They say the convergence of AV and IT is set to change the role of technology teams within organisations, with IT departments becoming more involved in deploying and supporting conferencing systems, wireless presentation platforms, digital signage networks, room booking systems and collaborative workspaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trends driving change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stuart Pringle, Managing Director of Omega Digital Services, said advanced AV adoption is picking up, with the local AV market showing solid growth despite a constrained economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe that most of the local AV companies have maintained growth in recent years,” said Pringle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The use of video meetings has proliferated but AV is not yet commoditised to a point where it can be done by just any IT company with a drill and a cable.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connectivity is key in the modern AV realm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVirtually all the devices we’re deploying now are networkable,” said Pringle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They may not all be streaming media directly over the IP network, but because they are now able to remotely monitor and are amplified with the power of AI, almost every single device within an AV solution is connected to the network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ownership issue and other challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The advances in AV technology that are blurring the lines between traditional AV, IT, and enterprise networking are also bringing new challenges to organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse Bosch, Head of Commercial at Prosirius, said organisations have a real need to simplify AV management and become more proactive to improve productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you have 10 people in a boardroom and it takes you 10 minutes to get the audio or the screen working, you’ve essentially wasted 10 minutes of 10 individuals\u2019 time,” said Bosch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That downtime is expensive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that one of the biggest challenges Prosirius is seeing is ownership of the AV environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Historically, facilities teams looked after meeting rooms and physical spaces while IT looked after networks, devices and software,” said Bosch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The modern collaboration space sits right in the middle of it – you’ve got displays, cameras, microphones, room booking systems and environmental controls, along with cloud platforms and network infrastructure, and they all have to work together.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Organisations are trying to determine who owns what, who supports what, and who is ultimately accountable when something goes wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bosch added that most organisations now have complex AV ecosystems where they have multiple devices spread across multiple meeting rooms, campuses, branches and countries.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Teams don’t want to manage 50 or 100 individual devices manually,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They want a single pane of glass that allows them to monitor, manage, and proactively support their AV environment the same way they would do any other critical IT asset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe resistance is real: facilities used to monitor things, now they’re saying \u2018We don’t want to deal with it anymore. It’s way too complex and we want IT to look after it,'” said Bosch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And IT is pushing back, saying, \u2018No, we don’t want to look after it because it’s just another thing on our plate\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyle Joynt, CTO at Prosirius, summed the situation up: \u201cIt’s a hot potato and no one wants to touch it, but it’s getting pushed into IT\u2019s domain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration is key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Joynt noted that AV can have a significant impact on company networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn AV over IP solution uses multicast traffic, which can be very bandwidth heavy and noisy on the network,” said Joynt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s capable of bringing down a corporate network very quickly, so the right information has to be provided to the IT and networking professionals, and they have to collaborate on the design, implementation and management of AV systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sean Bethell, Head of Engineering at AVT, added that because IT teams are often ultimately responsible on the back-end, they have naturally become more involved on the front end and integration too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Bethell, while working with both IT and facilities teams, AV integrators play an important role in AV planning, design, deployment and management through their combined AV, product, networking and security expertise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is crucial for supporting both AV and IT teams and ensuring that modern AV doesn\u2019t negatively impact network performance, bandwidth management and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIT and AV integrators, as well as anyone else responsible for these spaces, should first understand the core needs of all the key stakeholders, from the end-users of the spaces all the way through to the CFO and CEO before implementing AV solutions,” said Bethell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Starting with needs determines the key applications and tasks, which determines the technology and infrastructure to support these needs.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n “All too often one starts with the technology and then tries to hammer the actual needs into a shape that fits, rather than the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advanced AV solutions and service providers will be showcased at Mediatech Africa at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and & International Convention Centre from 30 June – 2 July. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Headline-Image-1600x900-6-1200x675.png\")