AV and IT - Unique Expertise Toward a Common Goal
By: Bill Thrasher
Audio visual and IT were once siloed and separated disciplines of technology. AV technicians were tasked with the responsibility to ensure video can be seen on some sort of display, set up microphones, and make sure speakers could be heard; while IT professionals made sure the information network and desktop services ran smoothly. There was little interaction between the two technical dispositions.
Today, AV and IT overlap and often butt-heads, being tasked to work together to ensure the best possible user experience. They now use the same technology platforms, the same cabling types, and the same switch stacks. Old analog AV functions have all almost been replaced by a digital transport medium, that is network interdependent. In order to provide the best customer service, AV and IT must collaborate to a common goal and shared vision.
Delivery Versus Experience
While AV and IT must be in sync to deliver authentic experiences, the two serve very different business functions. IT is primarily focused on the mechanisms of delivery; ensuring that the network is running smoothly, there are no breaches in security, and that bandwidth is sufficient and well managed. AV, on the other hand is tasked with the responsibility of the overall experience, which includes things like; the proper equipment is selected, configured properly, and placed in the correct and idealistic manner. AV has to ensure that the quality of the data being received is both visually and audibly attuned to its best possible value for the end-user.
IT does not often know or value things like, microphone type and/or placement, acoustic considerations, lighting placement, user interface layout, or display size/style. IT rarely understands nuances of auto-echo-cancellation, inverse-square law, LCD vs LED, condenser vs dynamic mics, crossovers, EQs, hot-plugs, and EDID… OH MY!!!
It is in these small details and mission-critical nuances that AV expertise can elevate a shared data experience to the next level.
Balancing the Needs of Enterprises
Integrating AV into your network requires additional experience and specific training to overcome such challenges, and being on the same page as the IT professionals allows the integration to be seamless, cutting back on lost time and sub-standard system operation. Many large enterprises, particularly in the medical and financial fields, have tight security measures that must be managed and appropriately navigated. The more controlled the information security team is, the more difficult it is to get network-based components fully integrated, allowing for the very best user experience possible. When security processes and verifications are drawn out to long periods of time, technology can and will often require an upgrade or full-on reconsideration before the point of approved deployment is reached. This creates a deployed product that feels obsolete by the time is it installed and utilized. AV can help professionals navigate the rapid pace of technology evolution and advancement, balancing the rate of user adoption with IT acceptance.
IT professionals often fear that AV uses too much bandwidth, carries too much security risk, and has needs that will compromise their ability to manage what they are tasked to deliver daily. When dealing with legacy systems, the concerns become greater as the advancements and risk are even more difficult to manage with retrospective design. These problems are often solved by the creating a closed, isolated network only for AV, giving life to the in-rooms system, but leaving the AV system far from its full capabilities for the end-user experience.
Smarter Solutions Equate to a Seamless Experience
Working together as a collaborative team with both AV and IT professionally minded resources who are both open, willing, motivated and mission-focused, can move an enterprise closer to a better, seamless overall result. Designing and provisioning an IT Manages, AV sub-network or VLAN dedicated to support end-user technologies might be the best answer for navigating both challenges of enhanced AV features with typical IT risk considerations.
In this layered network topology, security concerns can be slightly more lenient, remote AV support monitoring and management can be leveraged, and advanced analytics can be gathered to help business leaders make well informed decisions that can equate to giant financial and quantifiable gains.
When AV or IT is independently tasked with the full-ownership of enterprise technology, it is highly likely the end result will be compromised. The ultimate value of AV is found by tapping into the technical knowledge required to solve end-user problems in real time, on a stable and predictable information technology platform, supported by an experience-minded AV professional. When AV focused experts work closely alongside capable and mission-focused IT partners to ensure the shared network is capable of supporting all applications and equipment vital to the user experience, then everybody can win. The best approach... the only reasonable approach to consider, is a combination of qualified and talented IT and AV professionals working together toward a common goal and shared vision; both contributing their unique expertise, talents and tech for a dynamic end-result.