2010 in Review
I get asked a lot of how the business is doing compared to the economy as the two are generally tied together. It only makes sense, our clients do well, we do well. 2010 is no exception.
In 2008 we saw the 2009 crash coming. 2009 was an awful year for business but innovation brought around the economy for 2010. Consumers tightened their pocketbooks and electronics manufacturers came up with affordable solutions for the masses. This spilled into the commercial sector and therefore in the AV support/service world.
In 2010 we saw a resurgence in audio visual brought on by the strong market demand for LED uplights for parties and weddings. They also gave our planners a great flexibility in building decor in spaces that traditionally were challenged by limited power.
In video, we saw the market plunge deep into HD. HD monitors, HD projectors, HD switching and conversion. The wide screen format has been coming and it is slowly but surly being adopted by the average planner and meeting coordinator.
For 2011 brings big questions. What will the economy be like in 2011? What are the emerging yet accessible rental products for the AV world? What are the bombs to stay away from?
What will the economy be like in 2011? I expect a slight hangover from 2011. Things are a little over saturated in some markets so we’ll see a little dip before a modest plateau of the year. At most a 5% increase over 2010.
What are some emerging yet accessible rental products for the AV world?
- I’d love to see the iPad and other touch screen hit the rental market but I just don’t think it can happen with Apple’s TOS, so it will have to be from somewhere else.
- I see a further ISP battle coming with the Telephone providers. I could definitely see AV merging to provide hotspots over traditional internet for conferences. Maybe not in 2011, but definitely emerging.
- Wireless Display for small room meetings. Cords are going away and probably not a second too soon. How stable and how quickly they will phase out old gear will be something interesting to watch.
What are the bombs to stay away from? Personally I see 3-D going no where. Its just impractical in the home and corporate environment. It might continue to do well at the movies but until they can develop 3-D that doesn’t require funny glasses, it’s just destined for failure. Now hologram technology would be very cool.
With all that being said, what’s your outlook on 2011?
