Strategy in TECH...
The innovation train keeps rolling down the track at Crestron who has had a string of new introductions in 2020. The company announced today a new line of touch screens in what they say is their “next generation” design known as the 70 Series Touch Screens. But if you only see photos of it, you won’t truly appreciate what it offers – a balance of both elegant design with tough, all-aluminum construction and a solid weighty feel.
Emerald Expositions announced today that CEDIA Expo Virtual drew 7,600 trade professional registrations for their three day run from September 15-17, 2020. Although this figure is less than half the attendance at the live, in-person version, Emerald considers it a great success as an all-virtual event.
As previously reported by Strata-gee, the Crestron NEXT event of two weeks ago was a remarkable accomplishment for one company to pull off. With a full two-day agenda – Crestron NEXT offered lots of great content, such as its perspective on the tech business today, seminars on their key current tech products, and more importantly, advice on where things are going tomorrow.
Probably one of my favorite presentations was actually the closing presentation – where Ranjan Singh, Crestron’s Executive VP of Product and Technology summed up the key points of the last two days…and more importantly…offered some details on trends to watch today that will drive the future in a presentation titled “Future Innovations, Next & Beyond.” This is the kind of smart insight that most integrators never get to hear.
I don’t know about you, but at this point in our pandemic-impacted new normal, I’m getting a little Zoomed out. Do you know what I mean? So when I learned that there would be two big virtual events in one week (CEDIA Expo Virtual and Crestron NEXT), it didn’t exactly extract a big WOO-HOO from me.
So how do virtual event promoters rise above the morass of brain-addled ambivalence from the many industry denizens overloaded by Zoom meetings? They deliver truly motivating content that shakes the attendees out of their Zoom-induced comas. I’m pleased to report that Crestron NEXT has delivered on the promise of offering truly interesting and impactful content for integrators, at their first ever online, virtual integrator conference.
Creston, one of the industry’s largest and most respected brands of control and automation solutions for the residential and commercial channels, is holding their Crestron NEXT virtual event next week – and it looks extremely interesting. Taking place over two days – September 15 & 16 (yes, during CEDIA’s virtual show), there are two versions: residential and commercial.
OK…I don’t want to overstate this, but over the last few years, integration industry giants Crestron and Lutron have been…shall we say…a little competitive with each other. Maybe not directly so, but certainly there have been skirmishes over several lines of products. Over time, the two companies’ line extensions have been progressively encroaching more and more into each other’s territory.
Well, that’s over now, as Creston announced last week that it has forged “an alliance” with Lutron – integrating several of the lighting company’s products into the Crestron Home ecosystem. Dealers who sell both brands are undoubtedly rejoicing – Hallelujah! Peace has come!
Crestron Electronics announced today that it is returning to the CEDIA Expo show for the first time since Strata-gee broke the news of their surprising exit from the event four years ago in 2016. This announcement marks a triumphant return for a company that has seen its residential business soar over the last few years, particularly with the launch of their Crestron Home software solution.
As we hurtle headlong into the a new decade – the 2020s – it’s a good time to pause and take stock of some of the major events of our industry’s recent history by ranking the Top 10 Strata-gee stories of 2019 based on total page views. This ranking shows just what stories drew the most attention of Strata-gee’s eminently intelligent and inquisitive readers.
This is Part 2 of Strata-gee’s series on my recent visit to Crestron. In some ways, as much fun as I had at their Research Center, I can almost say it was eclipsed (if only slightly) by a visit to, at that point, their yet-to-be-officially launched factory that was actually a couple of miles away from the main Crestron campus at a facility in the state of New York.
They call it their “Factory of the Future,” and after touring it…I can see why.
ResiWeek, the podcast from AVNation.tv that is focused on the residential integration industry segment, has once again invited Strata-gee editor Ted Green to participate as a guest panelist on its weekly podcast. This episode #158 featured several top stories pulled from the industry news of the day.
