CEDIA Communicates Q2

Q2 2018

COMMUNICATES

Integrate & Educate The firm behind our cover photo is training a new generation in Mexico

IOT: Friend or Foe? 4 Tools to Boost Profits

II

COMMUNICATES

GUARANTEED IN STOCK AND IN HAND.

HARMAN Luxury Audio is committed to the needs of the custom installer. Now to further complement the exceptional sound of HARMAN products, all Revel Architectural Loudspeakers and Rough-in Brackets, select JBL Control Loudspeakers, select Crown CDi Amplifiers and all JBL Synthesis SCL Loudspeakers are guaranteed in stock and will come with free 3-day shipping.

These products also qualify for advance defective exchange with overnight shipping to ensure that no installation is slowed down. Contact LuxuryAudioGroup@harman.com for more information on the program or how to become a dealer.

Š2017 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Revel is a registered trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated.

JBL Synthesis is a registered trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. Crown is a registered trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. JBL Professional is a registered trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.

COMMUNICATES

ContENTS

16 20 26 30 34 36 38 40

Integrate and educate Mexico's Inteliksa builds systems — and trains new techs

lights, SHADE, ACTION! You don't have to be an expert in lighting to bring in more bucks

blockchain EXPLAINED It will affect your business eventually

The iOT: Friend or foe?

The Internet of Things means opportunity — and risk

Time is MONEY Here are four tools to save time and raise profits

PRO LIABILITY INSURANCE A Q&A on coverage that’s often overlooked

THE builder's VIEW What do builders and designers look for in an integrator?

MEET THE BOARD CEDIA'S new Board of Directors talks strategy

1

2

COMMUNICATES

A WINNING STRATEGY Thanks for picking up this issue of CEDIA Communicates.

We have big news on multiple fronts: Our strategic plan has been crafted, and we’ve begun implementing it — and our global headquarters building is going up quickly. (You’ll find quite a bit more on our strategic initiatives on page 8.)

But most importantly: Our members continue to do tremendous, astonishing work.

You’ll meet one of those members in the pages that follow, an integrator from Mexico named Enrique Granados. His firm, Inteliksa, has won several CEDIA Awards, and Enrique has personally introduced CEDIA training as an education program in one of the leading universities in Mexico.

This issue also includes some terrific business advice: Leslie Shiner weighs in with a piece entitled "Time is Money: Four Tools to Boost Your Profits," and lighting and shading expert Jan Eden tells us how to incorporate those elements into your next project. We’ll speak to a general contractor/remodeler and a designer on what they look for when they’re finding an integrator to work with, and we’ll delve into what blockchain technology might have in store for the residential technology industry.

Our Government Affairs department is hard at work, too — find updates on legislation across North America that could impact your business.

There’s more, of course — literally too much to mention here. We just hope you enjoy reading the publication as much as we enjoy putting it together for you.

All the best,

Tabatha O’Connor CEDIA Global President and CEO

Contact

7150 Winton Drive, Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 USA Email: info@cedia.org Telephone: +1 800.669.5329 www.cedia.net

Follow us on:

Unit 2, Phoenix Park, St Neots Cambridgeshire, PE19 8EP, UK Email: info@cedia.co.uk Telephone: +44 (0)1480 213744 www.cedia.co.uk

Front cover image: Inteliksa Integración Autopista Mexico - Queretaro 3069-C, Int. 3B San Andres Atenco Tlalnepantla, 54040, Mexico Telephone: +52 (55) 5026 6969 Email: ventas@inteliksa.com www.inteliksa.com All material in Communicates is the copyright of CEDIA and any reproduction of said material would require written permission from the publisher. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of content published, CEDIA cannot accept responsibility for any factual errors that may occur. CEDIA cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors.

COMMUNICATES

WE CRAFT AUDIO PRODUCTS THAT PERFORM LIKE NO OTHER Meridian has always challenged convention.

For more than forty years, we have pushed boundaries, disrupted norms and delivered products that have shaped our industry and redefined how people experience sound.

We are the Pioneers of High Resolution Audio.

meridian-audio.com

3

4

COMMUNICATES

NEWS IN BRIEF CEDIA’S ROADSHOW CONTINUES THROUGH 2018 As we told you in detail in the last issue of Communicates, CEDIA is literally taking the show on the road this year for a series of two-day events across North America. We’re hosting one day of ESC-T Certification review and exam sessions, followed the next day by two half-day (or a single full-day) training sessions on the most important and timely issues facing our industry.

Attendees can come for one day or even just one session, whatever works for an individual’s needs. On day two, training sessions will cover a broad variety of topics ranging from technical education to business acumen.

Here are some upcoming dates:

Gaithersburg, MD June 26-27, 2018 Rockleigh, NJ October 2-3, 2018 You can keep tabs on additional events and training schedules at cedia.net/onthe-road — and yes, lunch is provided.

TABATHA O’CONNOR NAMED CEDIA GLOBAL PRESIDENT AND CEO As you’ve likely heard, Tabatha O’Connor has been promoted to the position of CEDIA Global President and CEO. The Board of Directors made the announcement on January 29, 2018, to a round of applause from the staffers who’d been assembled to hear the Board’s decision.

O’Connor had served as the “acting” President and CEO prior to her promotion. She’d been performing the day-to-day duties of that role since May of 2017.

“Tabatha has proven herself to be an incredibly effective leader, working to make some of CEDIA’s most significant projects become a reality," says David Humphries, CEDIA Chairman.

"From the global alignment to the sale of the show to our new headquarters, Tabatha has been the one to carry the torch across the finish line."

After joining CEDIA in 2002, O’Connor led many different departments within the association, including membership, finance, human resources, operations, and volunteer development. In 2015, O’Connor was promoted to COO. In that role, she was able to implement organizational structures and processes that helped to strengthen the association’s position as an industry leader.

"I am honored to be named Global President and CEO,” says O’Connor. “I am passionate about building this industry and providing our members the tools they need to be successful. The organization is at a very exciting pivot point as we implement our new strategic plan, construct our new global headquarters that will serve as a resource to our members and our industry, and expand CEDIA’s educational programming around the world.”

Humphries adds, “CEDIA is not the same organization it was 12 months ago. We are shifting focus from an organization whose primary function was running a tradeshow to an organization that will push the industry forward through education, outreach to design and build specifiers, and increasing professionalism though standards, guidelines, and best practices.”

O’Connor is the board treasurer for Integrated Systems Events, the management company co-owned by CEDIA and AVIXA that produces ISE, the world’s largest tradeshow for the professional AV and electronic systems industry. She also serves as board treasurer for ESPA (Electronic Systems Professional Alliance). In 2016, she was chosen by Dealerscope as one of their “Powerful Women in Consumer Tech.” Prior to joining CEDIA, O’Connor worked in association management in the construction and public service industry.

COMMUNICATES

NEWS IN DEPTH CEDIA’s made headlines in a number of areas that require more explanation than just a few graphs. Find more info on these stories inside: CEDIA UNVEILS NEW THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

MEET THE NEW BOARD

CEDIA looks to grow the association as an industry leader in education, standards and best practices, and collaboration with the building and design trades.

CEDIA has updates for our members on bills in New Jersey, California, and Oklahoma.

You can find profiles of every member of the 2018-2019 CEDIA Board of Directors — along with some personal thoughts from each.

PAGE 8 >>>

PAGE 10 >>>

PAGE 40 >>>

NEW MEMBERS CEDIA welcomes 92 new members across the globe this quarter…

AUSTRALIA >

NEW ZEALAND >

Blustream Pty Ltd. Connected Media Australia

Aotea Electric Group of Companies

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS >

SOUTH AFRICA >

PCKWIKFIX

SIAV

PRZM Limited

Mike Roberts Electrical Services Ltd Orbit AV

HomePro Audio & Video Hub City AV & Security Innovative Technologies & Associates

Rior AV Ltd

JOLT Automation and Electric, LLC

Sonic Syndicate Ltd

Kindle Electric

SyncTrix Ltd.

KMT Systems

Your Smart Home Ltd

Landstone Group

Adair Acoustic Design

USA >

Alltrade Aerial & Satellite Ltd

318 Technology Inc

Low Volt Automation Technologies

All-Tech Systems

LRH Designs

Armillo IT Services Ltd

Armotron Inc.

modphy

Atlantis AV Solutions Ltd

Audio Buys

Neel Lighting & Controls

Bang and Olufsen - Belfast

Audio Video Concepts

Noon Home

BEOSOLUTIONS

Audio Visual Experts LLC

Brightmark Solutions Ltd

BRAVAS

Powerhouse Engineering Partners

Agath

Cablegold Limited

Quality Sight and Sound

Prestige Distribution France

CLEO (Connecting Life & Everyone Online)

Callaway Security & Sound, Inc.

Seco-Larm

INDIA >

Consider it Done Ltd

Capron Security & Custom Electronics Inc.

Concrete Audio

Cotswold Smart Homes Ltd

Milan Sales Corp

Electrical-Magic

Smart Homes International CANADA > AV Junction Inc N.E.G. Audio Visual Inc. Sound Advice Turnkey Security Solutions Inc. W.B. Cross Co. Ltd FINLAND > Kruunuradio Mareksound FRANCE >

IRELAND > TECHFIT ITALY > Arata Service SRL MAIOR

TAIWAN > First Tech Electronics Co., Ltd. UNITED KINGDOM >

Encore Home Technology Heriot AV ICT London Impression AudioVisual Ltd iSight Systems Ltd JCL

JERSEY >

Living Systems

PGAV

MGB Electrical Solutions Ltd

Satellite City Inc.

Cloud MIS, LLC

Shore Technology Solutions, LLC

CloviTek

Smart Home Innovations

Connected Home Source Construction Monitor

smARTer Home Solutions, LLC

Control Digital LLC

Stangtek Services

Convergent Systems Technologies, Inc.

Stellar AV

Elite Security and Surveillance

Unique Spaces

Hamptons Security & Alarms

Unique AV Tech We Conekt We Know IT

5

6

COMMUNICATES

T H E C E D I A AWA R D S V E N U E S :

From a Baseball Diamond to an Aussie Bay to Egyptian Busts Honoring the best of the best in technical excellence, product innovation, and individual professionals within the home technology industry, the CEDIA Awards are always a highlight in the industry calendar. Now that the entries are in and judging’s underway, here’s info on the 2018 Awards ceremonies.

SET SAIL AS AWARD WINNERS CEDIA will be celebrating the winners of the Asia Pacific Awards at the annual awards evening on Thursday, August 23 in Darling Harbour.

Darling Harbour offers a splendid waterside location in the heart of Sydney, Australia. From first light to starry nights, there’s always something taking place, creating a spectacular atmosphere. Attendees to the Asia Pacific awards ceremony will make their way through the harbor to a nearby hotel, where they will enjoy an evening of celebration.

Immediately after Integrate 2018, guests will join CEDIA for a cocktail reception starting at 6 p.m. Following the networking session, CEDIA will turn its attention to the awards by announcing the category winners for this region.

FIT FOR INDUSTRY KINGS AND QUEENS The EMEA and Global Awards winners will be celebrating their victory at the British Museum in London on September 27.

The British Museum offers the perfect environment to toast technical excellence and product innovation, where the splendor of CEDIA members’ projects will no doubt rival the museum display.

Fit for industry kings and queens, the black-tie event will commence with a cocktail reception in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, giving members an opportunity to network with their peers amongst symbolic objects, stylized deities, and architectural pieces from ancient temples and tombs. An imposing stone bust of the great pharaoh, Ramesses II, presides over the room, which also features the world-famous Rosetta Stone. The elegance of the venue will no doubt ensure an evening to treasure.

The Awards dinner will be hosted under the spectacular glass roof in the Great Court at the heart of the museum.

To conclude the evening, a post-ceremony celebration will follow back in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery.

COMMUNICATES

AWARDS ON THE DIAMOND Taking place on the Wednesday evening of CEDIA Expo in San Diego, the Americas CEDIA Awards will light up Petco Park on September 5.

Home to the San Diego Padres baseball team, Petco Park — dubbed “The world’s best ballpark in America’s finest city” when it opened in 2004 — combines the best sight lines in baseball with stunning views of San Diego Bay and the city’s skyline.

Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with industry peers during an opening reception by the second and third bases between 7 and 8 p.m., before heading to left field to enjoy a three-course dinner and find out who the 2018 winners are.

The evening will conclude with a networking session along the third base line.

For more information, visit WWW.CEDIA.NET/AWARDS

7

8

COMMUNICATES

CEDIA'S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN Three years, three major areas of focus

CEDIA’s new strategic plan looks to grow the association as an industry leader in education, standards and best practices, and collaboration with the building and design trades.

By Olivia Selke and Ed Wenck

“

Throughout this planning process we looked long and hard at how to move the needle for the industry and for CEDIA members.

In early February, CEDIA unveiled the outputs from its new strategic plan that will prioritize the work of the association over the next three years. That project was the culmination of months of meetings, research, outreach to members — and more than a few passionate discussions. Every CEDIA staffer and board member was involved in the process at some point along the plan’s development, from crafting segmented polling queries to the formulation of the plan’s language to direct, one-on-one contact with stakeholders.

The entire process was guided by strategy expert Dr. Rebecca Homkes, whose bona fides include her work as a teaching fellow of strategy and entrepreneurship at the London Business School and a previous gig as the director of the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance, where she remains a fellow. Homkes is also an active executive-level strategy consultant and helps lead an investment firm in Silicon Valley. Her papers have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Foresight, The Government Office for Science.

As Homkes told us back in May of 2017, “This strategy work is all about better defining and understanding the industry that CEDIA as an association serves, which customers we are going to serve, and the value proposition that we are going to offer those customers.”

She then outlined her process further, urging patience — and caution.

“When it comes to developing strategy there is a tendency to go immediately to actions and priorities, but what you need to do (especially in a fast-changing industry) is define the bounds of the industry and the key things that are shaping it. The front end of this process is all about defining and understanding the industry and being clear about the set of assumptions we are making about it. We have narrowed in on understanding the customers we should serve and what we need to do to better understand our value proposition to those members.”

In short, Homkes helped answer the question: How can an association of CEDIA’s size best help the members of its industry?

COMMUNICATES

THE RESULTS The final plan aims for significant advances and leadership in three key areas: • Education • Increasing professionalism though standards, guidelines, and best practices • Deeper engagement and partnership with the design and build community “The strategy process provided an unparalleled opportunity to align the values, interests, and input of all of CEDIA’s key stakeholders,” says David Humphries, CEDIA Chairman. “We have been able to build consensus on what success should look like for CEDIA at the end of this strategy and how we as an organization will get there.”

CEDIA Global President and CEO Tabatha O’Connor adds, “CEDIA is committed to members and their success, and this process created clarity around the priorities that provide the most meaningful benefit to them individually and to the industry as a whole.”

EARLY IMPLEMENTATION: EDUCATION GOES ON THE ROAD The association began implementing the new plan even before details had been released.

Volunteers and staffers have been fanning out across the globe to bring training to its members while redoubling its efforts to provide the right online materials.

“CEDIA will seek to enhance the overall education experience through refining, curating, and developing new, relevant, and compelling courses,” O’Connor elaborates. “This will include an improved digital experience as well as expanded regional education offerings.”

As of this writing, CEDIA has already scheduled over 50 regional training events in 12 countries including the U.S., Canada, and Europe, as well as India, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, and China.

CREATING STANDARDS, DEVELOPING BEST PRACTICES, AND DEFINING GUIDELINES It’s easy to express the association’s lofty goals — especially in this arena. Naturally, putting those words into practice requires a fairly monumental effort.

Step one: Creating standards, developing best practices and defining guidelines to elevate professionalism and drive member and industry success. Step two: Keep it simple.

“We know time is a limited resource, so we will distill down these technical documents to deliver the information in a way that is quick and easy to understand and can be immediately

implemented,” O’Connor explains.

CEDIA will also collaborate with manufacturers to better understand emerging technologies and how CEDIA education can advance awareness, understanding, and implementation of these new technologies.

DEEPER ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DESIGN/ BUILD COMMUNITY

“

Again, this was a process that was already underway — the connection between CEDIA’s members and the building trades was clear and intuitive. CEDIA already has its Outreach Instructor program in place, and this leg of the plan means that the association’s COI efforts will see more dedicated resources.

Another continuing effort: CEDIA’s presence at next year’s annual Design and Construction Week show in Las Vegas. The CEDIA Technology Solutions Pavilion at the annual trade show puts residential tech solutions in front of 80,000 architects, builders, and designers.

We will be deeply engaged with the relevant bodies to create and influence the direction of industry standards.

“Throughout this planning process we looked long and hard at how to move the needle for the industry and for CEDIA members. We determined that it was by building awareness and creating demand for CEDIA members’ services with architects, builders, and designers,” says Dave Humphries.

But the efforts don’t end there, according to Humphries: “Additionally, we plan to engage in an integrated marketing campaign, including hiring a media relations firm specializing in this area to ensure that architects, builders, and designers know who we are, what we do, and why they need to work with their local CEDIA member.”

The CEDIA Board and staff members — while relieved that this first bit of heavy lifting is complete — know that the development of a strategic plan isn’t a static thing. Developing a map for the future in an industry as changeable as home technology is never a “set it and forget it” proposition. But having a clear list of directions in hand to move forward has focused everyone on the tasks ahead.

Tabatha O’Connor sums it up: “We are incredibly energized about the future — for both our industry and our association.”

9

10

COMMUNICATES

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

CEDIA has updates for our members on bills in New Jersey, California, and Oklahoma.

Darren Reaman, CEDIA’s Director of Government Affairs, is constantly keeping an eye on language in legislation that can adversely affect the industry. There’s already been some fairly important activity in three state legislatures in 2018: New Jersey, California, and Oklahoma.

It’s a start, but Oklahoma’s session for 2018 runs through May. Reaman says, “We're working with other coalition partners — specifically AT&T and the Oklahoma Burglar and Fire Alarm Association — to make sure that they don't have consequence to our members.”

OKLAHOMA The Sooner State has a part-time legislative body that began its session on February 5, and two companion bills caught Reaman’s attention.

House Bill 2935 and Senate Bill 1513 attempted to define electrical work as involving anything with a wire, including low-voltage applications.

“Oklahoma is a state without a low-voltage license, and there is no low-voltage exemption currently,” says Reaman. “So the question we had was: How far is this new definition of electrical work going to be interpreted?”

NEW JERSEY A state with a full-time, year-round legislature, New Jersey is set to re-introduce a bill that Reaman’s been focusing on since 2014. “It hasn’t advanced, partly as a result of our efforts, but they’ve got a new Governor,” explains Reaman. NJ Assembly Bill 475 has problematic language regarding alarm licensing.

Reaman contacted other industry associations and planned his face-time with legislators in Oklahoma City.

The result? “In both, sponsors submitted amendments with low voltage exemption language that includes class two and class three circuits — exempting that from any electrical licensing requirements.”

The issue? “They're expanding under the definition of alarm business.

They're adding ‘or home automation and integration of these systems.’

And, keep in mind, the alarm license in New Jersey requires a four-year apprenticeship program.”

As is his custom, Reaman will ensure that CEDIA’s represented at hearings and in meetings with the bill’s sponsors. Here’s where the grassroots member involvement in the Government Affairs department is key: When state legislatures start hearing from small business owners, language often gets amended.

“Obviously if CEDIA members can participate through the hearings and things like that, that's vital,” continues Reaman. “They bring a strong smallbusiness perspective to the hearing.

And that's valuable in any committee hearing I've ever been in. So, in any state, when something comes up, it's vital that members take the time to attend, because those couple hours in the hearing room can have a huge impact on how they do their business.”

CALIFORNIA An example of such an amendment: California Senate Bill 327, which was amended back in January 2018.

The bill had language so broad that it made both manufacturers and retailers liable to disclose nearly every potential hack that could compromise anything from a Fitbit to a fridge. Since those who make and sell electronic devices aren’t psychic, CEDIA and a coalition of associations lobbied successfully to strike that troublesome language from the bill.

MORE INFO If you’d like to keep tabs on the progress the Government Affairs department is making, just follow cedia.net/government-affairs.

Reaman’s also updated the licensing guide for home technology integrators, a CEDIA members-only benefit. Meanwhile, we’ll be in touch with Reaman regarding any changes to these and other bills as the info becomes available.

Gavel Photo Credit | By Chris Potter (Flickr: 3D Judges Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Capitol Photo Credit | By Rafał Konieczny (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

COMMUNICATES

BE FEATURED AMONG WORLD-CLASS TRADE PARTNERS Our builds highlight the renowned architects, builders, and designers around the country.

PROUDLY PUBLISHED IN OUR ELEGANT ONLINE LONGFORM ENVIRONMENT Have your photos, videos, and stories featured in our content-rich digital longform environment.

Submit your project today and you could be featured in our next issue: http://www.technologyintegrator.net/connected-design-project-submission

Connected Solutions | Sophisticated Design

11

12

COMMUNICATES

CEDIA enjoyed an incredibly productive few days at this year’s Integrated Systems Europe. The show provided a great platform for attendees to connect with the industry and for CEDIA to deliver a packed CEDIA Training program. It also gave CEDIA’s new Global President and CEO Tabatha O’Connor and her team a fantastic opportunity to meet with members and outline the association’s new strategy.

CEDIA Celebrated A Successful ISE 2018 “CEDIA has enjoyed a phenomenal ISE 2018,” comments O'Connor. “We are so proud to be co-owners of this amazing event. Our training program featured more than 50 classes across business and technical topics and certification examinations that were very well-supported by the industry. Our booth was buzzing with visitors finding out more about our new strategic plan, meeting friends from the CEDIA community, and making great new connections. Our exciting program of CEDIA Talks in the booth also proved extremely popular.”

This year, all CEDIA training classes were purposedesigned to support technical and business skills with not only classroom-led teaching, but also practical, hands-on experiences and e-learning.

Education highlights included full-day Advanced Home Cinema Design and Rack-Building workshops, as well as a two-part acoustics treatment training. Other sessions covered topics such as power management, power conditioning, local generation and storage, and POE, as well as using VR for smart home designs, high-resolution audio, lighting control, video displays, and much, much more. Meanwhile, business owners benefitted from insights provided by Leslie Shiner, the renowned U.S. author, speaker, and trainer, with a range of invaluable classes targeted to project managers and business owners. (Find more from Ms. Shiner on page 34.)

In the CEDIA booth, visitors were introduced to new disruptive technologies and thoughtprovoking topics with a number of CEDIA Talks taking place each day of the show. The 20-minute sessions were brought to you by the CEDIA Technology Council, with many leaving

standing room only for attendees. These talks are now available on the CEDIA YouTube channel at youtube.com/CEDIAHQ. Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events managing director, commented, “ISE 2018 has been a great show that has delivered on all fronts.

The number of registered visitors by the end of the show had reached 80,923, an increase of 10.3% on the 2017 edition. Exhibitor numbers were also up to 1,296, of which 294 were first-time exhibitors at the show. On behalf of ISE, I’d like to thank all our attendees, exhibitors, partners, and our co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA. This combination has made ISE what it is today and ensures that we are able to build on our successes year after year.

“The residential side of the show is, and continues to be, extremely important for ISE. With the backing of CEDIA, ISE 2018 provided leading solutions in the world of residential systems and home automation. The Smart Building Conference continued its success this year, with a dedicated residential track packed with exciting talks led by authorities and key figures in the smart home space.

“With floor space already confirmed for ISE 2019, which currently stands at 103% of the total booked for ISE 2018, the event shows no signs of slowing down. Importantly, almost 20,000 visitors attended the last day of the show, and overall, over 30% of the total attendees were visiting ISE for the first time, a key benchmark for exhibitors in their quest to develop new sales.

“Plans are already underway for ISE 2019, and we look forward to welcoming all of the fantastic integrators and manufacturers back to the RAI Amsterdam. We will see you from February 5-8, 2019!”

If you missed the training program at ISE, CEDIA offers year-round access to the most cuttingedge residential training through its website cedia.net/training. Industry pros also have an unprecedented number of opportunities to learn the latest in trends, business practices, and technical training through in-person classes hosted at CEDIA HQ in Indy, across the Americas as part of CEDIA’s new “On the Road” events, and around the world.

COMMUNICATES

CEDIA Acquires Technology & Business Summit CEDIA has purchased the popular Technology & Business Summit series of regional events for the home technology industry from Clarity AV International/Integrator Network.

“We are delighted to announce our investment in the Technology & Business Summit. As a long-standing supporter and participant, we have watched Tech Summit founder Mark Cichowski grow these outstanding events that bring the community together and provide training close to home. We are keen to build on these strong foundations, provide deeper support for the manufacturer representative community, increase the value of each event to CEDIA members, and meet non-members at a local level,” says Tabatha O’Connor, Global President and CEO of CEDIA. “We have no plans to make changes to these events, and we are lucky that Mark has accepted a role to continue to drive the success,” she adds.

Mark Cichowski, founder of Technology & Business Summit and owner of Clarity AV International, will remain as a consultant continuing to work with the manufacturer representatives, event Mark Cichowski sponsors, and participants, with strategic marketing and operational support provided by CEDIA. “The talented independent manufacturer reps are a major driving factor behind the Technology & Business Summit events and we are proud of how they have come together to build business,” says Cichowski. “This collaborative mentality is what has led to a deeper relationship with CEDIA. We have a mutual ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mindset and the plan is to keep the Tech Summit format and overall structure intact. We will continue to offer cutting-edge education, products, and extras to give integrators compelling reasons to invest time to attend. We also recognize that the events and the industry are evolving, which requires additional resources to support

the growth. With CEDIA’s investment, we can increase the value and scope of the events for all participants from manufactures to reps to integrators.”

Largely driven by the efforts of multiple independent manufacturer rep firms in each territory, the Technology & Business Summits provide a collaborative environment to support integrators with education and networking.

“The one-on-one time with reps, manufacturers, and other service providers in an intimate venue provides a unique experience. Multiple business and technical classes — which are free to attend — provide actionable takeaways that can be immediately implemented by the integrators,” says Cichowski.

CEDIA Chairman Dave Humphries notes, “Adding the Technology & Business Summits to our portfolio of events provides another important milestone in CEDIA’s three-year strategic plan.

We are working diligently to make CEDIA more accessible by providing more regional education. The fact that these events are established and so successful coupled with the notable support this provides to our manufacturer representative members make this investment a win-win all around.”

The remaining Technology & Business Summit schedule for 2018:

June 14 – Lansing, MI October 2 – Long Island, NY October 4 – Newark, New Jersey October 30 – Atlanta, GA November 15 – Phoenix, AZ

More information on the Technology & Business Summit is available at www.techsummitevents.com.

Olivia Selke

Senior Public Relations Manager, CEDIA

13

14

COMMUNICATES

TRAINING & EVENTS CALENDAR May 16-18

21

Business Xchange

Colombia Training Program

Phoenix, AZ

Medellin, Colombia

21-22

22-23

22-24

23-24

Tech Forum

CEDIA On the Road

Tech Summit

Tech Forum

Mexico City, Mexico

Woburn, MA

Los Angeles, CA

Melbourne, Australia

June 5 11

13-15

14

19

Tech Summit

COI Train the Trainer

Lansing, Michigan

Brisbane, Australia

CEDIA On the Road

CEDIA Training at Control4 Yearly Seminar

Networking Boot Camp

Long Beach, CA

Mexico City

CEDIA HQ, Indy

20-21

23-24

25

Tech Forum

CEDIA Training HTT

Colombia Training Program

Brisbane, Australia

CIT Expo, Beijing, China

Bogota, Colombia

25-30

26-27

July 23

Basic and Home Theater Boot Camps

CEDIA On the Road

Colombia Training Program

CEDIA HQ, Indy

Gaithersburg, MD

Bogota, Colombia

August 15-17

22-24

23

23-24

Technomultimedia

Integrate

CEDIA Awards, Asia Pacific

Colombia Training Program

Mexico City, Mexico

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia

Medellin, Colombia

Book training at cedia.net/cedia-training

COMMUNICATES

SMART HOME SYSTEM

The FIBARO System, known as Home Center, is comprised of a hub and accessory devices using Z-Wave smart home technology.

BECOME CEDIA CERTIFIED INSTALLER – Find out more

fibaro.com/installer

Are you interested in cooperation? Ask our Partners:

15

COMMUNICATES

I AM CEDIA ENRIQUE GRANADOS, INTELIKSA Who are you?

My name is Enrique Granados, and I am Director of Inteliksa. We are located in Mexico City and serve the entire country.

Give us some background on your company.

Inteliksa was born in the garage of my father’s house more than 30 years ago. In those days, my father was dedicated to the repair of electronic equipment. That was the basis of our company. Over the years, in the early ’90s, we moved into custom installation, mainly for houses. Since then, our company

“

has participated in hundreds of residential and commercial projects. Today, we also serve other business areas such as refrigeration and energy efficiency for supermarkets.

What’s your favorite project

It sounds like you’ve been at this quite a while.

perfect combination between a

I was literally born doing this.

Since we were kids, my brother and I helped dad in his business.

At 15 years old, we were already executing, managing, and installing complete residential installation projects. I have been doing this for 20 years.

architect, and an innovative

and why?

My favorite project is undoubtedly Villa Cristina in 2008 — it was our first "big league," six-figure project. That integration was a technology-loving client, a daring company. It included more than 32 audio zones, 22 video areas, five home theaters, fully integrated controls, and more than 70 km of cable. Between us, we created a dream house in Acapulco Bay. It was our first finalist project in the annual CEDIA Awards.

“

16

I WAS LITERALLY BORN DOING THIS. SINCE WE WERE KIDS, MY BROTHER AND I HELPED DAD IN HIS BUSINESS.

Which home technology do you consider the most important today and why?

In recent years, we have experienced a technological revolution. Without a doubt IPbased technology is and will be a reference for the foreseeable future. The importance of having everything connected will make our lives simpler and more productive.

COMMUNICATES

How long have you been a CEDIA member?

Since 2009.

What do you enjoy most as a CEDIA member?

We have won several CEDIA Awards — this drives us year after year to keep our company at the forefront. But my biggest personal achievement as a CEDIA member has been to include CEDIA as an education program in one of the leading universities in Mexico. (Find more info on this at right.)

Which CEDIA benefits do you take advantage of the most, and why?

Education and the annual CEDIA Expo are key, but for me, it’s mainly about networking — being in constant contact with manufacturers and colleagues in the industry.

You mentioned education — what courses have you taken?

In the beginning, I took all kinds of courses and certifications that focused on technical skill. In recent years, I’ve concentrated more on strategic courses of business management and sales.

Honestly, I’ve lost count of how many courses and certifications I have taken.

What’s the biggest issue for home technology businesses today, and how can they deal with it?

The evolution of technology has made many solutions more affordable to the average consumer. The control of houses has been simplified, which some people believe has diminished our industry, but I disagree. As entrepreneurs, we must evolve together with technology: our industry must be professionalized in every way.

Customers look for companies that provide solutions and excellent service.

If there was one thing you could change in the industry, what would it be?

Eliminate unprofessional companies that damage our industry. When they do a bad job, they give people the impression that an automated house is a headache, when in fact it has become a pleasure for its inhabitants — even a necessity.

If you weren’t in the home technology sector, what would you like to be doing and why?

I love sports. I would have liked to have dedicated myself professionally to cycling.

What does 2018 hold for your company?

We face every year in a positive way — so I think it will be a great year for Inteliksa and the entire industry!

Inteliksa Autopista Mexico - Queretaro 3069-C Int. 3B San Andres Atenco Tlalnepantla, 54040, Mexico

www.inteliksa.com @Inteliksa

Enrique and CEDIA’s Contributions to Universidad del Tecnologico de Monterrey After a pilot program was launched using CEDIA’s educational materials, Enrique was invited to teach courses on residential and commercial automation. Enrique tells us: “I had a big challenge: Build the course content from scratch, search for bibliographical references, and find a textbook for the class. CEDIA gave me the building blocks of the course — through the book 'Fundamentals of Residential Electronic Systems,' it was possible to create a course that would serve as a reference to students interested in the world of technology as it applies to homes and commercial spaces. Today, there are about 100 students who have taken the subject, and some of them are already working in Mexican integration companies, all with the educational base CEDIA has provided.”

17

18

COMMUNICATES

SYNERGY TECHNOLOGIES LEAVES AN EVERLASTING IMPRESSION

Synergy Technologies has successfully created a luxurious media room as part of a home renovation, providing the client with a space to escape the worries of daily life. Synergy Technologies was rewarded for its outstanding work at the 2017 CEDIA Awards, where it took first place in the Best Media Room, Level III: £80,000 and Over category, and was also named Best Media Room — Global when it was up against all media room winners from the Americas, Asia Pacific, and EMEA awards.

The client turned to Synergy Technologies to create a sanctuary that delivers an immersive AV experience. After spending time at the integrator’s showroom, the client took a keen interest in the AV performance that could be achieved, as well as the room design, acoustics, and comfort level.

To meet the requirement for superb performance and immersive sound, Synergy Technologies specified a B&W 800 Diamond Series system with a McIntosh MX-160 processor to deliver perfect 3D audio.

After experiencing a Cinemascope front projection system at the showroom, the client decided

against a large-screen TV. Synergy Technologies opted for a DILA projector to achieve the best contrast and black level performance. Due to ceiling height limitations, neither a fixed nor motorized projector enclosure could be accommodated. As a solution, the projector was positioned close to the seating; however, the noise level is acceptably low. Optimized for movie viewing, the 21:9 aspect Screen Innovation projection screen in the Cinemascope format provides the largest screen size for the viewing distance and allows for the wide viewing angle of the room layout.

Simplicity of operation held prime

importance, as the room was to be used by all family members, so Synergy Technologies leveraged innovative GUI methods to achieve this.

The client requested an understated environment that exhibited luxury through minimalism, but with the fit and finish of a custom-tailored suit.

All furniture surfaces were carefully selected to avoid screen reflections, and a dark, neutral color palette was chosen for superior contrast and immersion.

Synergy Technologies concealed the surround speakers behind the wood-finish, perforated acoustic panels. The integrator carried out

COMMUNICATES

”

EQUIPMENT LIST • 3M CAT 6 cords • Airtel decoder box • Apple TV • Arkos Light LED downlights • Atlona HDBaseT transmitter/receiver kit • Artnovion acoustic absorber finish • AudioQuest HDMI cables • B&W speakers and subwoofer • Cineversum BlackWing Three projector • Crestron touchscreen controller and 3-Series control system • Guildford of Main acoustic fabric • Ideal Lux lamps • Kaleidescape Strato 4K media player • Lumagen Radiance 4240 ceiling projector mount • Lutron GRAFIK Eye QS lighting control and keypad • Lutron roller blind blackout shade • McIntosh AV processor and power amplifier • Oppo 4K Blu-ray player • Pakedge 9-port switches • Screen Innovation 123" fixed projection screen • Sonos Connect network streaming zone player • Sony Playstation 4 • TP-Link Bluetooth receiver • Transparent Audio Plus Series cables • Vicoustic acoustic panels • Western Digital NAS drive

THE OVERALL AESTHETIC OF THE ROOM, AUDIO AND VIDEO CALIBRATION, AND PERSONAL TOUCHES MADE THIS PROJECT STAND OUT FROM OTHER REGIONAL WINNERS.

extensive listening tests as well as frequency response measurements to identify the best speaker positions in the panels. They carefully tweaked the wall elevation design and the distance of the speaker baffle behind the acoustic panels to achieve a completely invisible appearance, with no discernible loss in sonic performance.

The client previously had an underwhelming experience with the network installed in his home — due to internet speed issues, he needed to restart his router and access points from time to time and also switch between different ISPs. To provide a much better solution, Synergy Technologies replaced the entire home network with a Pakedge solution configured with self-healing capabilities, achieved through the BakPak solution and an intelligent online power distribution unit (PDU). To cater to inconsistent

ISP performance, the integrator set up two ISP connections in a loadbalancing configuration. Audio and video traffic is now prioritized, and a guest network is also set up along with 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz Wi-Fi. Synergy Technologies checked all the boxes with this project and created a fun yet practical and multi-functional media room. The overall aesthetic of the room, audio and video calibration, and personal touches — like the variable-height coffee table that can double as a dining table during movie watching — made this project stand out from other regional winners.

The judges were particularly taken with the attention to detail, such as the acoustic treatment and the precise calibration of the speakers behind it. Not only were the judges impressed by this project, but so was the client — who has been enjoying the room ever since.

www.synergyav.com/residential

@synergyavtech

19

20

COMMUNICATES

CHALLENGE Lighting and Shades in a Whole-Home Integration

AND SOLUTION Jan Erik Eden

A look at how two firms — Atlantic Control Technologies and Rockville Interiors — team up to produce spectacular results

The prospect of selling lighting control and automated shade solutions can have custom integrators salivating. These categories swell profits by maximizing sales dollars and adding a “cool factor” for clients. Watching a home spring to life is truly captivating, but, although this technological wizardry may operate simply, making it work is another story. Implementation of these offerings is difficult and requires expansive expertise. On top of that, project management hours will stack up as designers, architects, other trades, and even clients (if you can believe it) will have input.

So the question is, do you need to be a superstar to take advantage of both the added dollars you’d see selling the stuff and the added “wow” you’d gain as a lighting and shading expert?

Don't try.

The truth is it’s nearly impossible to provide enough depth and breadth of expertise at the same time.

To overcome these hurdles, Mike Ross of Atlantic Control Technologies and Ilan Fulop of Rockville Interiors have been teaming up for years to service high-profile clientele. Rockville provides the shades, and Atlantic takes control post-installation. The partnership has a perfect synergy as both sides bring a deeper knowledge in their respective categories than would be attainable otherwise.

“It is important to stay focused and not get spread too thin,” Fulop says. “It is a huge advantage to work alongside Atlantic Control.”

In turn, Ross says, “I trust Rockville will deliver a flawless product every time. They are completely autonomous and don’t require any management.”

The results of their efforts are apparent as referrals continue to pour in. One project in particular, commissioned by renowned architect Robert Gurney, illustrates how the DC duo can provide simple and elegant solutions. Unique to this modern brick home were three-story tall windows, glass channels and breezeways connecting various parts of the home, LED lighting fixtures throughout, and even a home theater. In addition to these unique features, the client expressed the need for simplicity and total control of both natural and artificial light. The team got to work, and hundreds of hours later the results were spectacular.

Operations Manager, Atlantic Control Technologies

COMMUNICATES

After using our systems, many clients react by saying, "I don’t know how I lived without this.”

“They wanted almost every shade recessed into the ceiling. Technically, we had to figure out pocket size, determine the surrounding detail and finish, match hardware, consider service accessibility, recess channels, and even install some shades using scaffolding on stairs,” says Fulop. With over 100 window treatments in the home requiring special consideration, this was an extremely tall order. Fulop rose to the occasion by asking all the right questions. “Knowing the key players and when or when not to loop them in for approval” was critical in delivering a superlative product.

A unique challenge on this project was giving the client total control over the combined ambience of natural and artificial light. This was achieved using recessed and in-room lighting fixtures, as well as two layers of automated shades: privacy and blackout. Ross created a range of lighting scenes, from the brightest possible with all fixtures on their highest setting all the way to completely dark with the use of Fulop’s blackout shades. Privacy shades and dimmers were then set for any mixture in between. “The approach is to tune each room to the level required for the task at hand,” Ross says.

With the shades in order, enter Atlantic Control Technologies. “Like the 85% to 95% of new clients that have not had lighting control before, conveying the overall concept was difficult,” says Ross. “But when they understood how cumbersome switches at every egress point would be, they embraced the idea. After using our systems, many clients react by saying, ‘I don’t know how I lived without this. I used to walk around and turn off all these switches, now I hit one button.’ This simplicity is a revelation to clients, and presenting the positive attributes, convenience, cost savings, safety, and cool factor further solidifies the sale.”

Like total control, the team provides clientele with other features too. They collaborate on aesthetics, overall performance, and more. “Automating the shades transforms the client experience from something that they rarely touch into something that they use multiple times a day,” says Fulop.

If you make a foray into these categories, research the best providers in your region and build a partnership.

Be forewarned of the extreme amount of expertise and management required for each. For the stalwart integrator, however, the payoff will be worth it.

21

22

COMMUNICATES

VIRTUAL

REALITY REVOLUTIONIZING SMART HOME DESIGN Hamza Abbas

Business Development Director at Andrew Lucas

When you’re showing a threedimensional design to a client, there’s a fundamental problem: You’re showing that client a flat screen. This is an issue that extends across the design and construction industries, and includes architecture, interior design, lighting design, and technology integration.

While a potential client can usually get some idea of how something might look when they see it on a screen, there remains a disconnect between what they are seeing and what they are trying to imagine.

This is where virtual reality (VR) can come in. VR strips away the barriers between the observer and what they are observing, letting them step inside a design and engage with it in a more natural way.

VR is hardly a new concept. The first ever headmounted display was created in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sprull at the University of Utah. The first commercial manifestations (and first notable failures) came in the 1990s, when gaming companies including Sega and Nintendo dipped their toes into the water. However, it wasn’t until 2016 — and the launch of several VR headsets from the likes of HTC, Oculus, and Sony — that the technology was finally ready for mass market consumption.

COMMUNICATES

By creating it first in virtual reality, an integrator can let a homeowner sit in their home cinema and watch a film before the room is even built.

While it is primarily known as a gaming technology to many people, it is in business — rather than consumer — applications that the more useful ways of maximizing the potential of VR are being found. For example, NASA has used the technology to prepare prospective astronauts for zero-gravity living, hospitals are using it to train doctors on how to respond to pediatric emergencies, and VR is even being used to make the gym-going experience more palatable by turning one’s workout into a video adventure.

What’s more, virtual reality is far from a flash in the pan, sales-wise. Total sales from the five most popular VR platforms in 2016 equalled 6.3 million units; conversely, when the iPhone launched in 2007, Apple sold only 6.1 million units in its first year — and we all know what happened next.

VR IN ARCHITECTURAL AND SMART HOME DESIGN There are a few interesting ways in which virtual reality is starting to be used in the smart home sector. The first — and most obvious — approach is to replace a costly physical showroom with a virtual reality equivalent.

This can offer a few unique benefits. Firstly, this reduces the initial outlay needed to demonstrate various systems to a user and gives companies that cannot afford their own showroom a chance to compete with the bigger players. Secondly, it allows multiple technologies to be featured sideby-side and compared directly. If, for example, an integrator specializes in both Control4- and Crestron-centered smart homes, then they could create an environment that allows the user to switch between the two systems at the push of a button and explore how each will alter the way they manage their home.

Another way that virtual reality can be used is

to give potential clients the chance to explore previous projects already completed by the integrator, without that integrator having to request permission from their previous customers.

Instead, a highly realistic replica of the property can be created in VR, allowing a user to explore how previous systems have been installed and letting them interact with various technology solutions, as if they were walking around the property itself.

Home cinema design can often be a major sticking point in a smart home project, as the client can struggle to understand what the final result will look like. By creating it first in virtual reality, an integrator can let a homeowner sit in their home cinema room and watch a film before the room is even built, letting them see how their money will be put to good effect and allowing them to make any adjustments before the build even begins. Dynamic lighting can also be used to excellent effect in this scenario, showing how the room will transform throughout the viewing experience.

VR is quickly becoming a popular tool for architects and interior designers and is being used during the initial design phase for proofing purposes and as a way of communicating concepts to clients and third-party partners. On projects where the architect is already using VR, it becomes reasonably easy to include smart home technology without the cost for the overall experience rising exorbitantly — making it a cost-effective way to inspire a client about the technological possibilities for their project.

HOW DOES IT WORK? The beauty of incorporating virtual reality animation into the property design process is that the 3D design files already generated by

23

24

COMMUNICATES

architects and designers serve as a starting point.

These files — which can be built from the likes of SketchUp, Vectorworks, 3DS Max, and even 2D plans — are taken by a VR design studio and placed into a rendering engine, such as Unity or Unreal Engine.

The files are then built upon to add realistic textures and dynamic environmental effects (such as weather conditions, lighting, and sound) and then exported as a VR environment that an end user can load up on their computer or smart phone and freely explore.

WHAT'S NEXT ON THE VIRTUAL HORIZON? While VR in its current form is already a very useful tool for those in the design and construction industry, there are several new technologies on the horizon that will make VR an even more accessible tool for designers and end users alike.

Of particular interest to home cinema designers and AV specialists is the integration of 3D audio into virtual reality experiences, allowing designers to showcase exactly how adding an extra height layer can really improve the listening experience.

It could also be used to better isolate sounds within a house, making the most of VR designers’ ability to place audio in a specific area. One example could be showing how traffic outside a window could be heard while a set of tripleglazed windows are open, but not once they have been closed automatically by the user.

There are two areas in which VR will improve greatly over the next couple of years — field of view and screen resolution. With the former, the recently announced StarVR headset has already expanded on what has, up until now, been the standard (110°x110°), with a 240°x130° viewpoint capable of showing IMAX movies within virtual reality.

Currently, the resolution of the top-end VR headsets is being held back by the processing ability of the computers powering them and complicated by the fact that two images need to be generated simultaneously to create the VR effect. While the best headsets right now are able to deliver an image at 1080×1200 per eye, the next generation of headsets, led by the HTC Vive Pro, will significantly improve on this, making for much more realistic experiences and more opportunity for designers to work on optimizing the quality and detail within the environments they create.

Virtual reality might be a nascent concept for the smart home, but it is becoming increasingly popular for businesses across many sectors, including architecture and construction. Expect to see a number of integrators taking the plunge with virtual smart home design over the coming year — and reaping the marketing and promotional benefits that come along with it.

www.andrew-lucas.com @smarthomelondon

COMMUNICATES

One of the key focus areas of CEDIA’s strategic plan is education. The association is rolling out new education efforts globally.

AUSTRALIA Having proved successful in 2017, the CEDIA Tech Forums returned for 2018 with a new format. CEDIA expanded the program by introducing a new location this year and expanding the events to include CEDIA core education.

The Tech Forum tour started with over 40 people attending a two-day event at Canada Bay Club in Sydney’s Inner West in March. Sponsored by Amber Technology, Audio Visual Distributors, Avation, Blustream, Connected Media Australia, and Ivory Egg Australasia, this event featured manufacturer product training sessions on day one. The second day focused on CEDIA education, including "HDMI Master Integrator," "HDR: The Next Big Thing," and "The Essential Download on AV-Over-IP."

CANADA CEDIA teamed up with security distributor ADI for the ADI Toronto Expo in March. Open to ADI customers, the event welcomed approximately 60 attendees and featured a CEDIA training session titled “Expanding Beyond Security: Adding AV & Smart Home Technology to Your Lineup.”

MEXICO CEDIA will host a two-day Tech Forum event in Mexico City on May 21 and 22. In addition to a number of education and networking sessions, the event will include a breakfast for women in AV and CEDIA Outreach Instructor (COI) training.

AROUND THE WORLD COLOMBIA CEDIA has formed an alliance with HomeTech El Hogar Digital to offer monthly CEDIA training. So far this year, this connection led to training sessions in Bogotá and Medellín. The Bogotá event allowed integrators and business owners to learn the latest skills needed to be more efficient in their work and to build their career in smart home technology, with CEDIA presenters hosting the “Distributed Audio Systems” and “Wash, Rinse, Repeat: Standardization of the Engineering and Design Process” classes.

CHINA In April, CEDIA teamed up with training partner HTT and presented its “Audio Set-Up & Calibration” course in Wuhan. At the end of the four-hour course, attendees walked away understanding how to design an audio system, list system connection suggestions, verify and calibrate a home theater audio system, operate audio calibration equipment, and analyze data.

Later in the month, CEDIA training partner AVstyle presented a three-day event at the Shanghai Garden Hotel. The event’s classes included “Emerging Home Technology Trends,” “Advanced Home Theater Design Workshop,” “Power Management, Conditioning, and UPS,” and “Designing Rooms for Immersive Audio.”

INDIA From May 22-25, CEDIA will head to Bangalore to host a four-day training and networking event. The visit will include a one-day Tech Forum and three days of CEDIA Training, focusing on Boot Camp basics and home cinema design.

25

26

COMMUNICATES

Blockchain: What It Is, and Why You Should Care Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

It’s a lot more than Bitcoin: Blockchain technology has profound implications for everyone — including those in the residential technology industry.

COMMUNICATES

Odds are good you’ve heard the terms “Bitcoin” or “cryptocurrency,” if only as part of some ad campaign featuring a wild-haired “expert” who’ll ostensibly tell you how to get rich buying and selling the stuff. The notion of digital money — a financial product that’s not tied to any government or nation-state — is only possible with a computer technology called “blockchain.”

That technology’s less than a decade old. Tech Council Podcast regular Geoff Meads (owner of Presto AV LTD, a marketing firm for CEDIA channel businesses) explains, “I believe this happened in 2010 — the first registered purchase of anything with blockchain technology was two Papa John’s pizzas, in Jacksonville, Florida. The person who purchased the two pizzas paid 10,000 Bitcoin — which is millions of dollars in today's money.”

As sensational as the rise and fall of Bitcoin’s value sounds, the blockchain technology that backs it up has profound implications for everyone — including those in the residential technology industry.

So What Is It?

Impacts on Content

Shelly Palmer — the keynote speaker for CEDIA Expo in 2016 — provided a marvelously succinct deconstruction of the component parts of the thing in his blog post entitled “What Is Blockchain?”*

Another terrific use for it is a bit morbid.

> Blockchain Defined A blockchain, or distributed ledger, is a continuously growing list (digital file) of encrypted transactions called “blocks” that are distributed (copied) to a peer-to-peer (P2P) network of computers. > Blocks As described above, a blockchain is an immutable, sequential chain of records known as blocks.

A block may contain any type of data, such as unique digital identifiers of physical products.

Blocks are “chained” together using hashes.

A hash is a function that takes an input value and from that input creates an output value deterministic of the input value.

Palmer goes on to outline the manner in which data is stored, how it’s encrypted (that encryption and security are two of the keys to the technology’s value), how that “hash” works, and eventually sums things up thusly: Blockchain technology offers a way to verify transactions without the need for a central authority. This means you can create smart contracts using distributed ledgers. For example, a landlord might put an IoT door lock on your rental apartment. The door lock might check the blockchain to see if your rent is paid. If it isn’t, the door lock (that is, the smart contract) would not let you into the apartment. … The list of uses for blockchain is practically endless. From title searches to delivery verification, distributed ledgers offer a completely new, secure way to do business.

Geoff Meads is well aware of that list of uses: “Suppose you buy a software license at some point. Perhaps later you lose the details of what you bought, and then maybe whomever you bought it from is no longer in business, and you've got to prove your ownership of that software license. It's pretty damn difficult.

Meads: “If I download a music track and I pass away, who gets the rights to that music I purchased? The answer is, ‘Well, nobody.’ It goes right back to the person I bought it from. However, if we can register those tracks using a download ID of the content to an individual and, in our will and testament, we can pass that ownership over — all of that can be stored, registered in blockchains.

“Every bit of software you ever purchased — even say, something on a laptop, that died 10 years ago — you can go back and reinvigorate if you really need to, because it's all stored permanently and irrevocably.”

Meads knows he’s speaking about the tip of the blockchain technology iceberg. Serial number registration: stored in blockchains forever. Kickstarter projects without third-party management: reach the proper level and the developer gets the payout directly.

And imagine blockchain-based payments improving the quality of content on your TV set.

As Meads notes, monetary transactions via blockchain tech are universal in their simplicity, no matter the amount changing hands. “Blockchain technology can handle a lot of micro-transactions, so if we want to transfer tiny, tiny amounts of money — a few cents here or there — it's prohibitive through banks because it's just too expensive. But, with blockchain tech, it's the same amount of cost or time to transfer a million dollars as it would be a few pennies. These kinds of things will allow us to have small devices that can charge for the time you use them really efficiently.”

Welcome to the world of truly “on-demand” content, according to Meads. “My favorite kind of potential use here? Imagine a TV subscription where you actually just pay for the minutes you watch. “This automatically turns the emphasis on good quality content, because if the broadcasters don't give us good quality content, we don't watch it — and won’t be required to pay for it, even if it’s offered."

“Now, that can all be stored in blockchains.”

*(shellypalmer.com, February 4, 2018): https://www.shellypalmer.com/2018/02/what-is-blockchain/

27

28

COMMUNICATES

INDUSTRY Q&A

ENERGY

MANAGEMENT How would you describe the energy management and control opportunity for home technology integrators?

HD I would say that it is commonly overlooked. Integrators need to learn new skills and move with the demands of today’s smart buildings. Delivering AV, lighting, and blinds just isn’t adequate anymore. Information is power and the more data you make use of in a project the better. Energy management — if visualized in a user-friendly manner — can be a powerful tool in energy conservation and usage. In an eco-friendly house, this is a vital function for efficient operation. There is a place for it in our everyday houses, and it should not to be overlooked when designing for future-proofing.

MML Energy management and control are great tools that integrators should consider adding to their projects. As our customers are passionate about technology, they are always interested in having the ability to control and see how much energy they are consuming in their homes.

We are selling smart homes, so we believe that it is a great feature for a home to monitor consumption to help save energy.

How important are technologies such as smart thermostats and smart meters?

HD These technologies are very important. Smart thermostats incorporate some clever algorithms to assist in keeping the heating as efficient as possible by warming up and cooling down with optimal transitions in relation to ambient temperatures, for instance. They also include devices for remote control. With the latest multifaceted devices, users can use their smart water meter for billing, and monitoring of water consumption, and detecting leaks in the system.

MML Smart thermostats are very important in connected home projects. They allow you to optimize the usage of your air conditioning system by monitoring the temperature of the property at all times — therefore, not heating or cooling the home when it is not necessary. Smart meters allow you to monitor how much energy are you spending in your home, so that you can be aware of the performance of your home and control your energy consumption.

COMMUNICATES

”

Renewable energy presents an up-front cost, but over time it will eventually pay for itself.

”

Hamish Douglas Operations Director of Sagar Smart Homes

How easily can these technologies be integrated into a connected home installation?

HD There are several IoT and wireless solutions available that are very easy to integrate into existing systems. It’s always best to do a bit of research on the existing devices on a project to ensure a smooth integration. Not all devices work quite as well as advertised, so users shouldn’t be shy in seeking advice from industry experts or dealers experienced in handling different products.

MML These systems are easily integrated into the home, as there are many protocols that are now compatible with automation systems. For example, IP-compatible devices are becoming more common.

There are also wireless protocols, such as Zigbee and Z-Wave, which can make integration of these systems easier.

Mauricio Mejía Lamprea CEO of HomeTech

How prevalent are other renewable technologies, such as ground source heat pumps, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting?

HD Most of our projects outside of the UK incorporate some type of renewable energy technology. We include quite a lot of future-proofing for solar panels because our clients often ask us for the possibility to add them in the future. But this is definitely something we’d like to see more of. There’s huge potential to integrate energy generation into smart homes, and with the rising popularity of electric vehicles, household energy loads will be on the increase.

What’s your advice for controlling and integrating these systems?

HD Do your due diligence.

As the integrator, you will always receive the first call for any problems. Renewable technologies all have multiple data points required for efficient system operation. It only takes one of these to fall outside its working parameter to lock the system down.

CEDIA offers great training courses to get you up to speed.

MML I would suggest always using an automation system that is able to integrate all your devices, so that your customers can monitor, control, manage, and interact with it from one control system. The other key point is to make the system as easy to use as possible. You don’t want to complicate your client’s life with a system that is difficult to use.

@HomeTechCol @SmartHomesLive

MML People are now more aware of environmental issues and are looking forward to living in a more clean and sustainable way. This provides integrators with the opportunity to integrate smart homes with renewable technologies, while also delivering an energy control system for the customer's smart home.

How would you assess the future of local power storage, supply, and management into the connected home?

HD It’s something we are very passionate about at Sagar Smart Homes, but in the near future, unless it's born from necessity, it seems to be more of a luxury item for our clients as there is a reasonable price tag that comes with it. As storage technology improves and becomes more affordable, people will realize the payback quicker, which will make it a lot more viable.

Future-proofing your system by ensuring your initial design can incorporate these additional features is important. Renewable energy presents an up-front cost, but over time it will eventually pay for itself, and so over many years, the reduced household power bill will cover initial outlays.

29

30

COMMUNICATES

The IoT: The Internet of Things — and the Internet of Opportunity and Trouble, Too A snapshot of a recent CEDIA Tech Council Podcast on the IoT

Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

One of the more striking CEDIA Talks given at ISE 2018 in Amsterdam was delivered by David Mudd, Business Development Director for the Internet of Things with the British Standards Institution (BSI). In his work with BSI, Mudd’s uniquely qualified to talk about IoT, its promise and problems, and — most importantly for our purposes — how it relates to the home technology industry. Mudd’s talk inspired a CEDIA Tech Council podcast that dropped not long after ISE wrapped.

COMMUNICATES

Mudd was careful to focus first on what the IoT is really all about: “People tend to latch onto concepts like, ‘Oh that's kind of where you can control your lights and your heating via your phone, isn't it?’

“The real value of the IoT is beyond that.”

For Mudd, the IoT carries the promise of what’s long been a CEDIA mantra: It’s not a collection of gadgets; instead it’s a means to providing an experience. “It's your home learning, understanding your habits, your preferences,” explains Mudd.

“Knowing what the ambient light is. Knowing what the weather forecast is going to be. Knowing the price of electricity and gas.

Delivering the absolutely perfect environment for you, without you having to even touch your phone. That's where the real value is, and that's where it starts to get exciting for anyone in the smart home automation market.”

“Ultimately the internet of things is an enabler — it doesn't actually do anything.” The caveat: “It's where the digital meets the physical, and we mustn't lose track of the fact that it's still physical products that have to deliver that service that we need.”

WHY IOT PROJECTS FAIL Now to the reality of the unrealized potential of the Internet of Things: According to an article published by medium.com, Cisco polled “1,845 business and IT decision-makers in mid-market and enterprise companies” and discovered a whopping 75% failure rate among their IoT deployments.* The reasons for failure culled from Cisco’s survey included:

FROM THE PODCAST Dave Pedigo: Do we really need technology that’s connected solely for the sake of being connected?

My example has always been the hairbrush. There is a connected hairbrush that tells you whether or not you're brushing your hair enough. I have one of those too, it's called a mirror.

David Mudd: One of our comedians over here in the UK jokes about the smart toothbrush, which tells you how long you've been brushing your teeth. He says, "I know. I was there."

•

Long completion times

•

Poor quality of the data collected

•

Lack of internal expertise

•

IoT integration

•

Budget overruns

For Mudd, however, it’s something else — a root problem that could likely be the initiator of all the aforementioned issues. “The biggest single reason why IoT projects fail? It's not down to the particular technology, or to one group of people not speaking to another, or whether the technology wasn't a good enough quality, or what have you.”

“It almost always comes down to a lack of a clear strategy. Where someone thought either, ‘We need to jump on this bandwagon.

There's a quick buck to be made here,’ or ‘Unless we integrate this thing now, we're going to lose out,’ or, ‘We've got one shot here, or we don't get another chance for five years, so let's just stick it in anyway and see what happens.’ It's that kind of attitude, just thinking we'll just make it up as we go along, that causes the problems, rather than the technology per se.”

Mudd offers a striking example of an IoT device designed for home automation that came to his lab that did not measure up: “We tested one of the first smart locks. It was amazingly smart.

You could watch what was going on from anywhere. You could email somebody a key to get in. All very amazing technology.

“Our guys broke into that lock in 30 seconds.

“I can't give away the details of how they broke into it, but those guys are trained to look at a lock as a lock. If that lock doesn't

31

32

COMMUNICATES

perform as a lock, it doesn't matter how smart it is.

That's the thing I'm seeing more and more with all this technology: People focusing on that connectivity — a) for the sake of it, and b) at the expense of the quality of that product in its primary function.”

THE KEYS TO THE RIGHT DEVICE “There's two areas of concern here,” Mudd notes. “One is, does the product function as it should?”

Here’s where the expertise of those in the CEDIA channel comes in. “In your market, you guys are the experts. In terms of the quality, of the functionality of the products that go into smart home automation, you guys are the experts. Likewise, when it comes to the true value, it's also down to your knowledge of your customer.”

And is that customer likely to be impressed by the many modes of amazing functionality a device might have?

“There is no point in that,” says Mudd. “The number one thing: The product has to be useful. Number Two: It has to be easy. Easy to use, easy to set up, easy to troubleshoot.”

“Then thirdly — and this is kind of a minor third compared to the others — it has to have the ‘wow factor.’ Normally the wow factor is tied into the first two. It's that I just click my fingers, or I do this one thing, and I have things exactly how I want them.”

But again, “wow factor” doesn’t mean a device needs “a lot of added bells and whistles — the customers can see through that. This is where you can take your knowledge of that end customer — and what they truly see as valuable — and use that to drive the development of suitable applications that are a lot more than the kind of simple ‘gadget boy’ stuff.”

But that doesn’t mean having the very latest solution for the sake of being cutting-edge. “Alternatively, if you're looking to defend your corner against the onslaught of this technology, you've got to focus on, what does that really give you?” Mudd asks. “What does that really give the customer? You know your customers the best, and that is still your key differentiator, whether it's the quality of the products, or whether it's the value of that connectivity.

“In the realm of smart home technology you really need to focus on your knowledge of the customer and those things that bring something of value to them.”

Find this podcast and more at cedia.net/ podcast. “IoT and Security” with David Mudd is Episode 47, 1808 on iTunes.

www.bsigroup.com

ISSUES OF RISK The podcast also delves into the issues of security — and danger — when it comes to the notion of having billions of connected devices communicating (and potentially infecting) one another.

Mudd sees three key issues when it comes to the potential big-picture problems presented by the IoT: 1. Can connected devices be stopped from functioning or actually made dangerous?

The last major one I was aware of was a nation-state level of attack against a power facility. The attackers were able to get into the alarm and the safety side of things, disable the alarms, disable the safety devices, and then target the power generation to cause that to malfunction and actually destroy the facility. In so doing, they triggered some of the alarms and caused a shutdown. One can imagine that same kind of thing potentially going on in a high-end residential home: targeting the security systems, targeting a smoke detector, then maybe a gas fire and an oven, and that kind of thing. There is material danger that's over and beyond the standard cybersecurity threats of just stealing data and money.

2. Can the IoT devices actually be used to attack something else? The classic example is the Mirai Botnet event back in 2016, where there was an active attack searching for vulnerable devices, and a particular manufacturer of IP-enabled security cameras was found to be particularly vulnerable.

Hackers wrote a piece of software, tracked down hundreds of thousands of these devices, put some malware on them, and used them to take out Amazon, PayPal, Twitter, and Spotify at the same time. Not one of the owners of those cameras knew that device had been hijacked.

3. What data is actually being taken by these devices, what is it being used for, and how secure is it? Can it be misused and made dangerous? Can it be misused to attack something else? Then what is happening with the data? Those are the three big areas of concern. All of those risks can be mitigated, but this is not something you walk into thinking, "I'll grab this off-theshelf product here and trust that." Or even, "I will trust my suppliers at face value." What evidence is there that those very serious risks will be mitigated against?

COMMUNICATES

The Power of National Distribution with a Local Touch

Powerhouse Alliance Members are dedicated to providing: • Over 250 of the top audio/video/ commercial/security product lines • 40 convenient warehouse locations nationwide • No order minimums

• Local personalized sales with product training in every market • Will-call pickup / Same-day shipping • One-Stop solutions

Bringing You Tomorrow’s Technology Today!

21st Century

Audio America

AUTCO

CED

Davis

ECD

529 Dynamic Drive Garner, NC 27529 800-849-0647 21stcenturydist.com

15132 Park of Commerce Blvd Jupiter, FL 33478 800-432-8532 audioamerica.com

10900 Midwest Ind. Blvd St. Louis, MO 63132 800-777-6524 autco.com

3085 Commercial Ave Northbrook, IL 60062 847-656-8900 goced.com

52 Quaker State Road Newell, WVA 26050 1-800-746-5331 davisdistribution.com

4747 Westpark Houston, TX 77027 800-392-5156 ecdcom.com

EDI

Mountain West

MRI

Sierra Select

UI Supplies

Volutone

4600 NW St. Helens Rd Portland, OR 97210 503-226-4044 edinw.com

2889 South 900 West Salt Lake City, UT 84119 801-487-5694 mwd1.com

74 Northwest Dr Plainville, CT 06062 888-824-9569 mridirect.com

4320 Roseville Road North Highlands, CA 95660 800-793-7334 sierraselect.com

400 Allwood Road Clifton, NJ 07012 855-326-8958 uisupplies.com

170 West Cochran St Simi Valley, CA 93065 800-795-5111 volutone.com

Visit www.PowerhouseAlliance.com to locate a Distributor near you!

Vendors: Experience the Power of National Distribution by contacting Dennis Holzer: email at dholzer@powerhousealliance.com or by calling (412) 973-7974.

33

34

COMMUNICATES

TIME

“

IS

The following material was adapted from Leslie Shiner’s course from ISE 2018.

Shiner is owner of The ShinerGroup, a management consulting firm. She’s been in financial and management consulting for over 25 years, holds an MBA in Accounting and Finance from U.C. Berkeley, is a CEDIA Fellow, and wrote the book “A Simple Guide to Turning a Profit as a Contractor.”

MONEY Sure, “time is money” is something of a cliché, but that by doesn’t necessarily Leslie Shiner mean it’s not still The Shiner Group true. That’s especially evident when one breaks down all the concrete, definable ways that saving time on a job can increase a company’s profits.

Let’s focus on four ways you can save time and turn those minutes into money.

Your firm should: 1. Utilize time management techniques to keep jobs on schedule 2. Track employees’ productivity and measure the cost per hour 3. Track committed costs to manage slippage 4. Analyze the time factor of change work Utilize Time Management Techniques to Keep Jobs on Track The most efficient way to manage progress is to build a schedule. Using programs such as Microsoft Project, you can track the various stages of jobs to ensure that work’s being completed in a timely manner. Sure, you’ll often have to adjust those schedules, but having those schedules laid out in a concise format like a Gantt Chart (a bar chart that shows both timelines and dependencies) will enable you to have a handle on the big picture of your workflow.

Saving time on a job lessens the chances for everything from weather delays to theft or the inevitable obsolescence of the gear you’re installing.

You should also set up — and enforce — your own time management rules. One quick tip: Don’t read your email first thing in the morning. Make a task list the day before and prioritize what needs to be accomplished first, then tackle top-line items before you begin answering missives that can distract you from your firm’s workflow.

There are hidden benefits when you keep a schedule and “hit your marks,” as it were: Saving time on a job lessens the chances for everything from weather delays to theft or the inevitable obsolescence of the gear you’re installing.

Track Employees’ Productivity and Measure the Cost Per Hour First, create an estimate for labor costs and hours worked — then, ensure that every employee keeps a timecard — even you.

Once you create an estimate of the labor hours anticipated to complete a job, make sure your technicians agree that the budget is reasonable.

Then, be sure they are tracking their time against the budget. A timecard should include specifics: How many hours were spent in transit? In meetings? On a run for more cable? Waiting for a carpenter to re-frame that wall that was off by six inches before your tech can install a lowvoltage box? If you track your employees’ time in a manner that’s free of punishment, you’ll get an accurate assessment of how long a job really takes.

Additionally, have you considered the true cost of each employee? Ask any integrator how much it costs for technicians, and he or she will probably tell you the hourly pay rate plus payroll taxes.

More knowledgeable integrators will add workers comp and various benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.). Even better, they will factor in the cost of vehicles, tools, communication equipment, and other indirect costs related to having employees. All these costs add up to help you determine your fully burdened labor rates.

THE

FOUR TOOLS 1 | Utilize time management techniques to keep jobs on schedule

“

2 | Track employees’ productivity and measure the cost per hour 3 | Track committed costs to manage slippage 4 | Analyze the time factor of change work

COMMUNICATES

How many unbillable hours are you paying your employees every year?

A trick to help arrive at that true budget is understanding how to utilize committed cost reporting. Equipment, materials, and subcontractors are committed costs. Other costs — such as labor — are internal. As the job progresses, determine what’s left of the available budget, those costs over which you still control.

It’s better to know about slippage before it happens, when you can still make changes to get back on track.

Analyze the Time Factor of Change Work

But there is yet another cost associated with employees that can severely impact profitability if it is not figured into pricing a proposal or job costing labor. This gotcha factor is the utilization rate of your technicians. In simple terms, this is equal to the total number of billable hours divided by the total number of hours paid.

How many unbillable hours are you paying your employees every year? Hours such as holiday, sick, and vacation time. What about production meetings, safety meetings, design meetings, or even a week away from the office for CEDIA training? Do you charge the drive time to the jobs? It is important to track this non-billable time because each hour of non-billable time increases the total cost per billable hour.

If you could keep employees on budget on jobs and pay the same total amount of wages while completing more work, you can improve your profitability.

Track Committed Costs to Manage Slippage “Slippage” is what happens when a job’s costs expand beyond the budget. Usually it’s a result of a lack of tracking how a project is adhering to its budget in real time. An integrator can easily fool him or herself into thinking there’s more money left for a project than actually exists.

As you near the end of any project — the last 20% is often where things get dicey — one needs to subtract both current costs and committed costs to determine the available budget.

Committed costs are those where you haven’t yet been billed by the vendor, but you’ve committed to the costs through a subcontract or purchase order. That “available budget” (adding your costs to date to those that are already committed to see what’s left) shouldn’t be confused with the “remaining budget” (comparing your costs to date against the total budget).

Change is inevitable, right?

But if change means more time on a job, shouldn’t you be paid for it?

Change orders — whether initiated by the client or the job conditions — can break a budget if clear expectations aren’t set early in the integrator/client relationship.

There are a few things to remember when you’re creating change orders: • Do you have a clear scope of work so that changes are apparent?

• Who’s approved to take the order and make the changes?

• Are you including the time to research and process the changes in the price of the change order?

• Have you been over these processes with the client in an honest, upfront manner? How about your employees on-site?

• What kind of documentation will see the process to its fruition?

Be sure to manage your change orders by processing them as soon as possible. Include all the time involved in each change order — don’t forget the additional project management the changes will require.

There are more issues to consider, of course — but these four aspects of time management outlined above should get you started toward maximizing the efficiency of your work and, as a result, maximizing profits.

LShiner@ShinerGroup.com @LeslieShiner

35

36

COMMUNICATES

Professional Liability Insurance:

A Q&A David Taylor Director of Flint Insurance, UK

Lee James Appleton Business Development Executive at Jelf, UK

What is professional liability insurance?

DT | Professional liability insurance is a product designed for professional people and companies that covers legal costs and expenses incurred in your [legal] defense, as well as any damages or costs that may be awarded if you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice, services, or designs — or faulty products that cause your client to lose money.

LJA | Professional liability (or “indemnity” in the UK) insurance covers CEDIA members who provide advice or a service to their customers. This insurance protects against the legal costs and claims for damages, which may arise out of an act, omission, or breach of professional duty.

MG | To Lee’s point, this insurance is also known as “Errors and Omissions” (or E and O) in the United States.

Michael George President of AMJ Insurance, U.S.

Why should integrators have liability insurance?

DT | As an integrator, you are not required to have this insurance.

However, without it, you could be liable for thousands of dollars

in legal fees and compensation payments — not to mention lost income from the time spent defending any allegation. You are likely to need professional liability insurance if: • You provide advice or professional services to your clients (including consulting or contracting).

• You provide designs to your clients.

• You want to protect against allegations of mistakes or negligence in work that you have undertaken for your client.

• You work as a contractor, consultant, freelancer, or selfemployed professional, and your client has requested that you arrange professional liability insurance in order to undertake a contract.

LJA | Striving for first-class service is business as usual for CEDIA members, but mistakes can happen.

An insurance policy of this type is designed to protect against the cost of dealing with a claim from a dissatisfied customer. Whether that’s due to a project overrunning or strategic advice that ends up losing the client money, it’s important to ensure that the cover is in place should an error occur.

MG | It’s an important safeguard,

COMMUNICATES

“

CEDIA members should consider the risks their business could potentially face and the maximum amount they need to pay out in legal fees and compensation in a worst-case scenario.

especially for systems designers.

We’ve seen suits over the “diminishment of a client’s quality of life” due to a poor system! We’re also seeing more and more home builders insist that subcontractors — or anyone else on a jobsite — carry this kind of insurance so that they’re not held liable for someone else’s shortcomings.

LJA | One of the main areas of relevance to CEDIA members is negligence or, in other words, being careless in your work — such as giving bad advice or making a mistake.

What is the difference between professional liability insurance and general liability?

DT | General liability insurance protects your business from a claim for third-party injury or damage to their property as a direct result of any physical work you undertake.

Professional liability protects a business or individuals from financial losses from your professional services when providing design, advice, or a service for a fee.

LJA | Professional liability and general liability are two different types of insurance. Quite simply,

general liability insurance protects the policyholder in the event that they are sued for damages by a member of the public (including clients) arising out of bodily injury and/or property damage incurred as a result of their work.

What service or package is offered to CEDIA members?

MG | AMJ has a package provided by the firm Hiscox that provides customized coverage for your specific business. There’s even an option for coverage on work that was done before you signed up for the plan. The plan covers work by every member of your team that works on a project, including temps and subcontractors.

How much coverage do integrators need?

DT | Each company or individual’s insurance requirements will vary; an integrator working in a residential environment will need different coverage from those working in commercial or retail, and a company with contracts that are large and complex will require different coverage and limits from a company working on smaller, simpler contracts.

LJA | CEDIA members should consider the risks their business could potentially face and the maximum amount they need to pay out in legal fees and compensation in a worst-case scenario.

What information do integrators need to have to get liability insurance?

DT | Insurers calculate your insurance premium based on a number of factors, but the key information would be turnover, contract sizes, number of contracts, type of work undertaken, and location the work is undertaken in.

MG | Factors change from firm to firm; a few minutes of conversation with us is really all it takes. It’s a fairly simple process.

What does this level of insurance cost?

MG | Generally, that’s based on a firm’s sales and other factors, but it’s not terribly pricey; rates start at around $270 per year. Call us at 888.258.6820 (ext. 172) or email me at mgeorge@amj-ins.com.

37

38

COMMUNICATES

THE THE BUILDER'S BUILDER'S PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE

A high-end remodeler and a kitchen and bath expert weigh in on working with clients and integrators

Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

Adam Gibson sings the song that every integrator’s dying to hear.

“A client’s interested in tech? Here’s the first thing I do.

“I usually talk about home automation or integration right at the beginning of the project and stress the need to have structured wiring because nothing — nothing — can compensate for structured wiring.”

Gibson is the brains behind Adam Gibson Design — he’s an architectural designer who specializes in high-end kitchen and bath projects in the U.S. Midwest. His watchwords are “warmth, simplicity, and clarity in design,” but that doesn’t mean he’s tech-averse — he embraces it, and he knows how to respond when he gets a familiar pushback regarding, say, adding cable to a project: “I'll suggest, ‘Well, maybe if you're worried about the obsolescence, let's run some conduit in some important areas where you think it might serve you in the future?’”

Gibson’s taking part in a roundtable discussion as he and I prep for a webinar presented by the NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) for their members about working with CEDIA integrators on kitchen and bath projects specifically. Also in on the discussion is one of the leading remodelers in the Great Lakes region of North America, Christopher Wright of Wrightworks, LLC. (Jamie Briesemeister of Integration Controls in St. Louis handles the integrator’s perspective in this particular webinar — but this prep session’s focused on the design/ build experts.)

integrators have dealt with for decades: “When it comes to technology, I think there are the usual customer fears of obsolescence, as Adam noted,” says Wright. There’s more, of course: “They fear that the system is going to be overly complicated.

They fear that they're going to be over-sold. That it's just going to start spiraling out of control. A lot of my projects are partnerships with people like Adam, and so a lot of the designers that I work with have a fear that any dollars spent on technology are going to come right out of the beautiful things that they want to put in a house, so those are some of the things that we have to get around.”

Both Wright and Gibson are CEDIA evangelists: They talk to other builders at events like the annual Design and Construction Week Show. If there’s a single message Wright wants to impart to his colleagues, it’s this: “You don't have to be a techie.

That's what your CEDIA partner is there for.”

Wright expands on that last point: “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room when your clients ask: ‘What about privacy? What about security? What about when I want to do something different or expand down the road?’

Those are questions for the integrator.”

And builders are bombarded with a lot of the same interoperability questions that integrators field: “One of the challenges for us as builders and designers is now clients come to us with technologies that have been marketed direct to the consumer.”

Tech Issues? They’re Universal.

“We hear this all the time from people that tried the DIY-approach,” says Gibson. “’Okay, I did this, this, and this and now this, this, and this don't work.’ That’s why the knowledge and experience of someone who knows this stuff is critical.”

The client concerns that Wright and Gibson are recalling in this chat echo the issues that

Wright sums the problem up: “There’s this increasing challenge of having homeowners go

COMMUNICATES

“

If you’re a builder, you don't have to be a techie.

That's what your CEDIA partner is there for.

to some home center and then there are all these end caps of connected products. They're marketed like this: ‘Just take it home, plug in your Wi-Fi password, and install an app!’

to my clients when the subject of technology comes up.”

And When the Builder Talks to the Integrator…

As Gibson notes, the tech most often asked for in kitchens and baths is AV — with lighting a close second: “People really do want to have good lighting controls; layered lighting.” But when he’s involved in the discovery process, both Gibson and Wright start the tech conversation by stressing the need for a robust home network. After determining what the “bare minimums” are when it comes to technology, it’s time to turn to the tech person sitting at the table.

After we’ve established that builders are hearing the same things that CEDIA integrators hear from clients, we turn the discussion to the builder/integrator interaction. First on the docket for Wright: “When we start a project, we talk about project management. At what points are the integrators going to be on site? What are they going to be doing? How do we talk about the budget question?

“My goal is not to be a CEDIA member and learn how to hook up networks and wire TVs,” says Wright. “I believe in CEDIA because I believe in the elevation of the professionalism of the industry and the relationship between the various partnerships in a project: design, build, technology, architecture, homeowner. I think that the more we can develop healthy relationships with one another...”

“It makes me a better builder, and it gives me a competitive advantage when I have partners who can help bring these things and bring comfort

Wright pauses for a second, and then puts a bow on it: “The end goal is to build beautiful things and have happy clients.”

“So now we have all this app clutter because our clients are buying these little one-off things, and then when they do a major project, they bring them to us and say, ‘Hey, I have all this. Can we incorporate this into the project, too?’”

What do you look for in an integrator?

Christopher Wright: In many ways, I look for things that I look for in any vendor that I work with, whether that's my plumbing distributor, my lighting distributor, whoever. I look for people that will take care of my client, that will communicate well, that will understand we're all working toward the same goal and none of us is the most important person at the table, but we all have an input to give that's going to further the experience.

I want to give them a comfort level that communicates: "Okay, we're not just going to over-sell you." I want to make sure that the juice is worth the squeeze; that we're not just putting in gimmicks.

Christopher Wright

When we design a kitchen, you're asking a client, "How do you live? How do you cook? Where do you like to put things?" When it comes to technology, we ask that client, "Tell me about your current experience with your network? What devices do you have? Where do you want to watch content? Where does that content come from?" Then we go from there with the integrator.

Adam Gibson: Communication is absolutely key. I really want to understand everything that the integrator wants to do, scheduling-wise. I want to make sure that they're not going to slow things down and that they are delivering the best results for the client.

Adam Gibson

I do appreciate an integrator who will show clients things they may not realize they could have. Not necessarily trying to upsell them, mind you — but if they don't realize that they could have a lighted pathway from their garage to their kitchen, to let them know: "Actually, with a push of a button from your car, we can provide that lighted walk." As designers, we don't think about those things.

We just think about how things look or how things function, but we don't think about the technology that we can offer.

39

40

COMMUNICATES

MEET THE

A new HQ. A new strategic plan.

And a lot of new ideas.

CEDIABOARDOF CEDIA’s 2018-2019 Board of Directors began work in January, and their first order

DIRECTORS of business: Approve the Executive Committee and appointed Directors. With all 13 members in place, we’d like to introduce you to each of them individually.

David Humphries

Giles Sutton

Chairman

Chairman-Elect

Atlantic Integrated

James + Giles

Rockleigh, NJ, USA

London, England

Dave Humphries founded Atlantic Integrated in May 2003. His prior experience was with Lutron Electronics over a 15-year career.

Humphries has served as CEDIA ChairmanElect and Board Treasurer, is the past president of IPRO, and is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

Giles Sutton completed his degree in Sound Technology at Paul McCartney’s prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA).

After graduating, he spent several years designing recording studios and theater systems before moving into the smart home industry as a system designer. Sutton founded James + Giles in 2006 and is a CEDIA Certified Electronic Systems Designer (ESC-D) and is on the Sonos CI Council.

Simply put: The effective implementation and refinement of CEDIA’s three-year strategic plan.

What about your experience makes you uniquely suited to serve on the Board?

The strategy process provided an unparalleled opportunity to align the values, interests, and input of all of CEDIA’s key stakeholders. We have been able to build consensus on what success should look like for CEDIA and how we as an organization will get there. Throughout this process we looked long and hard at how to move the needle for the industry and for CEDIA members: We determined that it was by building awareness and creating demand for CEDIA members’ services with architects, builders, and designers.

We plan to engage in an integrated marketing campaign, including hiring a media relations firm specializing in this area to ensure that architects, builders, and designers know who we are, what we do, and why they need to work with their local CEDIA member.

I have been an active CEDIA volunteer since 2004, so I believe I have a firm understanding of what the membership really wants from CEDIA. I have had the honor of guiding the association through some significant milestones — including global integration by serving as chairman of CEDIA EMEA — so I’ve been a major part of what has made CEDIA the global association it is today.

My number one priority is to help raise the standard of work being carried out by companies in the industry, increase the value of CEDIA to its membership, and recognize companies who excel in certain areas. Through the refocus of our mission, from show organizer to industry association, our strategic planning work, and new membership initiatives, we are becoming the association that you want.

COMMUNICATES

David Weinstein

Rob Sutherland

Secretary

Treasurer

Lutron Electronics

Inspired Dwellings, Ltd.

Coopersburg, PA, USA

London, UK

David Weinstein is Lutron’s Vice President of Residential Sales, responsible for leading sales across the company’s consumer-facing channels.

His work with Lutron included roles as senior sales manager, sales director, and sales vice president.

Prior to Lutron, he was employed at Yusen Associates, where he rose from salesperson to president.

If you had thirty seconds to speak directly to CEDIA’s members, what would you say?

CEDIA is a global organization founded on the principle of assisting all our members to be more successful in their businesses through education, training, certification, defining standards, and providing services to support workforce development across the industry.

Our 2018 Board of Directors is made up of a diverse and talented group of global industry professionals who generously donate their time to guide and support the CEDIA staff. Our staff, led by CEO Tabatha O'Connor, is working incredibly hard to communicate our evolving and increasing value proposition to our industry members and to deliver new and differentiated value to our membership.

As managing director and co-founder of Inspired Dwellings, Rob Sutherland has built his company and reputation through the smooth and transparent delivery of projects. With more than 20 years’ experience managing in the private sector and a comprehensive background in corporate IT, Sutherland has personal experience project managing extensive global infrastructure projects for large corporations (BP, BT, and M&S).

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

As treasurer, I think that I have two significant priorities: To work with Tabatha O’Connor and Laura Bond to produce a budget that will deliver our strategy, and to work with the rest of the Board and the CEDIA team to make sure the strategy is delivered.

I think that CEDIA is at a turning point as an organization (as we are no longer a trade show organizer), but we have a unique opportunity to carve out a future in training, standards, and engagement with our members and community. To deliver this we have a leadership team and a Board that are highly motivated to succeed.

Take the time to get to know the new CEDIA. Think about getting involved in a committee or serving on the Board in the future.

Our industry is poised for significant growth, and CEDIA is the organization that can help to positively impact your business.

Dennis Erskine

John Buchanan

Immediate Past

Meridian Audio Ltd

Chairman

Huntingdon, UK

Erskine Group, Inc. Draper, UT, USA

Dennis Erskine is an award-winning THX® Certified Professional Theater Designer and Acoustical Engineer. Erskine is a CEDIA Certified Home Theater Design Specialist, subject matter expert and CEDIA Certified Instructor, and member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

My priority during my final two years as an ex-officio Board member is to provide any assistance as may be needed by the Board, the Executive Committee, and the Chairman.

Ex-officio, non-voting member

Appointed CEO of Meridian Audio in 2014, Buchanan is an honors graduate of the University of Strathclyde and has 20-plus years of international business experience working with market-leading professional audio and consumer electronics companies. Buchanan is married with two daughters. His interests away from work include rugby, cycling, and golf.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

Technology is temporary; quality should be permanent. As a CEDIA Board Director, I will be a passionate advocate for the opportunities that that CEDIA home technology professionals (HTPs) can generate by focusing on higher quality standards and higher performance solutions. I will seek to ensure a professional, unified approach to communicating CEDIA’s value proposition to members, their end-clients, and important influencers in related industry sectors.

41

42

COMMUNICATES

Henry Clifford

Ken Erdmann

Livewire LLC

Erdmann Electric, Inc.

Richmond, Virginia, USA

Springville, UT, USA

Henry Clifford founded Livewire in 2002. At 18, he started his first company at the University of Maryland — an IT firm specializing in web development and network administration. During Livewire’s growth, the firm has acquired three competitors and is now the largest integration firm in central Virginia.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

To help CEDIA members improve their businesses and maximize the benefits of membership. Our new strategic plan is all about helping members improve their businesses.

It’s going to take time and hard work, but I couldn’t be more excited about the direction we’re heading in.

I started my company from nothing 16 years ago, and I experience many of the challenges and pain points our members experience every day. I love our industry and hope to help bring the voice of the integrator to our Board efforts.

Ken Erdmann has been a Utah state-licensed electrician since 1978. As co-founder and part owner of Erdmann Electric, Inc., he’s always been involved in the low voltage and systems integration component of the company. Erdmann has served as a CEDIA instructor, committee chair, subject matter expert, and volunteer leader.

In 2012, he was made a CEDIA Fellow, and was honored that same year with the CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

CEDIA's membership faces many challenges; as an HTP myself, I think I understand what the challenges are. As an industry association, CEDIA represents the HTP, the trade supplier, and other associated members. As a Board, we have an obligation to speak for our members. I am a firm believer that the mission of CEDIA is to educate, certify, and elevate its members. We will build world-class, relevant education, establish a metric for that education with certification, and give the membership the tools to promote themselves as the go-to source for the customer's technology needs.

Omar Hikal

Hamish Neale

Archimedia

Crestron EMEA

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Cobham, UK

Omar Hikal is a co-founder and Board member of Archimedia, a multi-award-winning technology installation company. Hikal was CEO of Archimedia from 2006 to 2014 and currently is CEO and head of brand strategy of The Brand Company. Hikal has been a member of the CEDIA Board of Directors since 2014.

Hamish Neale’s history with CEDIA goes all the way back to working at a hi-fi store in Auckland, New Zealand in 1999. Over the years, he attended CEDIA Expos in Australia, the UK, and America. During his time on the EMEA Board, he did all that he could to help CEDIA give even more back to the membership and industry.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

Since I joined the EMEA Board in 2014, my aim has always been to make CEDIA a central player in the success of its members.

For years, fellow Board members have had to suffer my pleas that we should “educate, regulate, and communicate,” and I believe that our new strategy will help us focus on adding value to our members by doing exactly those three things. Our aim must be to support our members by making them better at their jobs and by ensuring that specifiers know our members and our industry.

Ensuring that we stick to and deliver on our strategy.

Execution is the hardest part of any strategy and we, as an organization, need to stay focused on the well-crafted plan that we developed in conjunction with Dr. Rebecca Homkes. As a member of the CEDIA Strategic Advisory Council, I am personally proud of my contribution to the strategy and especially our definition of the industry that we serve: “Professionally designed and installed technologies integrated into the residence that help one interact with the residence (but not technology for the sake of being connected).”

COMMUNICATES

Tabatha O'Connor

Matt Scott

CEDIA Global President and

OMEGA Audio Video

CEO

London, Ontario, Canada

Tabatha O'Connor serves as ex-officio, voting member of the CEDIA Board by virtue of her position as global president and CEO of CEDIA. She joined CEDIA in 2002 and became COO in 2015 before her promotion to her current position this year. You can find more info on O’Connor on page 4.

What about your experience makes you uniquely suited to serve on the Board?

I know the ins-and-outs of CEDIA incredibly well, having spent a total of 14 years as part of the team, managing virtually every department. The last two years I spent as COO really helped prepare me for this new role. During that time, I worked closely with the Board and managed all governance, as well as handed the responsibilities for the overall day-to-day running of the association.

By age 12, Matt Scott was running full PA systems. Fresh out of high school in 2001, Scott started OMEGA Audio working in the house of worship market as a consultant before expanding into the commercial and residential markets in 2007 as OMEGA Audio Video. In 2011, he cofounded AVNation.tv, a media company covering the AV industry.

If you had thirty seconds to speak directly to CEDIA’s members, what would you say?

CEDIA is here for you! Across our membership are people of all backgrounds and companies of every size. It is my belief that CEDIA wants to help you succeed, wants you to be prosperous. BUT, that depends on you! You have to take advantage of everything CEDIA has to offer! You need to get involved; you need to become active. If you just pay your yearly dues and expect something to magically happen, you’re doing it wrong. Yet, when you get involved and contribute to your CEDIA community, the benefits are innumerable. Get involved! Join the community! We’ll welcome you to the family!

Heather Sidorowicz

Joe Whitaker

Southtown Audio Video

The Thoughtful Home

Hamburg, NY, USA

Clayton, MO, USA

Heather L. Sidorowicz is president and owner of Southtown Audio Video based in Hamburg, NY. Southtown Audio Video has been one of Commercial Integrators’ Top Higher Ed Integration Firms, and in 2015, Heather was selected as one of their 40 Influencers Under 40. She has mentored for the University at Buffalo’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership program and was part of Allstate's Minority and Women’s Emerging Entrepreneurs Program.

If you had thirty seconds to speak directly to CEDIA’s members, what would you say?

We hear you. CEDIA now has their strategic plan in place; the course charted. Knowing first who we are in today's everchanging world of technology allows us to now move forward with confidence. CEDIA understands its past, respects it, and is ready to rise to meet the future.

Joe Whitaker has nearly two decades of experience in custom systems integration, design, and implementation in both the residential and commercial markets. He is one of the most proactive members of the Control4 community.

Whitaker has also helped in product design, development, creation, and pre-production testing with top manufacturers like Sony, Stealth Acoustics, SONOS, and many more.

What’s your number one priority during your tenure on the Board?

My number one priority is representing our home technology professionals. My company and I represent the largest portion of our membership in scale and size. We are the “every-HTP!" My priority is to be clear in my representation of those that voted for me and weighing every decision I make based on how it would affect my company and my peers. Whether it be strategic, outreach, or workforce development, I’ll put on my owner’s hat and ask, “How will this affect my business?” I plan to continue with the same objective I’ve had since first joining the Board: Putting the members that make this industry great first.

43

44

COMMUNICATES

% last 5 the

“The toughest part of a job?

Sometimes it’s the last 5%.” - ANON “Old technologies aren’t completely dead. Did you know the global market for candle wax was 8.5 billion dollars last year?"

Sam Woodward (Lutron) on the CEDIA Tech Council Podcast (No. 1806, Episode 45)

“To me, the most important technology is probably not one thing or one brand, it is the integrator’s ability to provide a seamless, easy-touse system for their clients.”

WISDOM FROM OUR MEMBERS (And Some Others, Too)

Stuart Robertson (Sound Living) on the blog at CEDIA.net

“Throughout the entirety of the process, strategic decisions always have the members at the center.”

Dr. Rebecca Homkes, teaching fellow at the London School of Economics, on CEDIA’s new strategic plan

“I get to learn. And I get to share. And when I'm teaching other people, I'm learning. I'm the type of instructor that asks questions. I like sharing the mistakes that I've made — ultimately, I can help other people not make those very same errors.”

Larry Heuvelman (The Owner Consultant) on volunteering as a CEDIA instructor

"You can build whatever user interface you want on top of this."

John Fitch, Animal Ventures, speaking about the opportunities presented by blockchain technology on the CEDIA Tech Council Podcast (No. 1809, Episode 48)

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Geoff Meads (Presto AV) on the CEDIA Tech Council Podcast (No. 1802d, Episode 38)

“It certainly is a credential that ensures that you have the right abilities, that you've learned the right technologies and skill sets to be able to deploy properly and get the work done right. So as an employer, I would want to make sure that I've got certified people working for me. And as far as a homeowner? Yeah, that'd be really comforting to know.”

Mitchell Klein (Z-Wave Alliance) on CEDIA Certification

COMMUNICATES

September 4 - 8, 2018 San Diego, CA

Residential tech is your industry.

CEDIA members receive a FREE badge and discounted conference pricing.

Register Today!

Get Your FREE Badge and Register at CEDIAExpo.com/register

45

Superior installations come from superior customer service.

DISH is ranked #1 in Customer Service nationally by J.D. Power and our customers.

CUSTOM INTEGRATION PROGRAM

white-glove service

Get the Perks and Benefits of a DISH Partnership.

The Custom Integration Program provides integrators with exclusive benefits like on-site surveys and installations, a dedicated support team, and account management on behalf of customers.

DISH.com/CEDIA DISH Network received the highest numerical score for customer service and second highest score for overall customer satisfaction among national TV providers in the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study, based on 18,685 total responses, measuring the experiences and perceptions of customers with their TV service provider, surveyed November 2016-July 2017. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.