Some are calling the times we live in the 4th Industrial Revolution. If you are living and breathing right now, you know this is not hyperbole. You know the world of AVis also leading this revolution.
It’s not much of a stretch to say the revolution is here. It’s been rippling out since the dawn of the internet. And just as industries like retail, transportation, and hospitality have seen massive disruption from usual suspects like Amazon, Air BNB, and Uber, AV is right there in that disruptive mix. What we do is at the intersection of this disruption: IoT, AR/VR, Voice, etc. How are you preparing your business to thrive in the midst of revolutionary change?
Survival Skills for the Revolution
Let’s start by looking at some of the job skills required for jobs of the future, and how AV roles can adapt to these skills. A recent Forbes article explored this new industrial revolution and identified 10 job skills crucial to meet the demands of work in 2020 and beyond. Let’s take a look at a couple:
- Tech Savviness – AV isn’t just for the tech industry anymore. Virtually every industry incorporates some form of new technology, and knowing how to use it effectively will help drive results.
- Adaptability – As we’ve said, the AV world is ever changing. This means the skills needed to navigate the technology are constantly changing too. Being flexible and adaptable means a willingness to learn new skills, as well as un-learn irrelevant ones.
- Creativity – No matter how many different programs and devices we have, humans are always capable of creating new ideas. Tomorrow’s workplaces will demand new ways of thinking, and we can’t overlook human creativity!
The places we work and the projects we work on are becoming exponentially more complicated. We’re not just mounting screens on a wall, we’re creating immersive, interactive environments. It can be easy to just sit back and marvel at what is possible. Building these skills takes deliberate action.
Big Ideas
Big shifts in the way we work require big ideas. How does developing skills like data literacy and creativity translate into day-to-day work? At the end of the day, these skills and big ideas are all put to the test at the human scale.
Futurum Research offers some clues as to what any industry can do to thrive in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Let’s take a look at a few of these big ideas and see how they translate into your AV Integration work.
- Big Idea #1: Customer Centricity – Understanding who the customer is and how they use technology helps to develop the features and services they are looking for and helps you build connects with the client.
- Big Idea #2: Digital Smart Products – New software developments have expanded the possibilities for smart devices to not only meet existing needs, but grow new demands and even generate revenue as a vessel for digital services.
- Big Idea #3: “As a Service” Business Models – One dynamic of the 4th Industrial Revolution is the as-a-service economy. So after you design and install, if you are not offering ongoing maintenance and technical support as a service, you are missing opportunities to support your clients.
The Future of Work in AV Integration
All of these skills and big ideas need to translate into results for your business. The skills needed are a mix of technical and interpersonal/adaptive skills. The ideas are big but only matter as much as they translate into meaningful solutions for the people you serve.
How you translate those skills and ideas into your culture, workflow, and deliverables is up to you. But ignoring the revolution is not an option.
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