At ISE 2020, in an industry first, Crestron provided a glimpse at what they have in store for the future. Ranjan Singh, Executive VP, Product and Technology talks about what motivated the company and discusses their technologies that will lead the way.
In planning our ISE stand, Randy Klein, Crestron’s President and CEO, wanted show attendees to gain insight into what’s next for the AV industry in a way that’s never been done before. Because innovation has always been our driving force, we thought about how auto manufacturers showcase concept cars and decided that approach could work for us, as well. Daniel Jackson, our head of digital workplace products, led the concept to realization in conjunction with the product and marketing teams.
A lot of companies offer glimpses of what they’re working on or have their customers sign an NDA, but as an industry leader, we were excited by the prospect of sharing with our customers what we’re working on today, and what we will likely be working on in the future. Some of the products that were on display in our Future Innovations hub will be launched later this year, some in two years. And then some might never come to market.
While Crestron is investing in many products that will impact the industry landscape, several have already proved themselves as game-changers. One of them is the DM-NVX-D80, a network decoder created with Intel that slips neatly into a display’s Open Pluggable Specification slot. The D80 instantly transforms displays from the world’s largest manufacturers into native DM NVX® AV-over-IP endpoints to deliver flawless 4K video and audio across any size network.
Another high-impact development is the partnership with Logitech, announced at ISE 2020, which will enable Crestron to offer Crestron Flex UC solutions for every possible space. We’re proud of where we’re headed with Crestron Flex and we believe it’s revolutionizing the industry. Its continued evolution will include several more value-add software-based products.
One of the goals with the Future Innovations area, along with the rest of the stand, was to demonstrate that legacy Crestron products don’t become irrelevant. We owe it to our customers to increase the value and improve the functionality of products in which they’ve made large investments. Through software upgrades, our products get better over time. Technology evolves, but that doesn’t mean that our customers have to buy new products with every update. We will continue to add value.
One example of this is the DM-NVX-E760, which will enable customers to enhance their existing Crestron DigitalMedia™ HDBaseT solutions with AV-over-IP, as needed. Also. on the near horizon, by employing a third-party gateway interface, customers will be able to use the Crestron XiO Cloud™ IoT-based service to provision and manage third-party products, in addition to Crestron products.
Looking further down the road, Crestron is focused on several areas:
End user experience: Historically, simplified user experiences, such as one-touch join with room controls, were the domain of boardrooms. Our intent is to deliver those experiences in rooms of all sizes.
Operationally scalable solutions: Because no large organisation can afford to send a tech to every room to perform updates, Crestron is investing in operationally scalable solutions. We want to deliver efficiency by enabling organisations to deploy a product, connect it to the network, and then walk away from it because it can be managed and upgraded remotely.
Automation: Automation is the key to drive efficiency. To that end, Crestron is focused on creating APIs that customers can script and build into their processes.
Commercial models: Last but not least, we are looking at enabling commercial models, such as Software as a Service and AV as a Service. Large and medium sized organisations want to outsource everything. And our direct customers, dealers, and installers are excited to jump in. Our goal is to empower them to do that.
While Crestron is steadfast in its commitment to lead the way in innovation for the industry, we are also rooted in providing integrators and organizations with the solutions they need to be successful right now. The future is bright, and so is the present.
