Integrator Insights: The Biggest Challenges Of AV Integration
We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the industries leading AV integration companies on some really great projects. Each install provides a new opportunity for us to support the integrators and make their jobs as easy as possible. So, in order to do that, we decided to ask them about their biggest pain points to see if we could help resolve them.
Here is what they said…
[TB] Managing timelines is the most challenging part, I think. Some projects are very complicated, and we are given a limited timeline. Often our turnaround time is just a few months rather than a year out. It takes a lot of work and planning to manage large projects, but we always come through. Westbury has a lot of talent and experience, and we have great technology partners.
[SM] I would say one of the most common challenges we have is time. We have so little time, normally we are the last trade on the job. This tends to be the nature of low voltage integrators. Those that don’t live in our world often think, “It’s just low voltage…it’s AV”, and we can install overnight. It simply doesn’t work that way. LEA Professional is hugely helpful in this sense, an integrated amplifier like LEA allows you to do the majority of the channel assignments, DSP programming, and testing in the office, saving us time on site. Having a reliable and predictable amplifier outcome is critical so the more time we can spend with it in the office the better.
[CS] Product procurement is definitely the most challenging. Getting the product on-site, on time can be frustrating. I always want to make sure the guys on site have everything they need to do their job. LEA Professional has been really great in that aspect. I know they worked hard to get us the amplifiers on time in order to get our latest project up and running and they were very responsive during the entire journey- that makes a massive difference.
[JV] It’s always a challenge to ensure we are anticipating client needs. Sometimes our customers might only use about 10% of the capability of the equipment when we first commission it but in the future, they may need to use that equipment to its fullest capacity. We want to make sure that we’re providing them with the right products for their needs now and in the future.
[MC] I’d say the biggest challenge is building strong relationships with manufacturers. Companies like LEA Professional embody the kind of relationships that we want. Some of the bigger, larger companies are doing a lot of acquisitions and they’re buying companies because they’re missing an expertise or a product mix and when they bring on those lines, they don’t really understand them. We appreciate a good close relationship directly with the manufacturer and the support and knowledge that comes with that.
Another big challenge we have is aligning customer’s expectation of cost. When customers go to Home Depot for example, they can think that the cost-effective small home stereo surround system is what they’re going to get in their conference room, so it can come as a shock when they realize it takes a lot more to do that commercially.
[IS] Programming new systems for me is difficult, I can install a system no problem but getting used to new programs is tricky and can require some training and handholding by the manufacturer. The easier they can make this for my team, the better.
[AM] I think communication with manufacturers can be tricky and I would like to see more manufactures tailor their communications to suit integrators. For me, I don’t need the high-level information and the sales decks, I want to see the technical details, in the most concise way possible. If I get a list, an email, once a month with a list of the new products and their features, I am happy. I will add that I love training sessions and I can’t wait to actually get to see those happening again when it is safe.
Share your own AV integration challenges in the comments below or reach out to us on our social media channels.
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