By Alice Chambers |
Discussions about AI’s impact on enterprise operations are everywhere, but audiovisual (AV) solutions have been shaping workplaces far longer. Adopted well before the generative AI boom from OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, AV technologies played a crucial role in helping organisations maintain productivity during the shift to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, corporate investment in AV continues to rise: The Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA)’s 2025 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis report forecasts corporate spending to reach $72.5 billion by the end of 2025, growing at a steady 3.1 per cent compound annual rate until 2030.
Mike Sullivan-Trainor, senior industry analyst at AVIXA, shares the trends and drivers behind this sustained momentum in enterprise AV.
What is behind the continued investment in enterprise AV solutions?
AV technology has become part of the infrastructure of corporate offices, meeting rooms and auditoriums, converging with IT systems to be nearly as ubiquitous. This convergence requires organisations to invest in integrated control rooms and networks supporting AV over Internet Protocol (IP).
In addition, executives and marketers are leveraging broadcast-level technology to upgrade their corporate and customer presentations. Plus, security and surveillance are increasingly important as threat levels increase, driving upgrades in security cameras, visual analytics and control systems.
Where do you see companies prioritising their AV spend, and why?
Media servers, storage hardware and software continue to drive investment as more content is produced with new applications such as AI and broadcast AV. However, over time cloud services are beginning to take hold to defray some of the cost of hardware. Cost-efficient integration services designed to solve interoperability issues are also gaining increased traction. These trends stem from pro-AV buying patterns, which have become increasingly influenced by business executives and IT managers concerned with return on investment.
How are modern collaboration needs reshaping AV investments in boardrooms and group meeting spaces?
Modern collaboration needs are driving AV investments in two ways. First, companies are equipping larger meeting rooms and boardrooms with higher-quality AV technology to support interactive, broadcast-quality presentations for company meetings, product launches and shareholder sessions. These spaces combine presentation tools with immersive interactivity to facilitate engagement and collaboration at scale.
Second, as employees visit the office less frequently and conference rooms become more costly, companies are creating smaller collaboration spaces, such as huddle rooms for four or fewer people. These rooms are easier and cheaper to outfit with quality audio and video, allowing more flexible, frequent meetings for small teams.
Across all spaces, organisations are investing in cloud connectivity to unify platforms, enable wider data access and integrate workflows across meeting and productivity applications.
How are AV solutions evolving for individual workspaces to enhance productivity and employee engagement?
Whether returning to the office full-time or working in a hybrid model, workers are increasingly collaborative and require access to common platforms and applications, whether in their workspace or in a meeting room. Further, the office environment should replicate the work-at-home environment as much as possible, with emphasis on ease of use and bring-your-own-device compatibility where appropriate. Conferencing and collaboration platforms that reside in the cloud and are regularly updated make it easy to increase compatibility across these collaboration spaces. It is also critical for organisations to integrate these platforms with audio and visual devices to allow seamless control and user experience.
In sectors that rely heavily on control rooms, what AV trends or technologies are executives adopting to improve operational efficiency and decision-making?
Control room data analytics is a key driver. Pulling together data from disparate sources, aggregating and analysing it, and presenting it quickly requires excellent data management tools, as well as video processing to display data on high-resolution screens. While AI tools can help with the data workflow, liquid crystal display video walls, rather than direct view LED screens, are more likely to provide the required resolution. While the nature of AV technology changes with the needs of the operator, today’s control rooms require specialised integrators and equipment to address regulatory requirements, security, redundancy and 24/7 operations.
How are corporate training environments being transformed by AV technology, and what benefits are companies seeing in terms of learning outcomes or engagement?
As in the traditional education classroom, two key drivers are transforming corporate training – immersive experience and remote access. The training content and instruction are enabled by AV experiences that engage students with the material. This technology can include anything from virtual reality or digital twins to video game-like content. While these are the highest-level tools, most facilities already incorporate projection, quality audio, interactive whiteboards and other multimedia devices. It is also crucial that this training is available to remote users with as much fidelity as in the classroom. This mitigates travel and makes training accessible for all employees.
As more enterprises invest in AV production rooms, how is technology making in-house broadcasting and content creation more accessible and effective?
Virtual production is probably the key growth trend in this space, as it offers the combination of high-end video creation and cloud-enabled solutions. While enterprises see the value of broadcast-quality, they still want to do so on a tighter budget. Beyond that, adopting IP-based networking standards to foster interoperability between production and AV devices is gaining traction, with initiatives such as the Internet Protocol Media Experience.
What advice would you give to executives looking to get the most from their AV investments?
Adopt a cloud-first approach, especially for meeting rooms and workspaces. Then look for device providers that offer interoperability with cloud and the IP network. For many years, AV has been seen as a separate speciality, and while special skills and technologies are still required, they should be integrated into the larger IT framework and investment strategy, as well as accorded the visibility and value they provide across spaces – the boardroom, meeting room, production room, control room and training room.
Discover more insights like this in the Winter 2025 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.