Tech decision makers attending InfoComm 2014 should take a look at two new education tracks that may pay dividends if their organizations invest in digital signage or unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions.
Solution Summit is a slate of training options specifically aimed at tech managers, CIOs, IT directors, facility managers or any person responsible for procuring technology for their organization.
Most people familiar with InfoComm think of the trade organization as supporting the integration firms that provide video communication or audio solutions for other organizations—and they’re right, it does.
Increasingly, however, the role of tech managers requires them to dive deeply into understanding integrated solutions. When it comes to procuring technology for solving business needs and challenges, the stakes are higher than ever, says Infocomm executive director David Labuskes.
Most organizations are “dealing with a budget that is asking them to do more with less,” Labuskes says. “The only way you can do that is by making smart decisions and the only way you can make smart decisions is by getting all the information.”
At InfoComm 2014 tech managers can collect some of that information at Solutions Summit: Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) and Solutions Summit: Digital Signage. Each includes a catalog of training sessions “catered toward helping tech managers get what they need in terms of knowledge to develop a UCC or digital signage strategy,” says Duffy Wilbert, InfoComm’s senior VP of member services.
The focus topics, UCC and digital signage, were chosen based on customer requests, he says. What many tech managers want, Wilbert suspects, isn’t necessarily to understand all the nuts and bolts of designing sophisticated solutions; rather they want to set themselves up for successful decision-making when it comes to procuring solutions for their organizations.
When tech managers walk away from a Solution Summit, Wilbert says, “They’ll be armed with a much more in-depth understanding of digital signage or UCC. Not necessarily how it works but what it takes to put in a digital signage system. What can go wrong? Where do I need help? What are my options?”
Having answers to these questions is a nice return on investment for tech managers attending InfoComm 2014.
Solutions Summit: UCC will include keynote speakers, case studies, panel discussions and networking opportunities. Sample sessions highlighted on InfoCommShow.org include:
- End User Panel Discussion
- Unified Communications — Striving for Ubiquity
- The Merger of AV and IT — What Works, What Doesn’t?
- The Future of Desktop & Mobile Devices
- Understanding B2B Video Communications
Solutions Summit: Digital Sigange will also include speakers, panel discussions, case studies and networking events, including show floor tours. Sample sessions highlighted on InfoCommShow.org include:
- What the Tech? How to Make Technology Work for Your Business
- Vertical Markets Panel
- Changes & Outlook in Digital Signage Use
- Digital Signage in Higher Education
- Methods to Measure Effectiveness of Digital Signage Systems at Retail
Speakers will be representative of the different markets in which attending tech managers work, according to Wilbert.
Prices range from $69 member ($99 non-member) a la cart sessions to full packages for $599 member ($899 non-member).
InfoComm executive director David Labuskes discusses what tech managers can gain from InfoComm 2014:
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