Strategy in TECH...
Azione Unlimited announced today that it has partnered with Nationwide Marketing Group, a group representing more than 14,000 storefronts made up largely of appliance, furniture, and electronics retailers. While Nationwide may not be an immediately obvious choice as a partner for Azione, the custom integration specialist group maintains that it makes perfect sense as they say integrators must be able “to address all of their clients’ needs, no matter the room in the home.”
The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced today that it has named Daryl Friedman as its new Global President & CEO. Friedman’s appointment is effective as of November 27, 2021. Don’t know that name? I’m not surprised as Friedman, an experienced Association executive, comes from the Recording Academy…the folks who bring you the Grammy awards. In an interview this week, Friedman told me that he’s close to the engineers and producers – the highly technical folks in his current association – so he brings a clear technology appreciation to his new role.
I have just learned that Crestron is planning to launch a monster series of regional dealer shows, called the Crestron NEXT Road Trip, that sounds as though they’re going to be spectacular – with new product launches, full product displays & demos, and in-depth educational courses offered. The multi-day event will include huge displays from both the company’s commercial and residential business units in what promises to be quite a show.
CI coaching business Vital announced this week that well-known industry veteran Lawrence Davis has joined the company as its new VP of Business Development. The company says that this move is “the first step in their growth plan.”
Moody’s Investors Service, one of the nation’s largest credit rating agencies, announced last week that it has raised the credit rating of Guitar Center, the owner of custom integration company Audio Visual Design Group. Guitar Center has struggled for years, finally falling into bankruptcy – from which it emerged about ten months ago in December 2020.
Kaleidescape announced this week an expansion of its movie server line with the new compact Terra 18TB. Positioned as a mid-level model for the brand, the Terra 18TB offers some sweet features that are sure to make it a popular option for movie fans.
As the first and one of the most prominent brands that decided to pull out of the recent CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis last month, Savant based their difficult decision on placing the safety of their employees and customers as their key concern in a time of surging Delta-variant COVID infections. But that decision did not mean that they didn’t want to communicate with their dealers about the many exciting developments at the company. So Savant developed a powerful two-pronged approach (the 1-2 punch I mentioned) to deliver their dealers a better – virtual – trade show.
Nice, a global manufacturer of Smart Home, Security, and Home & Building Automation products based in Italy, announced today that it has acquired Nortek Security & Control – purchased from Melrose plc for $285 million. The move expands Nice’s portfolio and strengthens its North American presence.
Rarely in the affordable high-performance audio market are product designers able to offer a solution that possesses an optimal combination of convenience, attractive design elements, and performance. But Pangea Audio, out of Grand Rapids, MI, has been able to achieve this holy trinity with their new Vulcan Turntable Wall-Mount Shelf.
As I am sure that most readers of this post will know, during CEDIA Expo at the beginning of September, I published a continuously updated post tracking which previously announced exhibitors subsequently made the decision to pull out of the event as the COVID Delta variant raged on. A remarkable realization occurred as I worked on that post, literally speaking with dozens, if not hundreds, of exhibitors and attendees for that event – many of them were confused about who owned the CEDIA Expo!
