INAVATE + NETGEAR: Opening Doors

Paul Milligan speaks with NETGEAR’s Gary Newson on why the IT networking company has decided to partner with the 2020 Inavation Awards, and what NETGEAR can offer AV consultants and system integrators.

Gary Newson (GN), marketing manager EMEA, NETGEAR, sat down with Inavate editor Paul Milligan to find out why it has become a partner of the Inavation Awards, and also to find out what problems and issues NETGEAR can help solve for time-poor but tech-savvy system integrators and AV consultants.

What are your reasons behind becoming a headline sponsor of the Inavation Awards?
(GN) NETGEAR, like the Inavation Awards, is driving advancements within the AV world while at the same time celebrating this. As the AV over IP market continues to grow rapidly and as the needs of proAV installers and users evolve, the evolution of supporting technology also needs to keep pace. NETGEAR understands this demand.
NETGEAR is dedicated to supporting systems integrators, consultants and technology managers throughout Europe by providing them with the products, training and services to take the AV industry to a new era of simple, flexible, scalable and affordable deployments.

The Inavation Awards offers NETGEAR a great platform to drive and promote change in the AV industry. How do you see the partnership between Inavate and NETGEAR developing over time?

(GN) There is a bright future for our partnership. As NETGEAR continues to pioneer the way with next generation switches engineered for true AV over IP it opens many doors for collaboration. The opportunities are endless.

NETGEAR ProAV M4300 52G PoE+ - Museum Display 1

What are the main points of synergy between NETGEAR and the Inavation Awards?
(GN) Driving innovation, pioneering new technologies and change, educating the AV industry throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa and collaborating with industry leaders are all things NETGEAR and the Inavation Awards both stand for. These annual awards recognise and celebrate outstanding AV design, integration and management globally and NETGEAR is proud to sponsor this as the leader in AVoIP switching.
NETGEAR is keen to form deeper relationships with the SI community across EMEA. Time and time again when in conversation with systems integrators and consultants across EMEA, the Inavation Awards were mentioned as the awards they value so we wanted to get involved.

We know the brand from products in our home but what issues can NETGEAR solve for system integrators and AV consultants in the proAV world?
(GN)
Actually, NETGEAR has been involved in the enterprise market for years already. However, with the proliferation of AV over IP specifically, there is a renewed interest in networking equipment and more attention on us. NETGEAR senior management has dedicated resources around the company
to the ProAV segment and make sure we can help make the job easier for integrators and consultants. How do we do this? Through products and services. We have designed products specifically for this market, the M4300 and M4500 series switches, to make it quick and easy to setup the network for AV over IP. These products are ready to go out of the box – simply plug in your encoders and decoders and start streaming.
Also, we have a dedicated engineering design team (proavdesign@netgear.com)
to help with both pre- and post-sales questions including network design, installation, troubleshooting and more.
Plus, we offer a comprehensive ProSUPPORT service for the end user that integrators can sell to help support them and their customers after the install.

What would you say distinguishes a NETGEAR product from other offerings?
(GN) One of the key benefits of our ProAV switches is our unique functionality called NETGEAR IGMP Plus that allows AV over IP installs to work right out of the box. This is preconfigured on the M4300 and M4500 switches to allow the integrator to spend less time configuring the switch and more time on the rest of the install. No one offers this level of plug and play functionality.
Additionally, the ability to stack our ProAV switches, in any combination of sizes required, is a huge plus. As the system grows, or even at the outset, you don’t need to purchase another switch of the same size. Simply use the right switch for the job.

The AV and IT worlds have been moving closer together during the last decade, what is the NETGEAR view on this transition? Does this shift benefit NETGEAR?

(GN) The convergence of AV and IT is perfect for NETGEAR. We already know the IT world and understand what it takes to be successful. NETGEAR has added staff from the AV world and established partnerships with many AV vendors and integrators, to better understand the AV ecosystem and ensure we offer the right products and services. To illustrate that commitment, NETGEAR was a founding member of the SDVoE. Many in the AV world are new to the IT side of things, so having an IT partner like NETGEAR who understands their challenges really helps consultants and integrators provide solutions on time and on budget.

The Inavation Awards takes place on the first night of ISE 2020, what can visitors to the exhibition expect to see from NETGEAR there next year?

(GN) NETGEAR is excited to be a part of ISE 2020 and will be displaying a gorgeous SDVoE-based 2x2 videowall along with our purpose-built for AV over IP M4300 and M4500 switches. We have a few other things in the works that I can’t disclose just yet.


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