Custom, commercial and security integrators will learn from industry leaders and their peers during a program of thought-provoking content.
A main component of the Total Tech Summit is delivering the country’s top integrators a dedicated program of content that stimulates peer-to-peer best practice-sharing and strategy development. For the 2018 CE Pro, CI and SSI Summits, the general sessions will deliver on those goals.
Take a look at what guests in each segment can look forward to at this year’s event, from November 7-9 in Pittsburgh, and click here to see complete event schedule details.
Keynote – 5G and Emerging IoT Applications for Integrators
Sponsored and presented by Dish
We’re creeping closer to the arrival of 5G wireless communications platforms that promise to open or enlarge markets for IoT technology—smart farms, smart/safe cities and towns, smart schools and campuses and smart retail and hospitality spaces among them. This keynote presentation from top Dish executives will update you on the development of 5G and other wide-area network platforms and the new world of opportunities emerging for your company.
Roundtable – Amazon, Apple, Google: Friends or Foes
Riding on the wave of strong consumer interest in voice control and leveraging their ubiquitous consumer brands, Amazon, Apple and Google are becoming major players in the home technology space. The question for integration companies and hundreds of manufacturers who’ve been slogging it out on the frontlines of home tech for more than three decades is: Are they friends or foes? On the one hand, their sexy user interfaces and marketing muscle are driving consumer awareness and adoption. On the other hand, their tendencies toward market disruption and industry sector destruction are scary as heck. We’ll provide a provocative thought-starter presentation on these tech titans, then challenge you to brainstorm strategies to cope and/or compete with their plays.
Process Development and Documentation
Research tells us process development, documentation and continuous improvement is one of the top challenges of custom integrators. This session showcases real world examples of excellence in process development and operational standardization that you can begin applying to your own business.
The Future of Custom Integration Infrastructure
Signal distribution and control continue to be core product and technical competencies for integrators, and while more and more signals are moving wirelessly, the bandwidth requirements of ever-higher definition video ensure hardwire infrastructure will continue to be with us for as far as we can see. What’s the infrastructure strategy for custom integrators today, and how can you effectively educate your customers and clients on infrastructure requirements? You’ll hear from some of the most thoughtful and progressive custom integrators in the country.
Margin Heroes
Constantly refreshing and refueling your product mix with margin heroes is one of your most important charges. It’s not a simple matter of effective shopping. It requires you to think through cost of sale, installation and support and your ability to sustain pricing competitively. In this session we will ask a panel of top integrators to walk through their product portfolios category by category to identify their margin heroes and explain why and how they made it happen. Get your notepad ready!
Roundtable – Best Practices Soup
We highlight best practices for the commercial integrators from sales and marketing to design, installation and service to financial and human resources management and customer care/experience. We then turn it over to guests to brainstorm innovative, new approaches to company improvement. Top ideas are reported out to the group as a whole. A signature feature of AE Ventures hosted events, our roundtables break the ice among the guests and get the best practice-sharing juices flowing!
Fresh Horses – Products & Applications Your Company Can Ride for Revenue & Profit Growth
Topics Include:
- Internet of Things
- Artificial Intelligence
- Virtual & Augmented Reality
- Cloud-based Environments
- AV over IP
- App Development
- Standardized Room Solutions
Capitalizing on New Office Environments
New types of working, playing and meeting spaces in offices are creating new opportunities for audio, video and control solutions for integrators. This session details the trends and the ways top integrators are seizing the opportunities they create.
AVaaS Update
Integrators are increasingly embracing the AV-as-a-Service business model to drive recurring revenue and increase customer satisfaction. This session will cover how integrators are succeeding with AVaaS and increasingly leveraging remote system analytics to facilitate the play.
Roundtable – Best Practices Soup
We highlight best practices for security dealers and integrators from sales and marketing to design, installation and service to financial and human resources management and customer care/experience. We then turn it over to guests to brainstorm innovative, new approaches to company improvement. Top ideas are reported out to the group as a whole. A signature feature of AE Ventures hosted events, our roundtables break the ice among the guests and get the best practice-sharing juices flowing!
Fresh Horses – Products & Applications Your Company Can Ride for Revenue & Profit Growth
Topics Include:
- PSIM
- New Sensors
- “Cyber-secure” Physical Security Systems
- Biometrics/Facial Recognition
- Near Field Communications
- Voice Control
- Cybersecurity for Small Businesses/High-End Residential
- Hosted Access & Video Surveillance
- New Credentials for Access Control
- Door Control Hardware
- Outdoor Sensors
Voice of the Customer
The security threats and needs of commercial and institutional end-users are constantly evolving and addressing them with effective and efficient solutions is the key to growing and maintaining your customer base. In this session, you’ll hear directly from a variety of decision-maker types in a variety of vertical markets from SMB/Light Commercial to Enterprise. You’ll hear not only about pure security needs, but also broader system integration wants.
Adding Security Drones to Your Solutions Mix
No longer products of the future, security drones are joining the solutions mix of progressive dealers and integrators across the country. You’ll get an update on technology, the regulatory and legal frameworks that are governing the business and, most important, learn about the applications and business models your peers are pursuing successfully.
To apply to attend the 2018 Total Tech Summit, click here.