Strategy in TECH...
Respected custom integration industry executive JC Murphy, the Chief Commercial Officer of Savant Systems Inc. (Savant), has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA) Smart Home Division. CTA is the leading association for the consumer electronics industry and owns and produces the iconic CES exposition event. It also has a Smart Home Division, which exists to advance the smart home industry.
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) reported its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the period that ended on December 27, 2025. The results paint the picture of a company going through a painful transformation. And while some progress has clearly been made, there is still a long way to go – and it remains unclear whether the company will ultimately be successful. However, we’ll look at where they are right now, the plan they roughly sketched out for next steps, and you can see what you think.
John MacDonald, a widely known and highly respected custom integration industry executive, suffered a sudden heart attack in his home office and passed away on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. News of his sudden passing raced throughout the industry, launching a torrent of heartfelt tributes across all major social media sites.
Gentex Corporation (Nasdaq: GNTX) announced the results of its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2025 – the period that ended on December 31, 2025. Management expressed satisfaction with 2025’s results, which it says were achieved despite several challenging headwinds impacting performance.
Holy Cow! The Harman Luxury Audio Group lion has reared back its head and roared AUDIO!!! I mean, the company is launching a total of 24 brand-new audio products at the 2026 Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show. Even for a company the size of Harman, that’s a lot! For now, I’m going to focus on the moves the company made with its JBL Synthesis Custom Loudspeaker line, which includes nine new speakers and three new “next-generation” AV processors.
Emerald Expositions (NYSE: EEX), owner of the CEDIA Expo, CEPro, Commercial Integrator, and more, has formally announced on its website that it has decided to “indefinitely postpone” the Total Tech Summit. Quite a buzz erupted on social media as word of this decision spread among those in the custom integration industry.
Sonance, a long-time leading manufacturer of custom integration gear valued by integrators all around the world, has announced its plans for the Integrated Systems Europe Show 2026 (ISE) taking place now in Barcelona, Spain. Key to the announcement is that the company will display in two different “stands” (the European name for a “booth”), one optimized for the professional/commercial channel and another optimized for the residential/marine channel.
The company also announced the launch an all-new, high-performance Ultra Thin-Line VX Speaker.
The Consumer Confidence Index surprised economists in January after experiencing a small uptick in December. According to The Conference Board, after a 5.1-point upward revision of December’s early reading, the index fell a surprising 9.7 points in January to a reading of 84.5 (1985=100). This is the most pessimistic that consumers have felt about the current situation and the near-term direction of the economy in 12 years!
La Verne, Ca-based Harmonia Distribution, a national distributor of select high-end, high-performance audio brands, has announced recent changes to its leadership structure in the wake of the departure of former President David Schultz, who left the company at the end of 2025. Taking over as President is Jesse Luna, who was promoted from his previous role as Vice President of the company. Also, Jeff Coates has assumed the role of Director of Sales. Coates was also an internal advancement from his previous position as US Sales Manager.
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) introduced on Tuesday the launch of a new model called the Amp Multi, its first such launch in more than a year. Targeted for the professional integrator channel, Amp Multi is, as the name suggests, a multi-channel streaming amplifier that appears to be designed to encourage integrators to incorporate more Sonos products in larger, more sophisticated residential installations.
But will integrators go along with this scheme?
