There’s a lot in store for custom integrators in 2024. Technology is quickly evolving, advancing, and changing the integration landscape, as well as the way integrators approach the market. Your success hinges on staying one step ahead of technological progression, planning wisely for it, and aligning your business objectives with the paradigm shift.
Here, we uncover a few ways manufacturers are rising to the occasion with fresh strategies that can help integrators capitalize on emerging market trends:
Related: Predicting the Year Ahead
1. Power in Numbers
The days of boastful technological proprietorship is waning. Instead, we’re seeing manufacturers come together for the common good of the industry and prosperity of their customers. They’re putting their heads and resources together and loosening their competitive stances to develop better products, better services, and better support. Instead of spending time and energy to develop their own exclusive solutions, they’re partnering with adjacent third-party manufacturers to push tangible, meaningful technologies to market, faster and more effectively than they could have ever accomplished solo. A clear example of this approach is Screen Innovations, which was at CEDIA Expo promoting a new initiative that converges complementary solutions from third-party manufacturers with SI’s shade and screen line.
2. Working Smarter Not Harder
Labor shortages and inflation have pushed integrators’ resources to the limits. There’s simply no room for excess. Call-backs from customers, overstocking items in the warehouse, scheduling conflicts, and myriad other snafus can lead to costly inefficiencies. Certainly, integrators are leaning on business software tools to better manage their businesses and run a leaner, tighter operation. But have you taken a good, hard look at the products and systems you sell and install? Are they taking too long to install and configure? Are the techs struggling with the programming language or making critical errors in a rush to meet deadlines? Are your profit margins being painfully squeezed?
It might be time to explore other vendors. Manufacturers from across all sectors of the systems integration industry are refining and reinventing solutions to streamline deployment and ensure successful end-results.
3. Driving LED Displays to the Resi Market
As much as we like to think we have it all figured out, consumers write the home systems narrative. When something resonates, inspires, and appeals, it’s up to integrators to deliver it. Today, that “something” is the LED display. It’s quickly entering the mindset of early adopters, which means it won’t be long before the masses — not just commercial customers — are clamoring for it. Progressive manufacturers see it coming and are adjusting accordingly. Some, like Quantum Media Systems, are focused solely on providing integrators with LED solutions for home settings. It has built technologies into its residential LED displays to enable integration with leading control systems and to optimize the delivery of content normally consumed at home. This resi-focused approach mitigates many of the design and installation complexities that have historically challenged integrators.
Related: Looking Backward to See Forward
4. Creature Comforts in a Corporate World
With the height of the pandemic behind us, much of the workforce has returned to the corporate office at least part-time. For many companies, however, it’s far from business as usual. More concerned about their physical and psychological health and well-being than in the past, employees expect greater comfort and flexibility from their corporate workspaces. New and reimagined technologies are helping companies attract, incentivize, and retain a stable workforce and achieve better business performance. Several companies in the home systems space are charting the course with distinctive systems that look like they belong at home but function in a very business-like manner.
Related: Companies to Watch 2024
You hear what your customers want, you see what’s happening in the industry, and you feel compelled to do something about it. Finding and aligning with market-savvy manufacturers is a great way to prepare your business for success in 2024.
