Strategy in TECH...
Nice, a global manufacturer of Smart Home, Security, and Home & Building Automation products based in Italy, announced today that it has acquired Nortek Security & Control – purchased from Melrose plc for $285 million. The move expands Nice’s portfolio and strengthens its North American presence.
Rarely in the affordable high-performance audio market are product designers able to offer a solution that possesses an optimal combination of convenience, attractive design elements, and performance. But Pangea Audio, out of Grand Rapids, MI, has been able to achieve this holy trinity with their new Vulcan Turntable Wall-Mount Shelf.
As I am sure that most readers of this post will know, during CEDIA Expo at the beginning of September, I published a continuously updated post tracking which previously announced exhibitors subsequently made the decision to pull out of the event as the COVID Delta variant raged on. A remarkable realization occurred as I worked on that post, literally speaking with dozens, if not hundreds, of exhibitors and attendees for that event – many of them were confused about who owned the CEDIA Expo!
Last Friday, Strata-gee broke the news that both Cheena Srinivasan and Michael Malcolm, co-founders of Kaleidescape, had left the company recently to pursue new opportunities. (A third co-founder, Dan Collens, left the company back in 2006.) Kaleidescape, the leading media server manufacturer in the upscale residential space, is an important supplier to many custom integrators, so this is a big change. Late Friday, after Strata-gee broke the news of the change, the company put out a formal statement on the situation.
Earlier this week, sources told Strata-gee that Kaleidescape co-founders Michael Malcolm and Cheena Srinivasan have left the company. Malcolm is said to have left a couple of months ago and Srinivasan reportedly left the organization just last week.
IPORT, a Sonance company, announced this week it is launching an all-new, totally redesigned IPORT Connect Pro line of products. IPORT is an award-winning line of products that hold, charge, and protect tablets in a residential or commercial space. IPORT Connect Pro takes its already user-appreciated design and utility to the next level.
Over the last few weeks, a buzz began to swirl around yet another major tech industry trade event, the NAB Show, set to run from October 9-13 in Las Vegas, NV. The buzz was a series of rumors that exhibitors may begin pulling out of the event. Then last week, major exhibitors Sony and Canon did exactly that by withdrawing from NAB Show, both citing the COVID Delta surge in infections and the need to protect their employees’ and partners’ health and well-being first and foremost.
Quickly taking their cue, the NAB announced today that the event will be canceled as “…the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.”
Emerald Expositions on Monday put out a final recap of the CEDIA Expo 2021 that took place earlier this month and while Group Vice President Jason McGraw called it “…a solid event,” the numbers they revealed told a much more sobering tale. Still, I need to say up front that I am actually impressed they released data from the event rather than the hazy and rough estimates as they have done in the past. It’s at least a step in the right direction towards some sort of transparency.
Premium networking systems and services specialist WhyReboot announced this week that they have set up a national network of independent specialty manufacturers sales representatives. The company has appointed nine top rep firms across the country, expanding their local presence for both sales and support.
The resurgence of COVID due to the Delta variant is causing increasing pandemonium throughout the exposition industry. In the face of growing headwinds, Emerald Expositions insisted on moving forward with CEDIA anyway, kind of. But with dismal attendance and most of the exhibitors pulling out in the weeks leading up to it – it was far less than a normal event. Now we learn that another show – the audio-centric Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) – after much pressure from media and exhibitor pull-outs, has decided to cancel its event, as well…this time for good.
