Strategy in TECH...
Azione Unlimited, a division of Nationwide Marketing Group, announced this week that its founder, president, and chief creative officer Richard Glikes has exited the custom integration buying group, effective February 1. Glikes has been running the show at Azione for twelve years now and the group says he will still be involved in providing “strategic guidance” on an ongoing basis as Chairman Emeritus, but has withdrawn from day-to-day operations.
GE Appliances and Savant Systems announced today that they are partnering in the launching of an innovative new home energy solution they call the EcoBalance System. The goal of this system is to offer the residential market a “whole-home, connected solution” that delivers the ability for consumers to take full control of energy delivery and utilization in their homes for unparalleled energy efficiency and management.
Portal, one of the custom integration industry’s most popular AV proposal & design software solutions used by thousands of custom integrators every day, has announced that they have struck a deal with two industry powerhouse brands – Snap One and Sonos – who will make the software available to their respective integration dealer bases. Both brands will underwrite the full monthly subscription cost for their dealers in an effort to help those integrators raise their level of professionalism, improve the efficiency of their operations, and increase their deal closing rates.
Respected digital imaging powerhouse Digital Projection International (DP) announced that it has expanded its sales team with two new regional sales managers. Both are experienced professionals who will offer sales and support to Digital Projection customers throughout their respective regions.
Like many companies, Snap One brands are the subject of several discussion Groups on Facebook, some run by the company and others run by third parties. In the days following their recent announcement of existing program changes, new program mandates, and new optional programs, many dealers took to Control4-related groups on Facebook to protest the changes immediately, vociferously, and even (in a few cases) profanely. It was an outpouring of emotion that group admins and participating Snap One executives like G Paul Hess and others struggled to stay on top of.
Snap One executives told the dealers in the group of an upcoming webinar in which the company plans to explain everything regarding the program changes to their dealers.
Days after Snap One announced a major program initiative in an effort to change the integration industry business model, the company held a media presentation in which 5 members of the 23-member Control4 dealer advisory panel that helped the company design the program were made available to select members of the media for a short question and answer session. This was organized by Snap One specifically because I had asked to speak with the panel. How do I know that was the reason for this media opportunity? Because company executives told the media that I was the reason they chose to hold this event. This may, or may not, have endeared me to the other media.
Cambridge Audio, a funky, music-centric audio brand based in London whose tag line is “Made by Music” announced today a successor to its award-winning CXN V2 (the first streamer ever inducted into the What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame) called the CXN100. Saying it is a “true generation step up in sound quality” the CXN100 brings a fresh design, new higher-grade components and is said to deliver added functionality and better overall value.
How do you maintain leadership in the technology industry year after year? If you’re Sonance, you continue to innovate and work hard to earn the ongoing support of your dealer and distributor network. Sonance is celebrating 40 years of innovation and it’s doing so by launching a new booth, new experiences, and no fewer than 23 new products at ISE 2024 in Barcelona, Spain this week.
Crestron Electronics, a leading industry supplier of smart home and next-gen workplace technology, announced today in Barcelona, Spain at the ISE 2024 show that its popular DM NVX AV-over-IP solution is approaching one million units installed – a major milestone achieved in just a few short years. The company salutes the integrators and their projects incorporating the technology for propelling widespread adoption of DM NVX around the country and the world.
Sonos [NASDAQ: SONO] announced this week that it will launch an all-new 8-inch in-ceiling speaker that it designed in conjunction with Sonance. Part of the company’s Architectural lineup of speakers, this new model extends both the size and the range of performance of the line.
