2024 ISE Recap

2024 Integrated Systems Europe

Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, 2024 

Written and attended by Mike Boettcher and Patrick Whipkey  

This year’s Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Barcelona celebrated 20 years as the world’s leading AV and systems integration exhibition. Edge attended for the third time to grow our international connections, expand our international partner program (IPP), support our industry’s sustainability efforts through hosting the annual Sustainability in AV (SAVe) Reception and tap into the leading innovations in the AV industry. 

We believe ISE is a can’t-miss show and highly recommend adding it to your event calendar going forward. Check out this year’s highlights and learn how Edge is stepping up its international presence. 

ISE 2024 Highlights

• The industry showed up for the 20th anniversary with more than 74K attendees representing 162 countries with the largest single-day attendance achieving 51K.  

• It was evident sustainability was top of mind across manufacturers and integrators. Many products and solutions showcased environmentally conscious materials and a focus on minimizing power consumption demonstrating the widespread global support for the AV industry’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

• Artificial intelligence (AI) applications and the benefits of supplementing content creation with AI was a BIG topic.  

• Display technology, specifically large-scale LED and projector mapping, was popular throughout the exhibition space and in overall conversations about its emerging technology such as MicroLED. 

• As expected, there were more AVaaS offerings, including improvements to conference room-in-a-box implementation and support as they move away from less complex systems. 

• A full day was dedicated to the Smart Building Conference showcase, represented by our own IPP Tomas Mac Eoin from Hereworks, and focused on building efficiency and landlord ROI to further emphasize the role of the Master Systems Integrator. 

• An America’s Cup Experience Center was located at the Port Vell harbor in Barcelona to create a realistic experience of what to expect at the upcoming sailing event in August where the racing boats will utilize technology, such as cameras, microphones, monitoring equipment and drones, we saw on the ISE show floor. 

SAVe and Edge Reception

On the second day at ISE, Edge and SAVe, the first U.S.-based sustainability organization to bring stakeholders together in the AV field, hosted the annual reception to encourage action toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We had an excellent turnout of 115 Edge member and SAVe partner attendees.

Edge and SAVe Reception Hall

The reception was a great opportunity to meet with our active international partners, establish connections with potential new ones and network with SAVe ambassadors.

ConsorcioTec and Edge’s Show Presence

ConsorcioTec, an international industry partner powered by PSA and Edge, strategically placed a booth we shared in the center of the show floor, steps away from our friends’ at SAVe. Thank you to Max Jaramillo and his team for landing the prime location. ConsorcioTec also represented one of the event showcases, the Europe/LatinAM AV Summit, which was an effort to bring the two geographical locations together to network and create links between them. With ConsorcioTec by our side, we look forward to expanding Edge’s international presence.  

What’s Next for AV

As the year begins to take shape, it was interesting to hear how important our 2024 presidential election is to other countries, and the impact it has on their business outlook. We were also reminded to keep an eye out for additional streams of revenue that may be outside the normal course of business that integrators are used to. Although we had a softer 2023 Q3 and Q4, there is a lot of optimism for 2024 across the manufacturer, distributor and integrator channels.  

Mark your calendars!
We hope to see you at ISE 2025 from Feb. 4 – 7.  

Interested in Edge international business? Contact Patrick Whipkey.

Fall Integrators Meeting 2023 Recap

Each fall, Edge members meet in person to discuss what is going on in their business and the industry. This year’s Edge Fall Integrators Meeting was held in St. Louis, Missouri, on Nov. 1-3. In addition to exclusive education and networking opportunities, the event was filled with all the BBQ, blues music and brews St. Louis had to offer.  

Edge ISG members are encouraged to attend the annual Edge Fall Integrators Meetings, but if you were not able to make it this year, take a look at what you missed below from the State of the Industry to one-of-a-kind experiences.  

NETWORKING & EVENTS

The ultimate benefit of attending the annual Edge Fall Integrators Meetings is working side by side with industry leaders and building lifelong relationships with your peers, which Edge events strive to prioritize.  

To kick off the event, attendees gathered at Edge ISG Member Color Art’s St. Louis office on Wednesday, Nov. 1, for a welcome reception. The evening included an incredible tour of the facility, local cuisine and cocktails. Thank you to Color Art and its President Jim Sheer for hosting the group. 

Thursday’s schedule featured even more networking opportunities. Integrators participated in “Speed Dating with Partners” where partners ADI, Avocor, Exertis Almo, Legrand, Liberty, Sharp NEC and Shure rotated tables with integrators to discuss their solutions, answer questions and establish their partnership.  

The fun was just getting started with the National Blues Museum up next. The group enjoyed a private tour and dinner with a spectacular live performance from a local blues band.

2023 AWARD WINNERS

Ascender Award (Outstanding New Member)

Radiant Technology Group, Inc. 
 
Unparalleled Partner Award (Most Engaged)

VIcom – Dennis Schliske 
 
Pinnacle Award (Top Purchaser)

New Era Technology 
 
Edge of Distinction Award (Biggest Increase On-Program Spend)

LightWerks Communication Systems – David Riberi 

EDUCATION AND KEY TOPICS 

Over the course of two days, Edge heard from industry experts on key opportunities and challenges facing the industry. Below is a recap of the 2023 Edge Fall Integrators Meeting education including important takeaways from the presentations and discussions that followed.  

Thursday, Nov. 2 

Keynote: Leading with Simplicity 

Bluewater Technologies’ Bob Marsh focused on simplicity as the key factor to selling in this complex world. Bob’s revolutionary concept of Leading with Simplicity™ is all about putting your team at the center of everything you do and maximizing employee engagement by aligning your team's daily purpose. Concluding his presentation, he facilitated roundtable discussions about maximizing your impact. 

Unparalleled Partnerships - Success Stories 

The group continued its discussion on maximizing impact when it heard from Jim Scheer at Color Art, Kristin Spiewak at Sharp NEC, DAC Chairman Dennis Schliske at VIcom and Daniel McKenzie at IMS Technology share their success stories about leveraging partnerships. Edge members agreed partnerships are the best way to continue to grow business and acknowledged the importance in trusting those connections.  

Hereworks Master Services Integrator Overview 

IPP Member Hereworks CEO Tomás G. Mac Eoin provided an overview on Master Systems Integration (MSI), a leading trend in Europe. While the U.S. is not yet prepared for this trend, there are some concepts that could be developed soon, and American integrators should begin to have those conversations in preparation. 

Panel - Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roundup 

AI is omnipresent and impacts the AV industry. A panel of industry experts from Edge, Liberty, Red Thread and RoomReady discussed AI’s involvement in business and reviewed common concerns that were brought up at NSCA’s 2023 Pivot to Profit such as cybersecurity and physical security, job extinction, intellectual property, confidentiality and more.  

The panel concluded that AI is here to stay, and those who utilize AI will be more efficient and better protected against the aforementioned areas of concern.  

Friday, Nov. 3 

State of the Industry 

AVIXA Vice President Sean Wargo reviewed the latest trends in the AV industry derived from AVIXA’s annual report. Sean provided a concise snapshot of macroeconomic themes, revenue trends and end user plans from AVIXA's research library. This session shared essential insights for informed decision-making for AV business leaders and adjacent industry professionals. For example, one takeaway recognized that services would continue to increase companies’ bottom line. To learn more about the State of the Industry, take a look at his presentation on your Edge member login here.

Commercial Real Estate: How the Landscape is Changing 

Sansone Group Director Office Brokerage Scott Savacool wrapped up the 2023 Edge Fall Integrators Meeting with a review of the changing real estate landscape. Scott instilled positive perspectives that the real estate market is not all doom and gloom; however, now is the time to get ahead of this as the industry is lacking a sense of urgency. Take a look at his presentation on your Edge member login here.

2023 SPONSORS

EDGE Fall Integrator Meeting 2022 Recap

RECHARGE, RETHINK, RESET

EDGE members meet every fall to catch up and discuss what is going on in their business and the industry. The EDGE Fall Integrators Meeting was held in conjunction with the PSA Annual Convention at the beautiful Omni Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Oct. 11 through Oct. 13. We joined the PSA Security members for working groups on supply chain challenges, retaining employees and cybersecurity threats to integrators. Also, we heard from industry experts on the key topics of the project management process, emotional intelligence in talent retention, financial responsibility and innovative technologies.

It's always great to catch up with familiar faces and meet new ones, especially in an excellent location. We kicked off the event Tuesday morning with a round of golf (who says you can’t work and play) to RECHARGE our batteries. Following golf, we attended the welcome reception, which combined PSA Security and EDGE members, where networking and new relationships developed.

Wednesday morning, we started with a keynote by Bill Benjamin, an Emotional Intelligence, Performance and Leadership Expert. Bill combined real world knowledge and science to help people understand emotional intelligence. I loved how he started off by saying, “There are no tissues on the tables because this is not one of those discussions.” He helped everyone understand the science of the brain and how it ties into emotional intelligence.  

Next, we had breakout sessions with working groups to address supply chain challenges, retaining employees and cybersecurity threats to integrators. These topics were popular to security and AV members. I noticed a consistent theme that continued throughout the combined working groups we are not alone. Everyone is working on creative ways to combat similar challenges. Participants even requested we continue the sessions because they made progress and were learning from each other. The breakouts gave everyone a sense of satisfaction and new ideas to bring back to their individual organizations.  

After lunch, EDGE jumped into the Fall Integrators Meeting, which started with project management. Times have changed, and how we manage projects must also change; we need to RETHINK the project management process. Now more than ever, project managers are managing an enormous project schedule. 

How many projects should a project manager have on their plate at a given time? Is it a dollar figure?  

What does the role of a project manager do versus a project coordinator?  

Who is doing the project management? Is it a dedicated project manager or a field engineer? Site leads? Bonus plans?  

 These critical questions and more were brought to the surface during this session. The bottom line is there is no fixed rule on how to manage a project, but there were a lot of great ideas and different ways to help aid the process. Next, Brad Malone, vice president of Professional Services at Solutions360 and vice president of Consulting at Navigate Management Consulting, led the panel discussion with a few of our integrators along with Chris Bianchet, general manager of Herman IS. Each panel member brought their own industry expertise and perspective, illustrating our network’s diverse ways of thinking. They addressed burden and utilization rates, time tracking and variable labor costing. There was a focus on schedule forecasting, change orders and heroism. We always say our most significant asset is the knowledge in the room, and this panel discussion was a shining example.  

We wrapped up the first full day of the meeting with roundtable discussions with key partners, including ADI Global, Exertis ALMO, Legrand AV, Liberty AV, Shure and Sony. This was a terrific way to understand how each preferred manufacturer partner was handling supply chain issues, along with some insight to help the EDGE integrators keep projects and cash flowing. 

Day two started with April Simpkins, a Human Resources consultant, and Chief Human Resources Officer at Total Human Resources. She delivered a fantastic keynote on “The Impact of Leadership on Culture, Engagement, Recruiting and Retention.” In today’s world, your employees are your biggest asset and keeping them in the long run is becoming increasingly difficult. Her session was informative and thought provoking, which ended in some great ideas to keep employees happy and engaged. 

Leading the next session, Tom LeBlanc executive director of NSCA discussed the effects of the business environment on cash and how integrators today need to RESET the way they manage cash flow. Supply chain has caused project timelines to slip and keeping a close eye on cash flow is key to business success. To support integrators, NSCA has a library of online and useable resources immediately available to us.

Speaking of supply chain, our final session covered newer technologies that are in stock and ready to ship. We had three of our integrators discuss options they have been testing in their labs to help mitigate the supply chain issues. It was all on the table, from custom in- house control systems to new products that have been vetted. It was a fantastic way for everyone to contribute to what they have found testing these products on their own. 

Overall, the Fall Integrators Meeting was filled with successful networking, information sharing and lessons learned. The power of the networking is stronger than ever, and we are happy to have had the time to RECHARGE, RETHINK & RESET.  

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PATRICK WHIPKEY

VICE PRESIDENT OF EDGE