The UC Expo has wrapped up for another year, and the growing overlap of AV and IT has never been so easy to see. Reece Webb explores.
From almost every stand I visited, the comments rung almost word for word: “It’s a lot busier than I thought it’d be, there’s definitely a buzz”.
It wouldn’t take an expert to figure that out, all around the show, crowds were bustling, and auditoriums were packed with listeners to the likes of Robin van Meuuwen from TIG discussing the transformation of the future of the workplace to the latest product releases and unveilings.
For TOA, UC Expo provided the company with an opportunity to unveil its AM-CF1, its web conferencing audio system which features a beam steering microphone, web GUI configuration and two stereo speakers, with a selection of input and output connections.
On the software side, Pexip took the opportunity to explain its expansion focus and its recent merging with Videxio, putting the spotlight on the company’s key focus on coverage and inter-operability.
Mersive also unveiled its Solstice Gen 3 Pod, allowing users to we can wirelessly share content onto a screen through a variety of mobile devices including laptops, smartphones and tablets.
The show also presented another first for Sharp, with the first event for Sharp Electronics Europe’s new general manager, Ian Barnard.
Ahead of the launch of Sharp’s Windows Collaboration Display, a 70-in 4K display featuring Sharp’s touch technology and IoT sensors, visitors were treated to a sneak peek of the display in action, demonstrating its room atmosphere control features and analytics.
Barnard explained “We're bringing the Windows Collaboration Display to market in conjunction with Microsoft. It was a huge hit at ISE and we saw the opportunity with this event. I don't believe there are so many collaboration or unified communication shows across Europe, so this stood out.”
In a nutshell, UC Expo 2019 proved to be a busy success for many brands involved, with a large turnout and engagement from a show that is famously compact, as the lines between AV and IT continue to blur, it’s a strong probability that more recognisable AV brands will be appearing in the realm of UC and vice versa.
Baranrd comments “People were talking about AV and IT coming together and it has been going on for a long time, but I think it is accelerating now, I don't see it as siloed as with consumer electronics, AV IT professional broadcast, everything overlaps.
“I think the overlapping part of that is getting greater and greater. If you look around here, you can see it everywhere in the various collaborative and UC devices, you will see more and more of that convergence and it's something that we're embracing.”