The Integration Conversation

Growing segments? Challenges? What's business like across the globe these days? Europe – Peter Aylett https://www.hte.design/ India - Manoj Soni, AV Solutions India, AV4U www.av4u.in Africa - Christiaan Beukes, Sphere Custom http://spherecustom.com/ Middle East - Karim Zaki, Archimedia's founder and CEO http://www.archimedia-me.com/ Australia - Stuart Robertson, Sound Living www.soundliving.com.au

Industry pros from the EMEA offer their thoughts on what the landscape will look like when the lockdowns end. How will business shift? How can we prepare? Guests include: Steve Moore, www.smc-uk.com Wim de Vos, https://www.genesis-tech.eu/es/ Andrew Royall, e-h-t.uk

Ball State Economics Professor Mike Hicks joins us to talk about how the pandemic disruption is affecting the larger economy, small businesses, and what the long-range models look like in this honest, clear-eyed assessment of where we are in early May of 2020. https://www.bsu.edu/academics/centersandinstitutes/cber

Leslie Shiner of the Shiner Group talks about cash flow and strategies to keep your business afloat during the pandemic. You'll learn how to carefully assess issues such managing overhead and "right-sizing" your business for your market – and your comfort level. https://www.shinergroup.com/ For more resources that can help: CEDIASTRONG.org

The CARES Act includes something that a lot of members are taking advantage of, the Paycheck Protection Program , administered by the Small Business Administration. While this podcast covers that, here's more to the SBA, though, and Ed and Walt are joined by Great Lakes Regional Administrator Rob Scott to uncover what else the Admin can do. https://www.sba.gov/

In the first of several episodes on this topic that will cover the globe, CEDIA folks from the US offer their thoughts on what the landscape will look like when the lockdowns end. How will business shift? What segments will be affected – even grow? How can we prepare? Our guests are Gordon van Zuiden (cyberManor) and Amanda Wildman (TruMedia). http://www.trumediahome.com/ https://cybermanor.com/  

What's CEDIA up to – besides CEDIASTRONG? The other work continues. CEDIA's David Whitney gives us info on the work his team (including with CEDIA volunteer and former Board Chairman Dennis Erskine) is doing to update CEDIA Certification, and CEDIA's Darren Reaman clues us in on legislative moves. Take the CEDIA Technician Job Analysis Survey here.

CEDIA's Steve Rissi and Gerry Lemay of Homeacoustics.org join Ed and Walt in this deep dive into the techniques, business, and necessity of audio calibration. From speaker placement to room design and signal processing, this podcast separates the subjective from the scientific.

Join us for this chat on cybersecurity (and other issues) ESPECIALLY as they relate to the home network (now that so many more folks are working remotely). Mike Maniscalco, https://pytheasenterprises.com/ Shawn Lemay, https://www.soundandtheater.net/ Nathan Holmes, https://www.accessnetworks.com/

Some of the most knowledgeable minds when it comes to immersive audio – in both movies AND music – talk advances with Ed and Walt. The panel includes: Peter Aylett, Home Theatre Environment https://www.hte.design/ Guillaume Le Nost, L-Acoustics Ltd https://www.l-acoustics.com/en/ Wilfred Van Baelen, Auro Technologies https://www.auro-3d.com/ Arnaud Laborie, Trinnov Audio https://www.trinnov.com/ A...

We've got more details on the sweeping legislation (parts of which directly help small businesses like yours) with Victor Puleo, Davey Chair of Risk Management and Insurance in the Lacy School of Business at Butler University, and CEDIA's Director of Government Affairs Darren Reaman. https://www.butler.edu/msri/faculty  

Joe Piccirilli of Rosewater Energy, Rich Green of Rich Green Design, and Gordon van Zuiden of cyberManor join Ed Wenck and Walt Zerbe to talk power: cleaning it up, storing it, and generating it in the residence. https://rosewaterenergy.com/ https://cybermanor.com/  

Details on one aspect of the U.S. government's CARES Act to help small business during the pandemic, The Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP "provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities." Our guest is Phil Agresta of the firm Agresta, Storms & O'Leary. Applications begin 4/3...

In this special edition of the CEDIA podcast, we address our members in the UK – but there's actually some pretty great advice in here for everyone. Regarding response to the pandemic, we speak with an accounting firm, a legal practice, two integrators and a trade supplier. Luke Desmond, crispaccountancy.co.uk/ Stuart Tickle, www.awe-europe.com/ Adam Kent, www.installautomation.com James Ratcliffe...

How do you talk to your clients? Manage your business and your employees' morale during this? How do you keep everyone safe? Jason Knott (CE Pro) shares the stories he's collecting, and we talk to several firms, too: The Premier Group, Nirvana Home Entertainment, and Inspired Dwellings (the latter led by CEDIA's Board Chairman, Rob Sutherland). https://www.nirvanahomeentertainment.com/ https://pre...

A lot of what an integrator installs can become obsolete -- to the point of failure -- at some point in the future. So how do you prepare a client for this obsolescence, and how do you design systems that can adapt? Peter Aylett (HTE), Rich Green (Rich Green Design), and Hamish Neale (Hero Labs) join Ed Wenck and Walt Zerbe to discuss the inevitable. https://www.hero-labs.com/ https://www.hte.desi...

CEDIA's Director of Technical Training Steve Rissi has developed a class on client care programs that's he'll be teaching at CEDIA Expo in Denver. (Meanwhile, a recent conference call among 35 CEDIA members was set up to discuss this very topic and compare notes.) Rissi shares his expertise -- which includes years as the head of an integration firm's service department -- in this podcast with host...

As COVID-19 disrupts lives and business, Pete the Planner (Peter Dunn) has advice on handling your finances (business AND personal) in an emergency, and Susan Kline from the law firm Faegre Drinker has legal info for employers and employees of CEDIA firms during the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.faegredrinker.com/en/ https://petetheplanner.com/  

Employees working remotely, spikes in absenteeism, supply chain issues -- the current state of a world coping with a virus can profoundly affect your livelihood as an integrator. Craig Caldwell, Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Programs at the Lacy School of Business at Butler University is here to offer his expertise on those disruptions in this special edition of the CEDIA Podcast. F...

We've got highlights of two CEDIA talks from ISE 2020. In one, CEDIA's David Meyer gives us everything we ever wanted to know about video compression, and in the other, Michael Heiss (M Heiss Consulting) talks about the unique issue of selling to Baby Boomers as the population ages. For more on CEDIA, check out cedia.net .

In this two-parter, we sit down with CEDIA's new Board Chairman, Rob Sutherland, and give you an update on a challenge we've all identified: workforce development. We stopped by the integration firm TRIPhase to talk with the owner, Robert Haecker, about a recent hire -- Brett Jagger -- who graduated from the inaugural 12-week CEDIA Electronic Systems Integration Technician Training program.

Just about a year ago, we covered the development and deployment of 5G with industry expert John Penney. We revisited the topic with an update on where we are now in this podcast recorded with Mr. Penney on the Mainstage at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam. (A lot of myths and misunderstandings have popped up over the past 12 months, it turns out.)

Interior designer and renowned well-being expert Cinzia Moretti (Moretti Interior Design) and Jeff Hayward (Director of Wildwood PR) share their insights into Wellness and Biophilia, and the opportunities this offers to integrators. Along with hosts Walt Zerbe and Ed Wenck, the panel unpacks the solutions that can make for a better, more "human" indoor experience.

  Our last show show from ISE 2020 (and the last ISE hosted by the city of Amsterdam) includes Peter Aylett (Archimedia/HTE), Rich Green (Rich Green Design), Kris Hogg (Samsung) , and Eddie Shapiro (SmartTouchUSA). CEDIA's David Meyer also chimes in with your hosts Ed Wenck, and Walt Zerbe in a podcast recorded Friday night.  

Recorded Thursday evening, our third show from ISE 2020 includes Mike Maniscalco (Pytheas), Peter Aylett (Archimedia/HTE), Rich Green (Rich Green Design), Michael Heiss (M Heiss Consulting), and Eddie Shapiro (SmartTouchUSA). Ian Bryant, Ed Wenck, and Walt Zerbe from CEDIA are also aboard.