As you may know, rAVe [PUBS] is now part of THE rAVe Agency — a full-service creative agency that serves the AV and UCC markets exclusively. We just launched a new service called [STORYTELLING] that helps you tell your brand, product or service story using words, video or voice. No, it’s not PR — there are plenty of awesome PR firms out there; this is [STORYTELLING]. Listen to the leader of [STORYTELLING], Morgan Lawrence, share how your company can benefit from it.

The recent news of video interoperability between Cisco, Zoom and Microsoft has generated a lot of industry buzz. If you’re interested, listen to rAVe Founder, Gary Kayye’s take on where he thinks all of this is headed and why we need to pay attention to the upcoming ISE show in Amsterdam in February 2020.

I have to be perfectly honest with you. Before deciding to do a podcast with ViewSonic’s Ryan Strayer, I had no clue that ViewSonic even made projectors or had a line of interactive flat-panel displays (aka Collaboration Boards). Maybe I am too occupied at shows like InfoComm, ISE and DSE to do and see everything, but today I did some research and then called Ryan. And, what I learned is that ViewSonic is one of only two display manufacturers that makes everything — monitors, projectors, interactive flat panels, wireless collaboration devices and collaboration boards. Did you know? Listen up!

A start-up from a bunch of audio engineers debuted at InfoComm earlier this year under the moniker, Stem Audio Touting an ecosystem approach to solving audio quality, connectivity and usability in UCC spaces, Stem launched a family of 5 products, a wall-mount, table-top and ceiling-mount mic/speaker that connects via USB or “the network” a touch-screen controller and a Hub. It’s secret-sauce, if you will, is its RoomDesign management software platform that lets you design, build, quote, guides you through set-up and even certifies room sound quality. And, it became available yesterday, via any web browser, for you to use to build, spec and order a Stem Audio system. With that news in mind, Gary reconnected with Stem’s CEO, Jacob Marash, to explain their launch plan. Listen and give it a try yourself: https://www.stemaudio.com/roomdesign/

Gary was joined on today’s podcast by Rob Moyer, Senior Vice President of Cloud Services, Mobility and IoT for SYNNEX Corporation, to hear about cloud-based collaboration and how integrators can lean on the distributor in this evolving market. During the podcast, Rob discussed business transformation and how the way people work and interact has changed dramatically. Listen in and also visit synnexcorp.com/stellr to learn about the tools and support SYNNEX can offer to help integrators address this critical market segment in verticals including corporate and education.

AVaaS isn’t new; in fact, we’ve been writing and talking about it here at rAVe since 2016 — it’s just new in AV. What? Ok, well, aaS (as a service) is the ecosystem of the entire software world — nearly nothing is purchased anymore, its’ “rented” but, it’s rented with the understanding that that it (the rental fee) includes upgrades, improvements (bug-fixes) and compatibility/scalability. But, in AV, we don’t do this. Systems are installed/integrated and then, we walk away. Well, sort-of. The good AV integrators walk away but sell RMM (remote monitoring and management) or, at the very least, service contacts to keep it “up-and-operating.” But, the promise of AVaaS — something that’s just around the corner – is that in addition to managing the system, remotely, and, as such, setting up data analytics to predict likely system problems, we also offer the client the ability to upgrade it, indefinitely – as long as they pay the monthly “aaS-fee.” Don’t understand this? Or, want to learn more, here’s one opportunity. Gary was joined with Legrand AV’s Scott Lowder and Mark Tracy to talk about RMM, AVaaS and what the opportunities are for both the integrator and the client. And, if you still want more AVaaS, register for Gary Kayye’s FREE Webinar on Monday, November 4th at 2PM EST here — it includes 1 AVIXA CTS RU too.

Gary was joined by Sharp USA‘s Distribution Sales Manager, Dave Lacoff the VP of New Business, Cliff Quiroga and Mehryn Corrigan its Director of Strategic Partner Alliances for a 4-way videocast that covered two of the hottest new technologies in the ProAv market. Sharp was the first collaboration board company to announce their version of the all-new Windows Collaboration Display (WCD) earlier this year and the 70” version ships in November! It’s Skype certified and integrates a camera, mic and speakers. And, this will be at the Almo ProAV E4 Experience next week in Atlanta, too! 8K is certainly the future native resolution for everything but, for now, Sharp is leading the professional segment of 8K with cameras and displays — all native 7,680 by 4,320 resolution. And, you’ll get to see a handheld 8K camera on this podcast. Watch!

Although you may know TierPM as that recruiting and AV staffing company, they have something they call the Unified Communications Dashboard that you need to know about. AV integrators can white label it and support thousands of rooms simultaneously or it can be deployed and managed through the cloud by the client themselves. TierPM’s Program Manager, Sarah Vanroyce delivered a perfect demo of the system to Gary on today’s videocast. Watch!

Gary was joined by Almo ProAV‘s Brian Rhatigan to talk about the busiest week of the year for Almo – starting in just 12 days. In addition to attending and debuting their new Zoom Room Bundle Solutions at Zoomtopia, Almo will be stopping in Atlanta for the E4 Experience. The E4 Experience will bring Atlanta-based integrators and design consultants the opportunity to take advantage of 11 AVIXA CTS-accredited courses featuring AVIXA’s own Chuck Espinoza, Legrand‘s Joe Cornwall and Gary’s AV-over-IP keynote; along with a 50-booth show floor featuring over 115 new products launched in 2019! So, register here and check out Almo here.

One of the top digital signage content companies in the world is Mvix Digital Signage. So, I asked Mvix’s Senior Director of Business Development, Mike Kilian, to explain how AV integrators can get into this lucrative and profitable segment of the signage market: selling content creation and managed services. He explains it beautifully!