Strong and decisive the presence of the Tech Data’s Maverick AV Solutions division at ISE 2022, with a stand dedicated to the most innovative solutions of the distributor for the conference world in the Corporate sector and for digital signage in the retail sector.
Let’s start from the end. Daniele Pagni, the Italian manager of MaverickAV Solutions, whom we met at ISE 2022, has no doubts: “The fair went very well and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, our stand was full from morning to night. I noticed, from everyone, a very strong desire to return to normal. At this moment, the problem of supply shortages remains, due to the difficulties in finding raw materials, but to counterbalance there is a lot of optimism and many orders are received. Companies invest, and this is the most important thing.”
So, what are the main innovations presented at ISE 2022 by Maverick AV Solutions, distributor of many prestigious brands in the A/V world? “Here at ISE” – continues Pagni – “we have brought solutions for Collaboration and Digital Signage, but the real novelty is represented by the term ‘Smart Space’, coined this year. It’s a combination of Smart Collaboration and Smart Signage, and we identify with this term any place characterized by a technology designed to facilitate daily business, which is mostly expressed in meetings and meetings. We have many solutions from many different brands, because we are a distributor, and we have selected them to try to meet all the needs of the Corporate, but also Educational market.”
To underline the partnership with Microsoft, for the use of the Teams platform, with the exclusive distribution for Italy of Microsoft Face Hub, but also the hardware solutions Lenovo and Logitech, which in turn use Microsoft Teams. A simple room touch console allows the activation of videoconferencing and the inclusion of people both remotely and in person. Daniele Pagni, in this regard, talks about ‘Hybrid Work’: “A Microsoft study” – he tells us – “reveals that a high percentage of workers in companies would like to continue working from home, without completely renouncing physical contact. Here we need to create hybrid, virtual and face-to-face meetings, without anyone having problems following and understanding. This is the current trend, we are constantly trying to propose the most suitable solutions.” The distribution agreement recently signed with Sennheiser should therefore also be read in this light, to meet the growing market demand for best-in-class audio experiences in meeting environments. The addition of solutions such as TeamConnect ISP and TCC2 to Teams Rooms Solutions makes it possible to provide more advanced audio and collaboration technology, paving the way for an increasingly immersive hybrid work experience. The new trend in the Corporate sector, FRONT ROW, is also very interesting. Daniele Pagni always talks about it, describing it as an implementation of Microsoft Teams that allows, thanks to AI applications, to develop and improve the visibility of the participants in a hybrid meeting, sampling faces and projecting them at a natural size, for an experience even more faithful to the truth and engaging. “We are witnessing the return of the screening” – underlines Pagni. “With moderate spending, you get a much wider diagonal. Here at ISE we have decided to exhibit the Front Row solution with two projectors in mapping, which allow you to see the person in front of those attending the meeting, not small and unrecognizable, but life-sized. In short, it gives the idea of being ALL in the presence!”
To conclude the examination of the interesting stand of Maverick AV Solutions, the Digital Signage part cannot be missing, for which, says Daniele Pagni, “we propose here at ISE the LED Absen solutions, a beautiful brand that we pride ourselves on distributing, while for the LCD we have various brands, obviously starting with Samsung. Covid has increased the need for Digital Signage, to avoid queues and streamline purchasing processes. We have solutions for the retail environment that allow you to have information on products without the help of salespeople. Furthermore, thanks to the IoT we have been able to obtain intelligent displays with sensors that map the walkability in detail. At the end of the day or at the weekend, our solutions release analytical data relating to shop visitors with segmentation by gender, age, time spent in the shop and many other variables, including… the mood! These are technologies that have existed for years, but the novelty is that the error rate has significantly lowered. The data can also be used from an advertising point of view, especially for multi-brand stores, which can give the information to the brands distributed in the store”. Italy – concluded Pagni – is a bit behind in the implementation of these systems, but for this very reason it’s an interesting market.
