Adapting Your Network for Long-Term Results

We've all become used to hearing that visitor numbers at trade shows have gone up with each edition of the show, and InfoComm 2017 was no exception. For those attendees used to the bustle and excitement of ISE, there has perhaps been a feeling that InfoComm hasn't always reached its full potential, but the buzz on the show floor this year can put that argument to bed once and for all.

While I only had limited opportunities to leave the Shure stand and explore the rest of the event, from the visitors who came to the stand it was clear that there was a significant increase in people attending from outside of North America. It was also great to see so many end users dropping by who wanted to learn more about the products and were keen to talk to manufacturers about ways to work together, often on a global scale.
 

InfoComm 2017 Trends

Throughout the three days of the show, two topics kept coming up in my discussions with people – AV/IT convergence and networked audio. While both these topics have been on the radar for some time, it seems they are now at the forefront of many end users' minds as they look to improve efficiency and workflows.
 

AV/IT Convergence

IT undoubtedly dominated many conversations I was having, with visitors looking to centralize their estates and adopt ways to improve troubleshooting and solve issues before they become serious. As with many areas of AV technology, visitors were looking for easy-to-use systems that would work for them long-term without being cost prohibitive. These requirements led to a great deal of interest in Shure's SystemOn Audio Asset Management Software, which is designed to manage mission-critical or large-scale deployments of Shure audio hardware across networks from a central platform. End users across the education and corporate sectors in particular were quick to see the potential of a system that can make it easier for IT administrators and AV technicians to monitor and control meeting spaces or teaching rooms across campuses or even across the world, receiving immediate notifications should issues such as low batteries or missing devices arise, while also enabling remote control of audio gain, muting and RF channel assignments and delivering offline system status notifications. The fact that all information is relayed simply and quickly to the specified technician and that new features and updates are seamlessly made available, made the long-term benefits of SystemOn clear.
 

Networked Audio

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the other big topic of conversation on the Shure stand was networked audio. Shure has been at the forefront of the audio networking debate for some time and, with products such as the P300, Microflex Advance and ULX-D, we'll continue to push forward with new solutions that will help to create effective, user-friendly, fully integrated spaces.

Finally, I'm pleased to say our new Microflex Complete integrated audio conferencing system also garnered much attention at the show so keep an eye out for that at future events. Next stop for us will be InfoComm MEA in Dubai from the 5th - 7th December so be sure to stop by.

We host a free Audio Networking seminar through our Shure Audio Institute for AV Technicians and Audio Engineers who want to gain a better understanding of the IT networking standards commonly used in today's audio transport protocols. The seminar explores the path from point-to-point digital audio transport through to modern converged networks, and the future interoperability offered by standards such as AES67. Click here to find our more and register for the next Audio Networking seminar.

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