9 minute read
After the Lockdowns
A look at potential integration opportunities around the globe
LOCKDOWNS
WIM DE VOS, GENESIS HOME TECHNOLOGIES
When a region re-opens, when lockdowns ease — what happens? What will the “new normal” look like?
Amanda Wildman — co-owner of the Michigan firm TruMedia (and a CEDIA Board member) is bullish on the future: “When this wraps up, when the state gets back to work, when construction sites are open, I’ll bet we have to hire three new people.”
What Wildman sees is a pending release of pent-up demand from a bevy of consumers who have suddenly realized the true value of a robust home network that has the fundamental infrastructure needed for dozens of devices dedicated to business, e-learning, and entertainment — all being used at the same time.
And she’s not worried about that business coming in, even in what’s likely to be a new era of consumer frugality: “People will afford something once they understand its value. And the value of eliminating those pain points will become unquestionable.”
A Similar Take in the UK
Andrew Royall of the UK firm Eclectic Home Technology agrees: “We all sort of felt avant-garde the first time we worked from our dining room table. Then we realized that working on our dining room table with our children and the rest of the family isn't necessarily as fun as we thought it might be.” In addition to creating those work-from-home and e-learning spaces, Royall sees other segments coming into demand. “More and more people will have done their own cooking. More and more people will have found exercise that doesn't involve a gym. How do we make those connected spaces provide the best possible experiences?”
Steve Moore, who heads up Steve Moore Consultancy (and was the founding Chairman of CEDIA UK) feels that security — both the physical and cyber-varieties — will be in huge demand. “Interestingly, during the lockdown, it's been the lowest level of home insurance claims ever in the industry — because people are in all the time,” notes Moore. “I fully expect the burglary claims to go up when everyone’s allowed to leave their homes.”
Another trend: the integration of a home’s outdoor spaces in the age of social distancing. “We've seen a growth in outdoor work,” says Moore. If you see some of the great products that are out there in terms of outdoor audio, outdoor networking, outdoor lighting control — that's been growing steadily in the last few years. But I think we'll really see it take off.”
Accelerated Trends
Wim de Vos of the Spanish firm Genesis Home Technologies sees an uptick in demand for better entertainment experiences, especially since many predictions include future lockdowns. The conversations he’s having with his clients bear it out: “We have customers already thinking about what's going to happen this winter because most likely we will be obliged to stay in another 30 to 45 days when the second wave hits.”
There’s a bigger picture that de Vos has been monitoring. “I looked back at CEDIA’s research and reports from last year and the year before. There were trends there: more robust networking, cybersecurity, and so on, that haven’t changed at all. The only change? Those trends are accelerating.
“If you're in travel, tourism, hospitality, so many other businesses, there's a total shift and you really have to pivot completely to stay alive. I think in our industry, most trends that were on their way are just magnified, and that means systems need to be better documented and better engineered. Network systems will become bigger, therefore more complex service will be more important,” he adds.
“Engineering will be the core of what our industry supplies, not products. And all of that was underway before the pandemic hit.”
Masks and COVID-19: CEDIA Members Help Out
How CEDIA firms are pitching in to help procure, make, and distribute PPE during the pandemic
When Pamela Cortes of the Houston integration firm Echo Workshop learned that her dear friend Becky had turned her quilting bees into de facto mask factories, Cortes knew she could help in myriad ways.
“My husband started this business 21 years ago. Over that time, I’ve come to wear many hats: accounting, payroll, HR, marketing,” she explains. But Cortes’ first love is customer service, a job she had for 20 years with a major airline — and a skill that would eventually help generate donations of fabric.
The Masks
Becky — a generous soul who’s even fashioned a custom quilt for Cortes’ daughter out of the youngster’s track and field competition t-shirts — participates in no less than three quilting bees. All three began fashioning masks out of 100% cotton material for local health care professionals as the COVID-19 pandemic overtook Texas. “We made masks for the folks who weren’t on the front lines so that the N95 masks could be preserved for the surge teams and the ICUs in the hospitals,” explains Cortes.
The masks have gone through a number of revisions, though. “There’s a pocket in the masks,” says Cortes, “so that an N95 mask can drop inside, with a little pipe-cleaner that molds to the bridge of the nose in a more comfortable way.” The masks are washable and brightly colored so that they fit nicely into pediatrics, other non-emergency departments, and now even for “essential” business employees. They are created in an assembly line fashion, and Cortes and her colleagues are on the front end of that process: “We cut the fabric, iron the pieces, and then Becky’s team does the actual sewing.”
The Fabric
Cortes used her people skills to leverage her husband Luis’ success as a CEDIA Outreach Instructor to assist with the cause: “The COI program has helped us make tremendous inroads with designers. So, we sent out a call to the ASIDTXGC chapter asking for fabric.” Cortes was able to fill up her
We have teamed up with Greatwood Quilting Bees, SUV with material for the masks as Pinder didn’t have the surplus capital to Fulshear Quilting Bees, and Katy Odds & Ends Quilting Group soon as word went out. More than 1,000 masks have been distributed buy them all (after, business is off for his company, too), but he did procure 10,000 of n g & d o n a t i n g m a s k s ! so far. the masks, “for about a buck apiece, which k i a m y b a f e t o s e a y i n u t t We have teamed up with G i v i n g b a c k t o h e l p o u r c o m m u n i t y s P l e a s e d o n a t e a n y r e m n a n t s o f 1 0 0 % c o t t o h e l p k e e p e v e r y o n e n h f a b r i c e a l t h y ! s o w e c a n c o n “We asked Becky if she wanted to start a GoFundMe, tell the translates to £6,000.” Getting the masks to the UK was the next issue: “The number of Greatwood Quilting Bees, press, or something, but she’s flights in and out of the UK had dramatically Fulshear Quilting Bees, and having none of it. She doesn’t reduced at that point,” says Pinder, which Katy Odds & Ends Quilting Group want attention, she just wants to tripled the cost of shipping. i n a s g e b d a c k t o h e l p o u r c o m m u n i t y s t a y s a f e b y m a k i n g & d o n a t i n g m a s k s ! help,” says Cortes. Masks in hand, Pinder went to his social o n a t e a n y r e m n a n t s o f 1 0 0
% c o t t o
n h e l p k e e p e v e r y o n e h e f a b r i c a l t h y ! s o w e c a n c o n t i n u e t o And the experience has media channels to get the word out — free For any donations please email Pamelacechoworkshop)com been incredibly gratifying for everyone involved. masks to frontline workers by request. “I set up a Google form linked to my Twitter “This is all about the community account with the hashtag #RequestMasks, — we’ve got to work together. Healthcare and within 24 hours they were all gone.” professionals are doing so much, so this is Most of the stock went to those working in For any donations please email one little thing that we can help out with to elder care facilities. Pamelacechoworkshop)com keep Houston safe and healthy.” Pinder’s team of volunteers spent a day in Meanwhile, Across the Pond the requests, and then Pinder went on the Like Cortes and her colleagues, hunt for more masks: “We’ve found 10,000 Chris Pinder, the CEO and founder of more, and we’re going to provide those at HDANYWHERE, was frustrated when cost. I can’t shell out any more for these, the pandemic began to spread. “You feel but I’m certainly not going to profit off this powerless. You’ve got to do something,” initiative.” he says. The outpouring of gratitude for these So Pinder began a hunt for a specific item gestures isn’t lost on Pinder. “The thanks — masks, the “PPE,” personal protective we get from the front line is one thing, but equipment we’ve all heard about — and soon what really strikes me is what we’re hearing enough, a supply chain came through. “I've from their partners, their families. They’re got quite a few contacts in China,” says Pinder, so happy that one more element of safety is “and one of the factory contacts from the past available.” contacted me to say they had surplus masks that they had purchased for their factory workers. I said, ‘Well, how many masks have you got?’ And he said, ‘3 million.’” the HD warehouse, fulfilling and mailing HDANYWHERE has distributed 10,000 masks to workers in the UK —free of charge.
Echo Workshop
echoworkshop.com CEDIA Member Since 2009
HD Anywhere
hdanywhere.com CEDIA Member Since 2010 Do you know of an integrator who’s pitching in during the pandemic? We’d love to hear your story. Contact CEDIA’s Ed Wenck: ewenck@cedia.org 18 CEDIA COMMUNICATES
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CEDIA Member Shaka Gaskins Phoenix, AZ Shakatronics
