It is said that you should never assume, and Vin Bruno, CEO of CEDIA, is a subscriber to the principle.
“Something we have realised is that we should never take for granted that everyone in our industry knows everything they want or need to know,” he says. As an example, he cites a course that CEDIA is running here at ISE 2017 on building racks. In theory, that’s a basic skill for integrators – yet the course was oversold.
In fact, as Bruno points out with pride, CEDIA has almost doubled the number of people attending training at ISE.
“We have some really compelling courses running,” he notes, going on to explain that his vision for CEDIA is that it should be perceived as the pre-eminent provider of technology training – training which is increasingly being taken on the road and online.
That, however, is far from CEDIA’s only ambition. Bruno also believes the organisation has a vital role to play in bringing in the people the industry needs as market opportunity grows, and CEDIA is targeting schools and universities to make students aware of the opportunities presented by a career in technology integration.
“We have got to get young people to aspire to the profession,” he continues.
Another subject which Bruno is passionate about is the number of opportunities he sees.
He says: “First, we need to move rapidly to a position where we’re no longer talking about the ‘smart home’ or the ‘connected home’ – because the day isn’t far off when we will take it for granted that our homes are smart and connected. They will just be ‘homes’. That transition is happening right now.”
“Secondly, we as an industry need to start thinking of ourselves not so much as technology integrators, but as technology managers for our clients. Not only will that bring value to our users, but it is also potentially highly profitable for our members.”
