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.
Savant released several announcements at CEDIA Expo 2024, each of which was interesting on its own. Seeing these announcements reminded me of some of its past announcements – such as the acquisition of GE Lighting and J Geiger Shading – that were also interesting in their own right.
But only when you start putting these and other company developments together, like individual pieces of a mosaic, does a picture emerge of just where Savant is headed. And that picture…is truly compelling one of a smarter Smart Home.
There has been a flurry of activity in the Savant ecosphere lately, much of it causing a buzz in the industry. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had several integrators reaching out to let me know about some of these changes. Not all felt they were positive and many questioned the motivations behind the moves. Accordingly, I reached out to Savant to see if I could get some insight into just what is going on. The company responded by making President JC Murphy available to update me on a few of their recent moves.
I’m not sure that anyone in Tech has done more than Strata-gee to report on the issue of the failing supply chain and its at times ruinous impact on our industry. My very first report on the supply chain – AKM Fire: 2020 was Almost Over, Then Disaster Struck Again – is the second most-read story I’ve ever written in my life. I had always assumed that the issue was so big that everyone was affected equally.
But then I discovered, almost by accident, that one company has a clever strategy to beat the shortages. That company is Savant, and their strategy is equal parts brilliant…and a bit insane.
