What’s the one thing every global enterprise from energy giants, financial heavyweights, and even consumer brands have in common? … They all depend on good communication.
Whether it's chatting between colleagues, reaching out to customers, or talking to the public, having bespoke, secure, and smart ways to connect is crucial for enterprises to succeed globally.
So, what's the scoop on how these companies are talking in 2024? What tech are they focusing on? How are their budgets holding up in a shaky economy? And how does AV technology actually impact how well their business does?
To answer all these questions and more, we are happy to announce that Trusted Connections is returning and is bigger than ever.
With input from 425 AV professionals working within enterprise level companies in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and the Nordics, Trusted Connections 2024 is the ultimate download on AV in 2024.
This blog summarises some of our top take-aways from the research:
Experience equals growth
For global enterprises, the importance of AV technology is finally clear. Six in 10 (60%) AV professionals surveyed stated that ‘retaining existing talent’ was a priority for AV technology implementation, alongside ‘improving employee morale’ (48%) and recruiting new talent (44%).
These new priorities show a shift in the perception of AV technology and its impact on employee and customer experience. The focus is no longer simply about having functional AV technology in place — in 2024 global enterprises want technology that enables the best, most efficient communication for employees, customers, and the public alike.
In fact, improving customer experience and increasing efficiency were tied as the #1 priority for new AV tech installations in 2024 (61%).
With that in mind, ‘network infrastructure’ (42%), ‘remote support/management’ (35%) and ‘unified communications and collaborations software’ (33%) were all the top investments for AV pros.
And seven in 10 said AV investments will be essential to recruitment (70%), staff retention (67%) and ESG strategy (70%).
Small budgets, big expectations
Unfortunately, just because the importance of AV technology has been recognised doesn’t always mean budgets follow suit.
Half of those surveyed (49%) have had their budgets reduced in 2024 and a further 62% say they are “expected to do more with less” in the year to come.
In many cases though, budgets are just the tip of the iceberg. Of the organisations surveyed over half (57%) say poor hybrid workflows are damaging staff productivity and a further half (58%) say outdated AV tech is damaging remote productivity.
Meanwhile, seven in 10 (68%) believe they could accelerate enterprise decision making if they improved collaboration.
Long covid
In 2023’s Trusted Connections report, we examined the ‘great roll back’, a tidal wave of enterprises uninstalling hybrid working tech they’d rushed to install during Covid-19.
In 2024 this trend isn’t going away, with backlogs and leftover issues from Covid being named as the #1 challenge facing enterprise AV teams in 2024.
To tackle this ongoing issue, 41% of AV professionals say that technology installed during the Covid-19 pandemic will need to be ripped out and replaced in 2024. And 66% now have a dedicated plan in place for future pandemics.
Future planning
Despite the budget cuts in 2024, the appetite for new technologies and innovations is still apparent — especially when it comes to AI.
Six in ten AV professionals (61%) believe that AI is the most important technology in AV right now, with 69% stating that they are planning to invest in AI to help improve their AV workflows going forward. A further 64% also stated they have already adopted AI into their AV workflows.
In short, the AV industry has not been excluded from the AI revolution. But with adoption comes concerns regarding safety — over half (56%) of AV professionals want to ban the use of ChatGPT, at least until the security and privacy concerns are addressed.
Data led decisions
Whether it’s the return to work or a focus on employee wellbeing – data is king in 2024.
In fact, 65% of enterprises are now encouraging staff to install IoT tech into their homes, while a third (33%) are investing in analytics platforms on remote devices to monitor workers at home. These systems can be used to warn staff when they’ve been sat at their desks for too long, or even to alert employees to poor air quality or lighting.
Data is also informing the return to work as 63% of AV professionals surveyed say their organisations want to encourage employees back to the office in 2024.
38% of enterprises now collect some form of office occupancy data, examining how and when employees are working. What’s more, a third (32%) have even started collecting human wellbeing data (e.g. tiredness tracking) with 37% having plans to collect this data in future.
The popularity of AV systems that collect this type of in-office data is only set to grow, with 48% of enterprises wanting to collect even more in-office insights in future.
To find out more about how global enterprises are changing their approach to AV, or what the impact of changing working practices could be in your own organisation.
