Strategy in TECH...
Multiple media outlets, including the venerable Reuters News Agency, are reporting that Samsung Electronics chartered two jets to return a total of 20 of their executives and staff who became infected with COVID-19 at CES 2022. In addition to this, South Korean health officials are reporting that a total of 70 Korean nationals – including the 20 Samsung employees – returned (or are trying to return) from CES infected by COVID.
The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced today that its Cabling & Infrastructure Technician (CIT) Certification has received third-party accreditation which means that it conforms with the global ISO/IEC 17024:2012, General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification of Persons standards. This is according to the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which oversaw the process that determined the CIT Certification program fully conforms with ISO/IEC 17024 global standards.
Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), a popular custom integration trade show that takes place in Barcelona, Spain, announced this week that the show managers have decided to postpone the event from its originally scheduled run of February 1-4, 2022 to now May 10-13, 2022. The reason for the postponement is due to the rapid rise of Omicron-variant COVID-19 infections in Spain as well as its impact on international travel overall.
On Monday evening (January 3, 2022), as part of their festivities kicking off the 2022 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Vice President of Research for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Steve Koenig shared what the association believes to be some of the top trends in Tech today. Saying, “…we’ve witnessed an abundance of innovation across this whole season and certainly over the past year…”
Heading to CES 2022? Be sure to check the online version of the show schedule regularly, as Advertising Age (Ad Age) is reporting that CES has apparently removed “a slate of programs,” including several previously scheduled sessions and panels planned for Tuesday. The move is said to be a result of so many companies and executives canceling or otherwise pulling out of the show.
Strata-gee readers reached out to me on late Friday as word circulated that the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) was taking the unusual step of cutting the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) short by one day “…as an additional safety measure.” That is essentially all that an announcement from the association says about this decision, which on the face of it seems to call into question the safety of attending the event at all.
UPDATED 12/30/2021 – Scroll down for update – I reported last week that several major exhibitors, including one major event sponsor whose CEO was scheduled as a keynote presenter, had announced they would be pulling out of CES due to the meteoric rise in COVID infections resulting from the Omicron variant. Now we learn even more major exhibitors have decided to join the increasing line of brands heading for the exits from the industry’s largest tech event of the year.
**SEE BELOW FOR STORY UPDATE** – On Tuesday, several large exhibitors independently announced that they would be pulling out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), scheduled to start the week-after-next in Las Vegas, NV. The reason given for these pull-outs was the rapidly spreading COVID-19 infections due to the emerging hyper-infectious Omicron variant. Major brands, such as Amazon, Meta Platforms (Facebook), T-Mobile and more said the rapidly changing COVID situation caused them to consider the safety of their teams and other attendees of CES 2022 – a major indoor event.
Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced today that it has appointed Amanda Beckner as its new Vice President of Education and Training. Beckner replaces the recently departed Samantha Ventura and is said to bring two decades of experience to the role. Most notably, Beckner was VP of Learning for AVIXA, the commercial integrator trade group.
CEDIA recently filed their Form 990 with the IRS – a required filing by non-profits disclosing key financial data – and for the first time in a while, I found some interesting and somewhat confusing things in there. Yes, I obtain the organization’s 990 filings every year just to get a sense of how things are going. Like all of us, the organization is filing for, at best, the previous year and often they request and receive an extension. Hence, we are just now getting a glimpse of their 2019 results…and it was an eye-opener.
