IN DISCUSSION Bose

WHY FACILITY-WIDE AUDIO SOLUTIONS SHOULD BE PRIORITISED ON MANUFACTURERS’ AGENDAS IN THE COMING YEARS

by Adam Shulman, Product Lead, Bose Professional

Shifting Needs and Usage

The pandemic has given the industry the time to rethink the types of audio systems going into facilities and buildings for two major reasons: spaces that were originally intended for a specific use are now being used differently and, it’s becoming increasingly important to operate facilities more wholistically. Historically, systems tended to be built for a specific purpose based on the need at that point in time, but this is changing as we move forward. One of the biggest trends is the shift in thinking about solutions at an individual room level, but rather how all the spaces within a facility are being used as part of a whole system. While full building management systems are not new, from a pro-AV perspective, this is a significant change from past years where certain types of rooms had bespoke systems installed, and where a room down the hall or on a different level could have a completely different system, because it was done at a different time or by a different team. Thinking more wholistically about the facility-level design brings advantages, especially as we work to gain efficiencies in facility operation, energy usage, and an improved guest and worker experience. Many buildings are a patchwork of technology, and now as this technology becomes more capable and can span different types of applications, it’s time to evolve our approach and capitalise on its capabilities to gain the greatest benefits for our customers.

Supporting the Market’s Applications

As Product Lead, I oversee the product management team, which represents the three core applications Bose Professional serves. First, we have product managers that are focus on Performance Applications, defined as the sound system supporting the primary purpose of a space. We also focus on Commercial Applications, which is supporting the creation of the atmosphere – like in a lobby for example – where audio is not the primary importance of the space but supports the business function and creates the desired atmosphere and soundscape. And thirdly, we have Conferencing Applications, which covers the spaces where hybrid collaboration occurs – like those smaller meeting and gathering spaces. We structure our focus like this because fundamentally we believe that these are the three primary categories or applications contained within most facilities and that they most often occur together when you look at a building’s total needs.

Above right: Grupo PSA (Mexico) developed a facilities-wide approach, incorporating light and a biophilic design style enhanced by the Bose Professional audio solution.

Right: LC Packaging (Netherlands) designed for multiple spaces throughout its new headquarters ensuring the Bose Professional solution provided what was needed from the various conference and huddle rooms to its auditorium and gathering spaces.

Left: Employee spaces at Grupo PSA were also included in the design philosophy for its conference room solutions extending the Bose Professional solution into a variety of locations.

Right: The Bose Professional system at the Gampel Pavilion (UConn, Storrs, Connecticut) is an example of the wide variety of spaces higher education system designers often plan for.

Whether it’s a church, an office building or a school, they all have a variety of rooms, and for the most part you can find solutions for each of them individually, but it is more difficult to find a solution for all of them. So, a provider that can offer a solution for a facility as a whole is able to add significant value. This is true especially of new construction, but with upgrades and renovations as well – even if they are staggered over time. By providing this expertise, there’s incredible benefit for the user, hence our structure of focusing on what the customers’ needs as a whole in order to deliver the greatest value and benefit. This year has not been without its challenges. For us it’s finding ways of supporting our customers’ changing needs with current products – and adjusting our future plans to continue improving on this flexibility. On a personal level, the hardest point for us has been the difficulty of not physically being with our partners and customers. We had ISE in May and InfoComm in June, and it was nice to be face-to-face with people since we thrive on being able to see people in person and listening to their experiences, but it’s also about watching them work in their own environment. That’s when we learn the most. Having to do that on the other end of a computer screen was a challenge. We want to see system designers and integrators do their jobs as if we weren’t there, which means how they installed a room solution, how they commissioned that system, and how the end user is controlling and interacting with it. We can always ask, but the best insights come organically from watching people do what they do every day – this is their expertise. And often a neutral observer can pick up things or opportunities for improvement, even on our own products, that may not have been noticed before. Because our customers are so good at doing what they do, we have a chance to learn more about how our products are used, including how they’re used in ways that may be different than how we originally envisioned.

Tying It Together

Interestingly, this year some system designers and integrators are pivoting and using products in slightly different ways than we expected. This could be because they’re trying to utilise the space in a different or more efficient way than initially expected. We also look at whole systems and how solutions are being put together. We have loudspeakers, processing and electronics, amplifiers, controls and software – so we are very focused on how it all comes together, and is it in the ways that we expected, and in the ways that is easiest for them to assemble? We want to understand the full picture of how our products are being used – whether it’s in the way that we thought and the way we designed; not only as individual products but how they come together as full solutions. Bose Professional has made some significant product introductions over

the past few years, including the DesignMax and FreeSpace FS families – which go beyond new products and offers a family- and systems-based approach. It’s not more individual products; these are families of products with common attributes that make it easy to create a solution and deploy it in many different types of spaces, in combination with our electronics, software, and controls. This was fuelled by the accumulation of a lot of insights, and it represents not only rolling in these insights learned into a new product family, but also segmenting the line into different tiers, depending on the level of performance and cost need. The other motivator behind that expansion was really a case of tying it all together, so it wasn’t ‘here are the loudspeakers,’ and ‘here are the amplifiers’; it was more of ‘this is a family of products that work together’ across a variety of different spaces. I know that there are a lot of great individual products out there, but what really matters to system designers and integrators is how easily they come together into a solution. The final frontier then remains how easily systems in individual rooms work together at a facility level. So this is the shift I mentioned – moving from products to whole system solutions that address the applications throughout a building or facility. There are lots of companies that sell good products, but there are fewer that provide the ‘system’ solution approach, and even fewer that do it at a full facility level.

Growing Markets

Professional AV continues to be an exciting industry as technology becomes even more robust and flexible, and how we use different spaces continues to evolve. And the different markets will continue to be interesting as well – as they are where the combination of the three major applications occur. The education market, for example, represents a multitude of applications in one place. There are classrooms, student life spaces, athletics, and performing arts. With a Division 1 school, the stadiums can rival professional venues and are often designed and installed with the same architects, consultants, and integrators that are doing NFL stadia. On the other side of the education market is performing arts, where they may need to accommodate different types of production, perhaps even including touring musicians. And then the classrooms and student life spaces present their own unique needs. A school campus can therefore be an ‘epicentre’ of all the different applications and needs on one physical plot. The AV industry, as supporters of these varied applications, should be thinking of them not only room-by-room, but across the campus. This is the next major step in delivering further benefit to designers, installers, and end users.

Top: The main meeting room at Grupo PSA illustrates how system design expertise accounts for the technology and audio needs as part of a facilities-wide approach.

Centre: Multipurpose spaces continue to be key in supporting hybrid work and solutions like the new Bose VB-S ensure a transparent, flexible technology experience.

Bottom: Video conference technology delivered in an all-in-one device like the Bose VB1 represent one type of space in a wholistic AV technology approach.