AV is no longer a commodity or simply a box to tick. It has evolved into an opportunity to do more and do better.
I would also add that a higher level of quality is now more affordable, which has created more and larger vertical communities than ever before. At Harman Professional Solutions, we have good, better and best for most product categories and can provide commercial-grade solutions for broad applications or performance-grade solutions for premium applications.
To what extent do you find that integration firms are set up to succeed in specific vertical markets and risk damaging their brand by diversifying?
Augsburger: We work with some integrators who are successful in multiple verticals and others who focus on one area. Either approach is certainly viable, but I think it’s important for integrators to realize that different markets have different needs. It’s critical that integrators make the investment in structure and scale in order to serve those needs appropriately.
How will Harman Professional Solutions’ customer-facing organization help integration firms serve their customer groups better?
Augsburger: First and foremost, we’ll have more systems and programs specifically designed to meet their customers’ needs. So, if you are an integration firm that serves the hospitality marketplace, for example, then we hope to be your go-to partner for hospitality solutions. You’ll be able to provide your customer with integrated technology solutions that perform better, because they’ve been developed to address the specific needs of the hospitality market.
The fact that the solution is from a single manufacturer will streamline everything from procurement to support. This integrated, industry-specific approach is the foundation of our Customer Solutions Units (CSUs).
For our partners, we’ll have more simplified points of contact, which I am confident will also make working with Harman a much easier and more efficient proposition than it has been in the past and than it currently is with any other provider. This will be a big boon to commercial integrators.
Commercial integrator firms will also benefit from the fact that we’ve combined our technical talent and deep R&D investments across the organization to deliver groundbreaking technologies, products and, most importantly, customer solutions in all of our product categories, from audio to lighting to video and control.
That’s an incredibly powerful resource, and I think input from our Entertainment and Enterprise Strategic Business Units (SBUs) will inspire our Products SBU to develop compelling solutions commercial integrators can confidently sell in greater volume than the market has ever supported before.
