Strategy in TECH...
The media in Japan positively exploded this week with the shocking news that Sharp has notified Samsung it will no longer supply the world’s top seller of LCD TVs with the panels they need for their sets. Samsung was Sharp’s largest customer, but in a shocking power move, after negotiations broke down – Sharp said no deal.
In a reorganization at Nortek, Core Brands, previously a freestanding, underperforming segment of the company, has been moved under the control of Nortek’s Security and Control Solutions Group, it was announced internally this week. With this change, Core Brands President Joe Roberts will now report to SCS Group’s President Michael O’Neal.
SnapAV announced Wednesday that it has acquired Autonomic, a leading music server solutions provider. This is SnapAV’s latest in a string of acquisitions, as the company continues to seek solutions that will fulfill the needs of their extensive national network of custom integrators.
As the end of the year rapidly approaches, it’s a great time to look back on 2016 to remember the big stories of the year. Some of these stories were ultimately eclipsed by subsequent ones – and some of them will continue to resonate through 2017 and beyond.
Startup software provider TRXio announced this week that it has joined Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) and fully participated in the organization’s Fall Conference last month in Chicago. The move is seen as another step on the road to greater awareness and acceptance of the company’s prime offering – inventory tracking software.
CT Lab, which is associated with NAPCO Media, publisher of Dealerscope and Technology Integrator, announced today that it is launching a new magazine and website call CEMBLY. CEMBLY, which the company describes as “an ambitious project,” is largely a business-to-business magazine that will target home technology professionals, interior designers, architects, builders, and building designers. The idea is to blend technology, with design, with dramatic home installations.
In a national conference call with sales reps yesterday, Onkyo announced a major restructuring of their sales organization. This overhaul involves consolidating their four major brands – Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite – into two newly-created divisions.
Logitech announced this week that it has developed an Amazon Alexa skill that will allow users to control their entire AV home entertainment system with simple spoken commands. Voice control has become a hot topic in the industry since CEDIA 2016, when one of the keynote speakers was Charlie Kindel, an Amazon executive working on their voice-enabled products like the Echo and Dot.
Leviton announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with Samsung’s SmartThings division to offer a simple home automation starter package that will be made broadly available through distributors and the “professional dealer” market. Designed to be an affordable, whole-house, home automation solution – the package pairs products from SmartThings with Leviton Z-Wave enabled devices at discounted pricing.
At CEDIA 2016, Jetbuilt CEO Paul Dexter’s voice was holding out…but just barely. Between the loud environment and the constant talking, it’s amazing anyone can talk by the end of day 2. Yet when an intrepid journalist showed up to ask about his software, Dexter shifted into high gear and in only about ten minutes, we had a complete picture of what Jetbuilt is all about. And that’s when we realized the name, Jetbuilt, was not just a company name, but was also a description of the end product – a good looking, well designed, full project proposal – built insanely fast by a savvy software solution.
