Insights Gleaned from AV/IT Summit 2025
News Article: Addressing Challenges in AV/IT Convergence at the 2025 AV/IT Summit
The 2025 AV/IT Summit, held at Convene at One Liberty Plaza in Lower Manhattan, brought together industry professionals to discuss the current challenges and emerging solutions for AV/IT convergence. The event, led by AV Technology's Cindy Davis and SCN's Mark J. Pescatore, focused on the key areas of cybersecurity, collaboration between AV and IT teams, and the integration of AI-enhanced experiences.
One of the main points of discussion was the ongoing frustration of not involving integrators early enough in the design process. Jared Timmins of Diversified stressed the importance of adopting a new approach to security in modern AV systems due to their increased vulnerability to cyberattacks. He emphasized the need for secure-by-design principles in the design and deployment process.
The Pain Points Panel, an interactive discussion about challenges in the industry, highlighted the importance of reducing system complexity and enhancing collaboration between AV and IT teams. The panel leaned toward AI being more hype than hope, but recognized real potential if the Pro AV industry can figure out the best ways to utilize it. Matt McCleskey of Xyte emphasized the importance of designing AV systems that are cloud-compatible and AI-ready.
AI was another topic of interest at the summit. When it comes to AI, it's important to understand it rather than fear it. AI can influence speech-to-text and translation services by enabling instant live translations in multiple languages and reproducing speech in synthetic voices modeled after the original speaker. However, AI is often "confidently wrong" and must always be viewed as a tool that requires human oversight and editing of the final product.
In higher education, communication and coordination among multiple contractors, subcontractors, and project managers is crucial to avoid scattered communication and poor decision-making. Proper segmentation, VLANs, and firewalls can build networks that support AV and IT while reducing costs and maintaining performance and security. Network compatibility is a crucial step that should not be overlooked in AV installations, as demonstrated by a story from Rutgers University where the oversight caused AV switchers in 30 classrooms to lock up, requiring replacement and costing tens of thousands of dollars.
Training is an important part of the culture in successful organizations, with ongoing messaging and drop-in sessions being more effective than one-time training events. Bill Chamberlin from Verrex claimed that AV should be treated as an operational expense, with planned upgrade cycles of three to seven years.
In the context of industry events, hybrid event AV setups must support both in-person and virtual experiences with cloud-enabled streaming and real-time monitoring for proactive maintenance. AI-enhanced analytics can improve room utilization, engagement tracking, and personalized attendee experiences. The emphasis is on early integrator involvement, cross-team partnership, and designing systems that anticipate ongoing technological evolution.
Overall, addressing cybersecurity challenges requires integrating AV fully within IT’s security strategy, standardizing technology, and upskilling teams. AI and cloud readiness are critical to deliver scalable, intelligent experiences that enhance collaboration and event engagement. The conference program was produced by Future B2B, and John Garmendi from Sony shared the "three Cs" of virtual production misconceptions: cost, complexity, and cinema.
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