The Video Show: One Minute With Sean Wargo

What trends are in store for the professional video market in 2020? What do the economics of the industry tell you? As AVIXA’s senior director of market intelligence, it is Sean Wargo’s responsibility to research and provide insight into the pro-AV industry and what lies ahead.

Wargo will share the economics behind the ever-expanding visual side of AV and the opportunities for growth in his session “The Economics of Video” at The Video Show, a two-day event in Washington, Dec. 4–5.

The Video Show caught up with Wargo for just a minute ahead of the show.

The Video Show:Why should AV professionals care about economics?

Sean Wargo: Ultimately, the pro-AV industry provides goods and services to just about every underlying market in a given economy. Whether corporations or residential, these markets rely on AV technology to solve specific needs. As a result, the rise or fall of these markets can mean more or less available project work for an AV company. This rise and fall is exactly what economics measures and forecasts. So paying attention to economics can help provide an early warning system to potential changes in future demand for pro-AV products and services. GDP is an example of a metric to watch, as it summarizes the total economic activity within and across the globe. We’ll cover a bit about AVIXA’s take on GDP growth and the context it provides for our industry during our session.

TVS: What are the top three areas for growth in pro AV according to your research?

SW: Growth is an important distinction in pro AV because, looking forward, there is an important distinction between the largest areas and those that are growing the fastest. For example, right now the biggest solution area in pro AV is conferencing and collaboration at $38.6 billion globally. However, digital signage is growing faster and is expected to become the largest solution area by 2024, realizing compound annual growth of 5.8%. But that’s not all—performance/entertainment solutions, or the fixed installation of AV in venues like concert halls, houses of worship or corporate event facilities, are forecast to be the fastest growing over the next five years, rising by 8.9% on average per year. Security/Surveillance/Life Safety is another area of strong growth as country governments in particular invest in this type of infrastructure as part of smart-city initiatives.

The Video Show will feature more than 100 sessions on nine presentation stages, as well as a dedicated screening room, demo areas, streaming studio and dynamic exhibit floor. Want to hear more about this topic? Visit theThe Video Show websiteto learn more and register.