Alice Chambers |
Broadcast audiovisual (AV) technology has traditionally been associated with the world of television and live events, rather than corporate environments.
“Broadcast AV is actually a relatively new term, but some people don’t realise that broadcast technology has been used in enterprise applications for many years,” says Dan Goldstein, chief marketing officer at AVIXA.
Broadcast technology is increasingly being adopted and integrated into the enterprise IT/AV infrastructure.
“In the past, companies primarily used AV technology to enhance presentations, similar to how live events companies would utilise it,” says Goldstein. “However, the landscape has shifted dramatically. While the traditional use case of enhancing presentations still exists, much of this functionality has migrated to collaboration platforms.”
One of the most significant challenges enterprises face today is integrating broadcast-quality content into collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams.
“Most broadcast technology was built to be used by broadcasters, which means it wasn’t designed with enterprise use cases in mind,” says Goldstein. “This can make integration a difficult task. However, as with most areas of AV content creation and streaming, things are evolving quickly and AVIXA does not see integration as a big obstacle to adoption moving forwards.”
As broadcast AV technology becomes more intertwined with corporate communication platforms, the expectations of enterprise customers are also evolving.
“It’s really about bringing television production values to an enterprise setting,” says Goldstein. “With the rise of hybrid work environments and the potential for meeting fatigue, companies are increasingly aware of the need to keep their communications engaging. Adding broadcast production values – such as more and better cameras and improved lighting, graphics and transitions – helps keep meetings fresh and elevates the overall level of communication.”
The launch of AVIXA’s UpStream conference in 2023 highlighted the growing importance of broadcast technology in enterprise settings. The conference revealed the cultural and logistical differences between traditional broadcasting and enterprise use cases.
“Typically, enterprise users value robustness and ease of use over ultimate quality,” says Goldstein. “They also are unlikely to benefit from custom-built studio spaces – often they are adapting office space that was never designed for this level of communication. We are going through a process where the vendors of broadcast technology are learning more about what users need, while users are discovering what’s available and how they can make it work for them.”
Looking ahead, Goldstein envisions a continued evolution of broadcast AV technology, especially in the context of hybrid work. He anticipates that as the various parts of the ‘broadcast AV’ value chain become better connected, the technology will become “easier to integrate with collaboration tools and probably more affordable and accessible than TV technology”. This democratisation of broadcast technology could eventually empower not just enterprises but also individual employees working from home.
“Right now, every enterprise can become a broadcaster,” says Goldstein. “In the future, every user will become a broadcaster in their own right. We’re already seeing this with employees doing their own podcasts, for example. This will lead to greater employee engagement, productivity and effectiveness for enterprises.”
Discover more insights like this in the Autumn 2024 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox!