36 INTERVIEW Consider cloud-first AV AVIXA’s Mike Sullivan-Trainor explains why enterprises are continuing to invest in AV products and services for everything from boardrooms and collaboration spaces to training environments and control rooms 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. BY ALICE CHAMBERS “ Across all spaces, organisations are investing in cloud connectivity to unify platforms”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=