financial Officer David Doft
both run by CEO Jack Dorsey, have Certainly, Zuckerberg is welcome to do Chief Information Officer Bill Charles
Senior Vice President, Finance Dave Sunderland
announced that their employees can whatever he wants with his company and Senior Vice President, General Counsel and
work from home permanently if they’d plenty of his loyal soldiers will do whatever he Secretary Mitch Gendel
Senior Vice President, Operations Lori Jenks
like. Canadian e-commerce company says whenever he says it, but I can’t imagine Senior Vice President, Marketing Services
Shopify Inc. said this week it will allow working for a company like that. Joanne Wheatley
Executive Vice President, Customer Solutions
its 5,000 staff to work from home I spent most of my career hearing rumors Amy Sklar
indefinitely. about cost of living adjustments in the newspa- Executive Vice President, People & Culture
Angelique Carbo
Facebook employees who wish to per business, but I never realized there were
PRODUCTION
work remotely, and are approved to actually leaders who used that formally to give Creative Services Director
do so, will be paid based on their new their employees less money for doing the same Manuela Rosengard, 774-505-8052,
manuela.rosengard@emeraldx.com
location, Zuckerberg added. That work when they can clearly afford it.
Director of Client Experience
means employees who move to areas How can that be good for overall employee Jeffrey Miller, 774-505-8055,
with a lower cost of living than the morale — and does Zuckerberg even care? I’m jeff.miller@emeraldx.com
Bay Area would likely take a pay cut. guessing now won’t be the time for Facebook Reprints & Eprints The YGS Group,
800-290-5460, reprints@theygsgroup.com
Employees currently working to roll out the dislike button.
Subscription Inquiries 630-739-0900 – Option 1
remotely who want to extend their
remote work plans beyond the end of Craig MacCormack, Executive Editor PROUD MEMBER OF
this year will need to alert Facebook craig.maccormack@emeraldx.com
for tax and payroll reasons. @CraigMacCormack
SUPPORTING THE MEMBERS OF
4 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.com
CI NEWS IN BRIEF RECENT STORIES PEOPLE AND PLACES WHAT’S NEW
Haivision Video
Streaming and SRT
Protocol Used for NASA
SpaceX Launch
HAIVISION TECHNOLOGY was tional audio and video feeds
used to help NASA distribute between each of the control
live, low-latency video for rooms to communicate during
the NASA SpaceX Demo-2 the launch.
Launch, streaming live video In addition to the launch
from NASA and SpaceX control mission, Haivision’s video
rooms and the rocket launch streaming solutions are also Haivision helped NASA distribute live video for the SpaceX
Demo-2 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
pad at the Kennedy Space used in NASA facilities na-
Center in Florida. tionwide, including the NASA
The launch of the Falcon 9 Wallops Flight Facility and the May 1. “But we went into it Flight Operations, said during
rocket took place on Saturday, Mission Launch Command with a very open mind.” a news media conference on
May 30 at NASA’s Kennedy Center. Hurley and fellow Crew May 25.
Space Center in Florida. It Haivision solutions power Dragon member Bob Behnken “People wondered, ‘How
marked the first time in nine live and on-demand video worked with SpaceX to “refine are these going to work? How
years that astronauts from the streaming and IPTV workflows the way that you interface with can you have control of the
U.S. traveled to the Interna- across NASA. the touchscreen and the way vehicle with these things? Are
tional Space Station from The Crew Dragon flight your touch is actually registered they going to be reliable?’”
American soil. was also the first time U.S. on the display in order to be Knight said.
Haivision Makito X video en- astronauts were in a shuttle able to fly it cleanly and not But, despite early hesitation
coders and decoders streamed equipped with a touchscreen make mistakes touching it,” about a touchscreen system,
live video from the launch pad control system. Hurley said. SpaceX worked with the astro-
for real-time monitoring of “As a pilot my whole career There were some initial con- nauts to create an interface that
the launch at the NASA and having a certain way to control cerns with making Crew Drag- was both reliable and worked
SpaceX control rooms. a vehicle, this is certainly dif- on’s controls all touchscreen, well for the crew, who would
Using the SRT protocol, ferent,” astronaut Doug Hurley Norm Knight, deputy director be actually using the touch-
NASA and SpaceX sent bidirec- said during a news conference of NASA Johnson Space Center screen.
AVIXA Announces Winners of 2020 AV Experience Awards
AVIXA RECENTLY announced the winners rience Awards winners: Best Dynamic Art Experience (Tie) and
of the 2020 AV Experience Awards, a new Best In-Person Experience:
program that “recognizes the innovative Best CollaborativeExperience: › DATAGATE: NASA AI Astronomical
integration of content, space and audio- › Klarman Hall at Harvard Business Sculpture, Nanjing, China
visual technology to enrich experiences.” School, Boston, Mass. Ouchhh Studio
They were honored at InfoComm 2020 Idibri
Connected in mid-June. Best Flexible Space Experience:
InfoComm 2020 Connected will host a Best Dynamic Art Experience (Tie): › Qatar University’s Sports and Events
virtual panel discussion on Tuesday, June › Sviatovid Tours globally Complex, Doha, Qatar
16, at 10 a.m. EDT featuring this year’s BARTKRESA studio Techno Q
winners of the AV Experience Awards to
talk about “innovative, experience-focused Best Individualized Experience: Best Immersive Experience:
AV design.” › Yogi Berra Museum, Montclair, N.J. › Alchemist, Copenhagen, Denmark
Here’s a rundown of the 2020 AV Expe- TRITECH Communications Audio-Visuelt Centrum A/S
6 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.com
USAV Group Launching International Partner Program
USAV GROUP is adding an company, PSA Security Net-
international flavor. Through its work, formed a special interest
international partner program, group with a handful of AV and
USAV Group will add global security integrators to work
members that will help its U.S. on the vetting and application
members expand their portfoli- process and partnership de-
os and reach. tails, with the goal of open-
USAV Group director Patrick ing the program in time for
Whipkey launched the explo- InfoComm 2020 Connected in
ration into an international mid-June.
partner program at ISE 2020. “The way we ended a lot from USAV preferred vendors, “It’s really about the collab-
“Every single integrator we of conversations at ISE was at least at the outset, says oration. I doubt everyone’s
met with was overwhelmingly talking about the reception Whipkey. Instead, it will focus going to be sharing their sales
intrigued and excited about the we host at InfoComm and on how the companies mesh compensation plans, but I
opportunity,” says Whipkey. inviting them to meet us there in terms of process, such as don’t think we’re going to go
“Phase one of the process to finalize the details,” says programming and engineering, forward with an international
was to see if there was interest. Whipkey. “[InfoComm moving with USAV members. plan with exclusivity in mind.
The answer was yes, so phase to a virtual event June 16-18] The move to add interna- It’s going to be about who’s
two is putting the plan in prog- definitely put a little wrench in tional partners has been in willing to collaborate,” he says.
ress,” he says. things for sure.” the works for a while, says USAV has several geograph-
Although the pandemic took Salazar-Mangrum remains Salazar-Mangrum. ical regions in mind for the
some attention away from the confident in the plan, though. “Everyone in the group has launch of its international part-
USAV international partnership “We’re flexible enough that now been open to collaborat- ner program, says Salazar-Man-
program, “there was a lot of we can adapt to what that looks ing with who they would see grum, noting the initiative will
momentum that had been like and still create something as their competitors,” he says. be “based on the priority and
gained that we wanted to build unique and make what we’re “The world’s flattening and need of our integrators.
upon,” says USAV Group VP doing viable,” he says. it’s shrinking also. Everyone’s “Wherever they have a hole
Chris Salazar-Mangrum, so The vetting process for going to be in someone’s back- to fill, that’s where we’re going
they refocused on the initiative international members won’t yard at some point. The ques- to go to try to fill that need.
in April and May. include a requirement to buy tion is how can we go to market As of now, everything’s on the
USAV Group and its parent a certain amount of AV gear best and be competitive? table,” he says.
PEOPLE + PLACES and Asia Pacific, serving clients TC Group, where he began on Energy Division, which over
in more than 125 countries with the research and development an eight-year period, tripled
more than 1,200 employees. engineering team in 1990. in profits and entered ten new
countries. In addition, Fitzharris
Renkus-Heinz has Stampede parent Exertis was responsible for that divi-
appointed International this week an- sion’s oil distribution activities
Kinly recently announced the Graham Hendry nounced several key executive on mainland Europe.
acquisition of AVMI, a move Hendry as VP of strategic appointments. Stampede senior VP of
Kinly officials say “strengthens development. Clive Fitzharris assumes finance Denis Tobin has been
Kinly’s position as Europe’s The new role “places Hendry the position of managing promoted to serve as the inter-
No. 1 player and firmly estab- in a position to develop and director. Fitzharris has been national finance director of the
lishes Kinly as a global top 3 execute the creative vision in head of group strategy and DCC Technology Group. John
provider of video collaboration both product and market de- development for DCC plc since Dunne has joined the company
services. velopment,” according to the 2017 and also a board member as both the DCC Technology
Kinly and AVMI operate company announcement. of DCC Technology. Group chief commercial officer
in more than 20 locations The majority of Hendry’s ca- He joined DCC in 2009 as and chief financial officer for
throughout Europe, the U.S. reer was spent with Tannoy and head of development for its North America.
commercialintegrator.com JULY 2020 Commercial Integrator 7
CI NEWS IN BRIEF RECENT STORIES PEOPLE AND PLACES WHAT’S NEW
CEDIA Expo 2020 Canceled, Virtual Experience is Planned
CEDIA Expo 2020 has been and an interactive expo hall.
canceled, with a CEDIA Expo “The Colorado Conven-
Virtual Experience planned. tion Center and Visit Denver
The cancellation decision have been gracious hosts to
was made by Emerald, owners CEDIA Expo and have always
of the trade show, following embraced our community.
a declaration on May 27 from We wish them the best as they
Governor Jared Polis of Colora- continue to service the local
do to keep the Colorado Con- Denver and Colorado state
vention Center as a medical CEDIA Expo 2020 is going virtual after the live event in Denver population during this difficult
care facility for non-emergency in September was canceled. time,” adds Pagel.
cases related to the coronavi- “While we are deeply dis-
rus COVID-19 through Dec. 31, appointed that we will not be
2020. and other government and Expo 2020 was positioned to coming together in person this
Other mitigating factors in public health authorities; and be the launch pad this year to September, we are committed
the decision to cancel CEDIA the various company-imposed re-energize the channel for the to keeping you connected and
Expo include the latest federal travel restrictions on employ- future. However, due to recent are already hard at work devel-
measures, including guide- ees affecting attendees and developments beyond our oping a virtual experience for
lines on the phased reopening participating companies. control, we made the difficult our connected tech commu-
of the U.S. economy; the “With every event we decision to officially cancel nity. As always, we appreciate
declaration by the World produce, our goal is the same: CEDIA Expo 2020.” your ongoing loyalty to CEDIA
Health Organization (WHO) deliver our customers the most Emerald, which also owns CE Expo and thank you in advance
of COVID-19 as a pandemic; effective opportunities to con- Pro, plans to move forward with for your understanding.”
the number of confirmed duct business and enhance the a CEDIA Expo Virtual Experience The next in-person CEDIA
cases worldwide and domes- vitality of this industry through in conjunction with the CEDIA Expo will take place Sept. 1-3,
tically; current quarantines, innovation, networking, and association that will launch in 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana
containment areas, stay at education – in a safe and September. The virtual experi- – home to CEDIA’s headquar-
home orders, and restrictions healthy environment,” says ence will offer session panels sur- ters. CEDIA Expo joins a long
on congregating and large Brian Pagel, executive vice rounding hot topics, keynotes, list of events canceled in 2020
gatherings imposed by states president of Emerald. “CEDIA- product discovery, networking due to the pandemic.
SDVoE Alliance Launches AV Network Design Assistance Program
THE SDVoE ALLIANCE today the substantial cost savings means initial consultation at the ready to design SDVoE systems
announced its new AV Network and greater system flexibility start of a project, final design and provide guidance to inte-
Design Assistance Program “to and scalability SDVoE has to review before deployment, or grators, installers and end users
help system designers, integra- offer,” according to the alliance anything in between. Help is in deploying high-performance
tors and end users implement announcement. just an email away,” he said in AV networks with advanced
best practices to get the most “As the members of the the alliance announcement. capabilities.
from AV network deployments SDVoE Alliance usher in the era The AV Network Design The SDVoE Alliance publish-
in education, healthcare, enter- of ‘The Matrix Transformed’ by Assistance Program is the es the list of certified SDVoE
prise, entertainment, hospi- offering zero-latency, uncom- latest offering from the SDVoE Design Partners so end users
tality, retail, house of worship, promised video performance Alliance, which lanched “The can seek out design help and
government, military, industry over Ethernet, there can be the SDVoE Show: Adventures in designers can attract business.
and security applications.” need for expert guidance in the Pro AV Education,” an online The SDVoE Alliance is an offi-
Networking experts based intricacies of network design,” initiative to “bring entertaining cial AVIXA Certified Technology
in North America, Europe and said SDVoE Alliance director of and informative content to the Specialist (CTS) Renewal Unit
Asia Pacific will assist with development Charles Dobson. pro AV community” in April. (RU) Provider. SDVoE Design
the design of SDVoE systems “We are pleased to be able Those who complete the Partner certification offers one
“to help customers realize to offer assistance, whether that certification assessment are AVIXA CTS RU.
8 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.comFuture Workplaces Rely on AI, IoT and Other Data Collection
AV INTEGRATORS have worked stick with working from home. because the pandemic forced “Right now, the priority in
for years to create technolo- In-person interaction helps everyone to think differently, most work spaces is cramming
gy-rich environments for their people read social cues, she says Phillips. the maximum number of peo-
corporate clients, but the says, and means less time star- “A lot of the things we’re ple into the space rather than
COVID-19 has shown that the ing at yourself on screen, which talking about now to transform creating smart workplaces. The
way we’ve worked for years can sometimes affect people’s the workplace should have fact that most of us can’t use
isn’t the way we’ll work going self-confidence. been done,” he says. “We just the technology is what’s hold-
forward and that means the Bandwidth issues have be- didn’t have a reason to do ing us back,” says Sargent.
technology corporate clients come much more pronounced them.” Harlin says NEC cus- Rogers agrees, noting the
thought they needed may with most people using home tomers pushed back on adding work-from-home experience
already be obsolete. offices and many WFH staff analytics and other advanced has highlighted something
We’ve entered an era of the are becoming increasingly technologies, but now seem to most people already knew: a
“elastic digital workforce,” stagnant, says Sargent. want them in most cases. lot of workers have better tech-
says Danny Rogers, VP of “It’s going to take some effort “There’s been a shift mental- nology at home than they do at
global channels for AVI-SPL in to ensure the people who are in ly,” she says. Machine learning the office. User adoption, not
the company’s VIBE webinar. the room for that video meeting and predictive analytics could just training, is a critical piece in
That means it’s imperative that and the ones who aren’t are play a more prominent role in future workplaces.
remote workers have the same treated equally,” she says. the workplace, says Harlin. “These problems existed
technological capabilities as “People are most effective and The decisions about future before the last 10 to 12 weeks,”
those who are in the office satisfied when they have choic- workplaces and the role of says Rogers. “We’re just catch-
every day. es, not when everything has to technology in them “is going ing up now.” To implement
“We have to make sure those be done one way or the other.” beyond the AV and IT manager the necessary changes and
and up to the C-level,” says get the desired results, “a lot
Rogers. of behavioral changes need
While AV leaders are trying to happen,” says Phillips. That
to figure out how to solve the includes getting AV involved in
technology needs of today’s building design much earlier,
workers, they continue to ig- says Sargent.
nore the power of the Internet “Designers and architects
of Things, artificial intelligence, need to think about these
environmental impacts and solutions much earlier in the
other facets, says Sargent. process rather than have them
“This could be our Kodak be an afterthought,” she says.
Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other data collec- moment if we don’t get it In many cases, there’s a lack of
tion tools will be critical for AV integrations in the future. understanding about how tech-
together,” she says. Most
customers prefer to shop for nology fits in building design or
people still feel connected,” he Some of that increased technology by price, even if leadership is overwhelmed by it
says. “Providing that ability is production, says Sargent, is that means their experience or fearful it will change.
going to be crucial to attracting coming from people “working with it isn’t quite as good as a Sargent advocates for an
and retaining top talent. Video on adrenalin,” in some cases more expensive or thorough AV-as-a-service model that in-
collaboration has become because they fear losing their solution, says Sargent. cludes a membership structure
the de facto standard when it jobs if they take their feet off the “What percentage of clients that allows AV integrators to
comes to communication.” accelerator. are fully leveraging technology swap out old technology as the
Many workers and employ- The challenge for the AV as much as they can? We have next generation is released.
ers “have been surprised how industry, says NEC analytics to make sure we’re creating She says corporate leaders
productive they can be working platform strategist Kelly Harlin. compelling enough experienc- signing long-term leases limits
from home,” says Julian Phillips, is how “we take solutions and es that people want to be there how much risk they’re willing to
senior VP of global workforce expand or modify them to meet for them, In most spaces, we take with technology because
solutions for AVI-SPL. Still, HOK our customers’ needs.” have to adapt to the physical they know they’ll be in a par-
senior principal Kay Sargent AV integrators are catching environment rather than the ticular space for 10 years and
knows many workers would up with what some work- environment adapting to us,” they’d rather be “stuck” with
rather work at the office than ers have wanted for a while she says. “safer” AV choices.
commercialintegrator.com JULY 2020 Commercial Integrator 9#TECHTRENDING THE BUZZ ON TECHNOLOGY AFFECTING INTEGRATORS
#4K highest possible processing and
graphics delivery.
Caldwell University “Our arena has the absolute
Begins Esports highest spec PCs available,
Program With but the raw processing power
Help From LG and graphics delivery only
WITH ESPORTS rising in popular- matters if it’s connected to a
ity and expected to fetch a mar- top-flight gaming monitor,”
ket size of $1.5 billion by 2023, said the school’s IT Operations
higher education institutions are and Digital Communications
catching on and are offering the Director Anthony Yang, in a
new industry as both a course of press release.
study and a school sport. In addition to the 12
Caldwell University in New high-performance monitors
Jersey has tapped into that in the arena, the school also Premier Mounts was featured in a recent episode of How-
emerging industry by adding installed two 43-inch 4K UHD 2Media’s “World’s Greatest!...”
an esports team this past fall. LG commercial displays for
Students can sign up to com- coaches and managers to ment degree programs in the world’s greatest companies,
pete in three games: League watch games real-time. field launched in fall 2019 have products, places and people
of Legends, Overwatch and In the hallways surrounding already become very popular. and each episode typically
Rocket League. the arena, there are four 55- Now, more schools are reaches about 70 million view-
However, the team needed inch 4K UHD digital signage considering esports as both an ers in the U.S. alone. Viewers
a suitable state-of-the-art facility displays showcasing the action extracurricular and career path. are taken on a fast-paced tour
in which to practice and com- going on inside the arena, Many college students today around the world with each
pete. To do that, the university including live competitions, have been gaming since birth, episode.
looked to LG Business Solutions practices, and recordings of said Aaron Addison, regional Behind-the-scenes foot-
USA for help. past tournaments. manager for LG IT products, in age, interviews and visuals
In conjunction with the uni- A press release on the a statement. combine to create “thorough
versity’s IT department, the com- project didn’t’ mention an in- “And innovative institutions and exciting features on those
pany provided a dozen com- tegrator, but this illustrates the like Caldwell University are rec- selected in various catego-
mercial-grade 27-inch UltraGear potential market of the esports ognizing it can be an enrollment ries,” according to the Premier
ultra-low latency 250Hz gaming industry for AV integrators. booster and a huge student Mounts announcement.
monitors to go with the arena’s According to LG, the compet- life benefit,” Addison said. Camera crews and How2Me-
gaming PCs, which deliver the itive esports team and manage- “Caldwell’s unique arena shows dia staff converged on company
how our gaming monitors and headquarters in Corona, Califor-
digital displays give players the nia for several days of production
best performance available, and earlier this year. Footage was
they show other colleges and captured from the beginning of
universities what a well-built the manufacturing processes of a
esports facility looks like.” piece of sheet metal to a quality
›› #Esports, @CaldwellUniv finished product.
@LGCommDisplays, #4K Additionally, Premier Mounts
team members were able to
#RACKSAND share their experiences and
MOUNTS demonstrate their passion for
the audiovisual industry.
Premier Mounts Fea- “We think their story will be
tured on How2Media’s meaningful as well as educa-
‘World’s Greatest!…’ tional to our viewers,” said
PREMIER MOUNTS was recent- Gordon Freeman, executive
ly featured on the television producer of “World’s Great-
Caldwell University has its own esports team thanks to its series “World’s Greatest!…” est!…,” in the announcement.
partnership with LG Business Solutions USA. The “World’s Greatest!…” ›› @PremierMounts,
television series spotlights the @WrldsGreatestTV
10 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.com#PTZCAMERA appear in alphabetical order.
Another major feature of 5.0 is
Zoom Requires Zoom a feature that requires someone
Room Admins to in the room to accept or decline
Update Controller an attempt to unmute a Zoom
Software Room on the room controller.
ATTENTION AV integrators Additional features coming
that install and manage Zoom soon allow non-video partici-
Rooms: Zoom is urging Zoom pants to be displayed with their
Rooms administrators to update avatar and putting call history
their rooms as Zoom rolls out off by default.
version 5.0 to provide greater What conference room
security and privacy. admins need to know
The urging comes as Zoom All Zoom clients and Zoom
mandates that Zoom Rooms be Rooms must be on version 5.0 The Girl Scouts and Microsoft created a virtual computer
updated to meet the minimum or greater to join any meetings expert badge.
requirements for Zoom 5.0 and as GCM encryption will be fully
for GCM encryption, which are enabled. That can be done via Virtual Room Connector, they intelligent female leaders.
now required for all meetings. the Zoom Admin Portal. will need to upgrade the server This new Microsoft program
A new security icon gives On June 30, Zoom Rooms software to the new version. will enrich the Council’s virtual
administrators and meeting will have enhanced encryption ›› @zoom_us program offerings and allow
hosts the ability to: between Zoom Rooms Control- girls to learn about the versa-
› Unlock/lock meetings ler and Zoom Rooms enabled. #Networks tility of computers, safe usage
› Enable/disable waiting Rooms Controllers not running practices, key computer history
rooms the minimum versions won’t Girl Scouts Create and the operation of programs
› Enable/disable in-meeting be able to continue to function. Virtual Brownie such as Bing, Office 365, Snip-
chat Controller software can be Computer Expert pet and Paint.
› Enable/disable participant updated here. Badge with Microsoft “Our new Microsoft col-
renaming Customers with third-party THE GIRL SCOUTS of Kentucky’s laboration focused on STEM
› Enable/disable screen SIP and H.323 conference Wilderness Road recently had learning represents an ideal
sharing rooms connect via Zoom’s Con- the opportunity to be part of a opportunity for Kentucky Girl
› Remove a participant ference Room Connector do two-hour virtual program with Scouts to grow in their knowl-
› Report a participant not require any action since the Microsoft dubbed the Brownie edge and understanding of the
5.0 also gives hosts the changes don’t impact third-par- Computer Expert Badge. latest computer technology,”
ability to reassign the host role ty encryption. The cloud-hosted Microsoft gave the Brownie said Susan Douglas, CEO of
to another participant when room connector has been up- Scouts “hands-on experience Girl Scouts of Kentucky Wilder-
the original host is leaving. If a graded to ensure compatibility with the latest Microsoft ness Road, in the report.
co-host is in the meeting, they with all GCM meetings. technology and learn founda- “We’re thankful to Microsoft
will rise to the top of the list and If those customers are tional knowledge about how for their shared commitment
the rest of the participants will leveraging the self-hosted computers operate,” according to grow our future female lead-
to a local newspaper report. ers,” she said.
Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wil- Microsoft is offering program-
derness Road quickly shifted to ming locally and to Girl Scout
virtual programming in March councils and alumni throughout
to create new ways for local the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Girl Scouts to remain safely “Microsoft is pleased to offer
engaged during COVID-19. programming to Girl Scouts as
The Microsoft collaboration a way to invest in the future of
reinforces GSKWR’s priori- technology,” said Sarah Yocis,
tization of STEM (Science, community development spe-
Technology, Engineering, cialist at the Kenwood Towne
Mathematics) programming, Center in Cincinnati.
Zoom recently required Zoom Room operators to update
controller software for better security. encouraging girls to explore ›› @GirlScouts, #IT,
new passions and prosper as @Microsoft
commercialintegrator.com JULY 2020 Commercial Integrator 11AV BRAINS & BRAWN
Math for Intergrators: Pro AV + IT = UCC
Unified communications and collaboration brings together the best of both the Pro AV and IT worlds,
and integrators need to be versed in both to succeed with UCC. by Alan C. Brawn
OUR TALE BEGINS with understanding the › Higher accessibility and productivity as
traditional roles of both IT and pro AV. employees with various devices from
In the not-too-distant past, IT and pro AV various locations can work together in a
were separated by a pervasive feeling that unified environment.
there was no real necessity to converge. › Faster and more responsive service
IT entailed both wired and wireless through real-time notifications and
connectivity, and all hardware and software messaging.
that make this possible. The domain of pro › Reduced cost with less telecom, travel,
AV was all the equipment used to commu- and IT expenditures needed.
nicate and share information. › Improved customer satisfaction and
This typically included large-format user experience.
displays, audio equipment, recording gear, › Easier to facilitate teamwork.
interactive white boards, video, telecon- In selling UCC to clients keep these three
ferencing, etc. The purview has expanded top tips in focus:
to include lighting control, environmental 1. Emphasize the specific benefits of com-
control, and building automation. munication and collaboration as it applies to
It comes as no surprise that necessity changed the nature of enterprise network them. As one example, video conferencing
has once again become the mother of workloads. These dynamic workloads can re- can help improve collaboration among
invention. As both IT and pro AV evolve and sult in latency and congestion in old systems. on-site employees and remote workers.
grow, the two fields are now experiencing As UCC and other dynamic workloads Using interactive whiteboard capabilities,
more overlap than ever before. have increased, they have driven the adop- improves collaboration even further.
A perfect example of this overlap is what tion of hyper-converged networks to deal 2. Prove that ROI in specific areas makes
we now call UCC. Let see how UCC brings with the challenges. it real for them. As one example, UCC tech-
it all together from both worlds. nologies can reduce travel budgets and
Unified communication and collabora- Selling the Benefits of UCC expenses and speed up decision making
tion (UCC) is a collection of technologies It is not enough to know that the conver- on projects.
and software that combines enterprise gence of IT and pro AV has resulted in this 3. ROO or return on objectives is more
communication with real-time, asynchro- new level of communication. We must also difficult to prove. You will need to highlight
nous cooperation capabilities. thoroughly understand the benefits of UCC the long-term benefits to your customers
UCC takes the various methods used in and sell those benefits as a tangible and i.e. productivity gains, reduced employee
individual communications and collabo- measurable value to your clients. turnover, and others specific to them that
ration solutions and makes them available Using UCC solutions groups and busi- will provide significant value.
through a single interface to improve nesses can greatly enhance the way they UCC (and both IT and pro AV) are rapidly
connectivity and productivity. interact and perform. This is done by allow- evolving markets. Recent reports indicate
On the digital communications side there ing many different communication channels that over 80 percent of businesses expect to
is email, voicemail, instant messaging (IM), to be synchronized and by improving the invest in some form of UCC in the next two
desktop sharing and voice over IP (VoIP). On operational efficiency of existing commu- years. For you, it boils down to selling value.
the pro AV side, it might involve displays, nication programs. It provides for more flex- Keep in mind that value is in the eye
audio systems, video conferencing, and ibility, adaptability, and responsiveness. of the beholder and your message must res-
collaboration technologies to name a few. UCC allows decisions to be made faster onate with them. Be sure to stay up to date
The objective of all systems as part of an and helps cut down travel time and associ- on the latest trends, new products, and
overall UCC strategy is cooperative access to ated expenditures. your customer’s expectations. That way,
communication through a single interface. The use of UCC solutions therefore has a you’ll be prepared for the opportunities
This interface becomes the gateway to shar- great impact on business practices, produc- that are sure to come your way.
ing, hence the collaboration part of our tale. tivity and ROI.
Keep in mind, on the IT backbone side The combination of UCC tools into a sin- Alan C. Brawn, CTS, ISF, ISF-C,
that UCC poses a number of challenges to gle interface provides numerous benefits, DSCE, DSDE, DCME, is the
networks with old infrastructure. UCC has including: principal of Brawn Consulting.
12 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.comAV MBA
How Game Theory Can Help You Analyze
Your Decisions and Social Interactions
The process developed by Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash analyzes how one thing can
affect another, both in the short and long term. by Bill McIntosh
GAME THEORY was developed in the
1950s by Nobel Prize-winning mathemati- Fig. 3
cian John Nash. This is the same John Nash
who was portrayed by Russell Crowe in
the 2002 Academy Award winner for Best
Picture, A Beautiful Mind.
It’s a mathematical model that allows us
to analyze social interaction and deci-
sion-making. It studies situations in which
there is more than one participant and
each participant’s decision impacts another
participant’s strategy.
AV manufacturers have the difficult task
of managing innovation through the timing
of a product’s release. If a manufacturer the most common result is that one is suc- simultaneous move games. First-mover/
waits too long to release a new product, cessful and the other fails. second-mover and product release timing
they will lose first-mover advantage. Manufacturers must determine if they scenarios are sequential move games
On the other hand, if they release the prod- prefer to be first- or second-movers. as illustrated in the simplified game-tree
uct too early with too many shortcomings, First-movers tend to gain market share by framework below:
they’ll lose credibility and, likely, the opportu- being first to market and attract buyers Game theory is not just for AV manu-
nity to realize any profits from their efforts. based on an unmet need. facturers. AV integration firms can use
During the product release process, Second-movers wait to launch their this technique for bidding, pricing,
manufacturers have three main options: products until the market becomes familiar salary negotiations, real estate purchases,
early release, on-schedule release, or with the first-mover’s product, determine market expansion analysis, supply chain
postponed release. Each of these options if demand for that product is growing, decisions, and certainly much more.
is influenced by their competitors’ potential and then improve the scope gaps in the Businesses can’t succeed without
release schedule. first-mover’s model. knowledgeable decision makers, and
In a cooperative game, each manufac- Both models can be successful and game firms in our industry are no exception
turer would time their releases to maximize theory is a decision tool that can help man- to this rule. Consider how many bright,
the success of all parties. But business is ufacturers determine the optimal strategy. forward-thinking firms are providing
competitive, and when two manufacturers The prisoner dilemma and the cigarette industry-leading solutions in the market-
release similar products at the same time, advertising scenario are examples of place today.
A decent understanding of business
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 dynamics like game theory can give you
the leg up on your competitors, informing
big decisions and illuminating the ways
you understand the business world. If you
understand game theory, you’ll start to see
its application everywhere.
Bill McIntosh is the president
of BrightTree Studios.
To read the full article, visit
commercialintegrator.com
commercialintegrator.com JULY 2020 Commercial Integrator 13THE SERVICE DESK
Different Types of Managed Services —
Does One Size Fit All?
Choosing the right model and approach to managed services to fit your needs will help you have the
most long-term success with this new way of doing business. by Joshua Liberman
THERE ARE MANY ways to deliveryour
managed services stack, and I’d like to
discuss the possibilties:
Managed Services Light. This is an en-
try-level plan built primarily upon an RMM
agent and might include just automated
services such as an EDR client, DNS filter-
ing, user training and Dark Web Alerting
services.
While this offering provides access to
remote help desk services, they are bill-
able. Other MSPs bundle a small amount
of time with their offerings or sell time
block hours.
Having a lower end offering provides us
a way to take on the very badly managed
Giving customers options for managed services provides them with the opportuni-
sites, to build out the project work and
ty to manage their stomach for risk against their stomach for spending.
bring them up to our standards before
engaging them in flat rate services.
And since things like faster response 80% of our clients’ needs. cure email, and secure password manage-
times and extended support hours is not Another benefit of this higher level of ment. These services are billed to us by
available on this plan, there is a natural im- service is the enhanced suite of security the seat, and since few clients use them for
petus to move to a higher level of service. services we offer with it. These consist of everyone, the cost is low.
This entry level plan built entirely upon internal vulnerability scanning and new It really is all about providing choices
automated services with no integrated device alerting, firewall log reading and without overly complicating your offerings.
help desk is also how we engage as the response services. We also provide secure, In the Final Analysis. Remember, if
comanaged IT provider for sites that just proxied RDS and local device encryption. you get the security wrong, nothing you do
want access to our tools but don’t want These services are included at this level, right matters.
to pay for help desk and other more ad- and available as a bundled add-on at extra For some IT providers, there can be only
vanced offerings. cost for our entry level service. one way to do things and that is all in. I sa-
Managed Services Remote. The True Managed Services. There will lute those that can make that methodology
next move up on the ladder of plans adds always be those that must have the best. work, but I prefer to offer choices.
flat rate remote help desk services and With our top plane, we throw in the kitchen Being able to sell top shelf only speaks
faster response times, and access to 24x7 sink, including one-hour response times, volumes of the sales and marketing maturity
support. Most sites are at this level, which on-site support, 24x7 support, Virtual CIO of those that can prosper that way. In my
costs roughly twice what our entry level and Mission Briefings services, and the ad- case, the benefits of being able to appeal
service costs. ditional security services detailed following. to a broader clientele wins out.
This is the “just right” offering for many This is our most comprehensive service and In my experience, the benefits of having
clients and for us. We earn more, but we the only plan that would be considered true the tiers described, and to be able to
are still limiting flat rate support to M-F, managed services by many of the industry gu- onboard at one level and move up the stack
8-5 and promising a reasonable two-hour rus. It costs about 50% more than our remote over time, outweighs the benefits of having
response window. only plan but for those with ongoing needs the one size fits all approach.
We still charge our standard service rate for on-site or 24x7 support, it is worth it.
for work outside of “standard hours” and Additional security services on this Joshua Liberman is the president of Net
still charge for on-site and virtual CIO ser- plan include mobile device management, Sciences, Inc. He has been a member of
vices, but we make good money and satisfy multi-factor authentication everywhere, se- The ASCII Group since 1996.
14 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.comSMB INSIGHT COVID-19 Hiring for SMB Integration Firms COVID-19 has presented new opportunities in AV, so small integration firms can come out of the pan- demic ready to scale up workforces. by Zachary Comeau FOR SMALLER AV INTEGRATORS finding new talent was already a challenge before COVID-19. However, with new opportunities in remote work, reliance on tried-and-true hiring and recruiting practices and capitaliz- ing on an increase in job seekers, small inte- gration firms can come out of the pandemic ready to scale up. Embrace Remote Work As A Recruiting Tool AV integrators are already experts in remote work technology, so it should be no surprise to them that many companies have barely skipped a beat when transitioning to remote work due to the pandemic. Both now and in the near future, integrators Embracing remote work and staying connected to those looking for work are two should embrace remote work both as a hiring keys to success when the pace picks up. and recruiting tool and as a means to keep their employees safe and happy, Winner says. needed,” says Mark Winner, managing When it comes to layoffs/furloughs, “Certainly, I think a lot of them have partner at Tier PM AV/IT Solutions. while the share of companies reducing learned now in resources they could start to staff has leveled off, some AV providers utilize that are remote,” Winner says. Stay Connected To Those Out Of Work are slightly upping their assessment of the There have been countless studies and For about two months, the economic out- extent of those reductions. For example, surveys of U.S. workers, and the over- look in the U.S. appeared bleak as millions last week 30% of AV providers said 1% to whelming notion is that workers really like apply for unemployment due to layoffs and 10% of their workforces had been laid off/ working from home and want to continue furloughs. furloughed; this week, that figure is just doing it in at least some capacity. If your company had to make those hard 6% and a greater share (22%) said layoffs/ An IBM study found that 54% of U.S. decisions, you should stay connected to furloughs were in the neighborhood of 11% workers want permanent remote work, those employees and be transparent about to 20% (up from 12% saying so last week). while a Gartner study found that nearly 75% future plans, says Winner. Notably, the share of AV providers citing of business leaders will move some on-site “Have the process ready where you start much larger staff reductions (81% and up), employees to permanent remote positions. talking to potential employees or circling has grown to 28%. If there’s a silver lining, The coronavirus pandemic accelerated back to people in furlough to let them know it’s that respondents still indicate the vast that trend and exposed workers to the con- that things will hopefully be coming back majority of these reductions are furloughs, venience of remote work, but it was already online soon,” Winner says. not permanent layoffs. a rising trend before the virus hit, as remote With all eyes on social media both in the That means the talent pool will be gigan- work grew 173% from 2005 to 2018, ac- technical age and even more so in quaran- tic once things return to normal, including cording to Global Workplace Analytics. tine, keeping an active profile will help show entry-level job seekers who are beginning However, even with that increase that those employees that your integration firm is their career in this new normal. was just 3.6% of the U.S. workforce. An still in business and ready to scale back up. “There’s going to be a lot of talent, poten- estimated 56% of workers have jobs that While we don’t have AV-specific num- tially,” Winner says. “It depends on if people they could carry out at home. bers, an estimated 33.5 million Americans go back to their original jobs and original “Having your design engineers, your have filed for unemployment since March — companies, but there could be a lot of programmers, even your install and field truly unprecedented figures. people out there looking for work. So now teams working remotely in this situation is What we do know is that there undoubt- is the time if you have jobs that you think helpful because they don’t have to report edly been headcount reductions in the in- are going to start to come about in the next into work, but they can still go on-site as dustry, according to a May 22 AVIXA report. month or two, to start advertising them.” commercialintegrator.com JULY 2020 Commercial Integrator 15
2020 INTEGRATION AWARDS MEET THE 2020 INTEGRATION AWARD WINNERS Highlighting the best projects in 13 vertical markets, from corporate and higher education to esports and immersive experiences and just about everything in between. By Jonathan Blackwood, Adam Forziati and D. Craig MacCormack IF YOU’RE FAMILIAR with our annual Inte- Awards winners in the immersive experience spirited debate that comes with choosing gration Awards program, you know there’s category and the esports project category each of the winners. never been a lack of entries in some of the alongside the winners in some of the catego- You probably won’t be surprised that categories, including corporate, higher ries we know you enjoy. We think you’ll enjoy some of this year’s winners were easy to education, bars and restaurants and health seeing the way AV can be and has been used pick and others gave us some pause and care. Those have been popular markets in so many different vertical markets. made the decision extremely difficult. for a while, even as they’ve evolved along As always, the winners in each Integra- Even if we didn’t choose your entry or your the way. tion Awards category this year were chosen favorite entry as a winner, chances are you’ll You might notice this year, though, we’ve by a panel of industry experts—namely, our see them featured on our site or in the added and updated the vertical markets editorial team. We evaluated each entry magazine soon. included in the 2020 Integration Awards this year on the solution deployed, the Enjoy the stories of this year’s Integration to reflect some of the progression and project buildout/challenges and customer Awards winners and, if your entry wasn’t changes in the industry that now embrac- reaction to the installation. among the ones we chose, perhaps you can es interactivity and an evolution in sports While none of us has ever actually in- find inspiration in something this year’s hon- entertainment. stalled an AV system in an of these environ- orees did and create something even more That means you’ll see the first Integration ments, we know what we like and enjoy the impressive in time for the 2021 edition. 16 Commercial Integrator JULY 2020 commercialintegrator.com
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