AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes joined Gary on his podcast today for a special video interview, not just about InfoComm 2020 Connected but also about the future of our industry. It’s a candid look at how far we’ve come over the last 90 days and where we’re headed — what are the opportunities for us, as AV and UCC professionals, to help the world get back to work? If you missed InfoComm 2020 Connected, rewatch the content by going here: https://www.infocommshow.org. Or check out all the rAVe coverage here: rAVePubs.com/InfoComm2020.

Alexis La Broi, of VER, introduced us to nPower last week and we decided to highlight the nPower program as part of today’s videocast. nPower creates pathways for launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. And, they focus on developing and teaching IT expertise. This provides AV integrators with an opportunity to hire entry-level IT professionals while also adding diversity to their organization! Watch this interview between nPower’s Regional Director, Sid Wilson, Alexis and Gary Kayye as they discuss how you can get involved and what the benefits and expertise you gain from hiring the graduates of the nPower program! NPower currently operates in New York, Texas, California, Maryland, Toronto, New Jersey, Missouri, and Michigan.

Here’s a personal message from rAVe Founder Gary Kayye on why you should join him next week during THE rAVe Agency‘s LAVNCH WEEK 2!

Gary was joined on today’s Videocast with WolfVision’s Michael Lisi to talk Cynap, the VCX Conference and the future of UCC via BYOM and full collaboration. Cynap is well-positioned to be the ultimate BYOM (bring your own meeting) UCC product to drive both local and distance-based collaboration in classrooms and meeting rooms. Watch and see why!

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.