2025 AV Insights: Pro AV Manufacturers Discuss Emerging Trends

As we start 2025, the AV/IT landscape continues to evolve with advancements and challenges shaping the way professionals approach integration. To shed light on the trends and priorities for the year, we gathered insights from eight pro AV manufacturer executives across the industry. They include the following:

• Misty Chalk, vice president of sales, Americas, BrightSign
• Sam Recine, AIMS Alliance board member and pro AV working group chair
• Doug Greenwald, owner, ProjX360
• Kim Franklin, vice president of global marketing at Listen Technologies
• Ron Holtdijk, executive vice president, Sennheiser
• Mark Bishop, president of LynTec
• Cody Crossland, VP of Sales, Blackwire Designs
• Theresa Benson, VP of Marketing & Product Management, Mersive

Their predictions highlight key areas of focus, including enhanced data and security measures in digital signage, optimizing integrator processes, advancements in interoperability and AI, the rise of large-scale venue digital signage, power management solutions, accessibility, sustainability, and the adoption of open standards such as IPMX and AV-over-IP networked solutions. This Q&A explores their expert perspectives, offering valuable guidance for integrators and industry stakeholders as they prepare for the year ahead.

 

What do you expect in 2025 for the AV/IT industry and what are your thoughts on where integrators should concentrate in the coming year?

Misty Chalk, Vice President of Sales, Americas, BrightSign

Digital signage does more with data as consumers crave in-person experiences. The industry has made strides integrating new and emerging technologies, from sensors and IoT to touch and AI, into the digital signage ecosystem, creating dynamic and immersive experiences. This generates a vast amount of data, which businesses are still working to harness for insights and impact. Gathering this data and feeding it back into the business is a challenge that customers are talking to us about for the year ahead. And, because of this shift and the proliferation of data, the reliability, security and sustainability of digital signage and media players is becoming the talk of the town.

 

Doug Greenwald, Owner, ProjX360

In 2025, integrators will need to pay increasing attention to their processes. ProjX360 offers project management software specifically designed for commercial AV integrators. Our users rely on—or are striving to establish—efficient processes to deliver better outcomes for their clients. To gain insights into these processes, we conduct a thorough onboarding period. During this time, we ask integrators to guide us through every step, from the initial sales call to payment and service.

We often discover that integrators’ processes are complex, involving a patchwork of various ‘solutions’ to keep their workflows moving. On average, [integrators] use nine different software tools throughout a project’s life cycle. Many are unaware of the number of steps and apps involved until they articulate them. This complexity leads to business inefficiencies, extended installation times, cumbersome project management, delayed billing, inadequate aftercare service, and unreliable, non-repeatable systems.

Streamlining these processes is challenging and requires a thorough examination of your business operations. However, the results are worth the effort.

 

Ron Holtdijk, Executive Vice President, Sennheiser

The AV/IT industry has undergone significant transformation over the past five years, and 2025 promises to be another year of profound evolution and maturation. Cloud-based solutions will continue to solidify their role as the standard for AV device management, offering integrators streamlined control and improved scalability for increasing AV-driven organizations.

We also expect to see another round in the battle between BYOD and Android-based compute systems, with organizations weighing the flexibility of personal devices against the consistency and security of dedicated systems.

Additionally, interoperability remains a critical factor in driving seamless integration and enhancing user experiences.

We anticipate further growth in alliances and third-party partnerships, which will play a pivotal role in simplifying deployment and ensuring compatibility across platforms.

Finally, AI-driven features will continue to officially shed their novelty status, becoming a core offering of any AV/IT solutions. These advancements will continue to shape how we design and deliver systems, enabling smarter, more adaptive technologies that meet the evolving needs of customers.

 

Mark Bishop, President of LynTec

The AV/IT industry continues to evolve, with systems now finding their way into virtually every type of space. In 2025, we expect to see a surge in demand for architectural lighting, LED videowalls, and digital signage, particularly in large-scale venues like auditoriums, theaters, and sports arenas.

The conversation around power control and distribution in AV is becoming increasingly important, especially as systems scale up in size and complexity. We’ve moved from relatively simple installations to much larger, more dispersed systems, which require more sophisticated power management strategies. For example, it’s not uncommon now to see facilities needing 12 power control panels to support their AV infrastructure, where previously they might have needed one or two.

For integrators, this means the focus must shift to effectively managing the power control and distribution demands of these expanding systems. As videowalls and digital signage become increasingly dispersed throughout facilities, integrators must consider how these systems will be powered up or shut down efficiently.

Granular remote power control will be key to energy efficiency, ROI, and ease of use for operators as the industry embraces bigger, more ambitious AV and lighting designs.

Looking ahead, integrators who understand the value of scalable, integrated power management solutions will be better positioned to address their clients’ needs and to ensure the infrastructure supports the performance and functionality that bigger, modern AV installations demand.

 

Kim Franklin, Vice President of Global Marketing at Listen Technologies

The AV/IT industry is set for a transformative 2025, driven by advancements in connectivity, accessibility and sustainability. Key trends include the growing convergence of AV and IT systems, powered by innovations like Auracast broadcast technology, enabling audio accessibility in public and private spaces. Unified communications and remote collaboration tools will remain dominant, with hybrid working models requiring scalable, user-friendly AV solutions.

Accessibility will continue to gain momentum as industries comply with regulations like the ADA and push for inclusive solutions. Technologies enhancing assistive listening are tools and pathways to greater equity in public spaces, theaters and houses of worship.

For integrators, 2025 presents opportunities to adapt by focusing on education around upcoming technologies and a deep understanding of networked AV systems and accessibility solutions.  By embracing accessibility and innovation, integrators can deliver solutions meeting today’s needs while anticipating a rapidly evolving AV/IT landscape.

2025 is the year to champion solutions that connect, include and inspire.

 

Sam Recine, AIMS Board Member & Pro AV Working Group Chair

2025 promises to be a busy year in the pro AV market as event spaces leverage enhanced media processing capabilities showcased on professional displays. The fusion of synchronized media-over-IP systems with improved PC content support, encryptio, and security is accelerating the migration from traditional infrastructures to IP-based systems.

Corporate AV systems are also striving to bridge gaps between studios, live media production, AV signal management, and corporate communication and collaboration tools.

The two biggest drivers of progress in both areas are:

1) open standards and specifications
2) new media gateways that bridge media, protocols, and network synchronization across baseband signals and proprietary systems.

The ability to deliver mission-critical, rich media solutions while gradually moving away from walled garden approaches is enabling larger, more complex projects with multi-year support needs. The coexistence of diverse media and protocol options is becoming less problematic as open standards gain traction.

At the center of many new deployments are products leveraging SMPTE ST 2110, NMOS, AES67 and especially IPMX. Designed specifically for pro AV, IPMX offers interoperability, uncompressed and compressed 4K video, synchronized audio, and enhanced discovery and control. It is poised to play a significant role in dissolving technical barriers and advancing the industry toward truly open, flexible and scalable solutions.

 

Cody Crossland, VP of Sales, Blackwire Designs

Crossland: The AV industry is poised for continued evolution, driven by the convergence of AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies to meet the growing demand for seamless, networked solutions. We expect AVoIP to dominate new installations due to its scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency, providing significant advantages for end users. Sustainability and energy-efficient technologies are becoming increasingly important, particularly for corporate and commercial clients who prioritize eco-friendly solutions.

For integrators, this evolving landscape presents numerous opportunities. Building expertise in remote monitoring, managed services and hybrid work environments is essential to staying competitive. By leveraging AVoIP solutions, integrators can streamline deployments and meet the demand for interoperable, scalable systems. Simplifying complex installations through pre-configured, scalable solutions not only saves time but also reduces costs. Network provisioning services further expedite project delivery, ensuring seamless integration with existing IT infrastructures.

Training in emerging technologies, such as AI-enhanced systems and real-time data analytics, is a worthwhile investment to stay ahead of the curve.

 

Theresa Benson, VP of Marketing & Product Management, Mersive

I predict the AV/IT landscape in 2025 will be shaped by two critical trends. First, the expansion of threat vectors. With connected devices multiplying, integrators must consider security at every layer — not just the network but the devices themselves. The risks are clear: breaches, data theft and reputational harm. Choosing products with proven security standards like SOC 2 Type I and II, ISO/IEC 27001, and, for healthcare, HIPAA compliance, is non-negotiable.

Second, the industry will continue to be asked to do more with less — streamlining tools, stretching budgets and meeting rising expectations. Simplification is the key. Mersive’s Collaboration Suite embodies this philosophy, offering solutions that are intuitive to use, easy to manage and scalable for any environment — from small huddle spaces to vast lecture halls. By uniting an intuitive, familiar user interface across a suite of solutions scaled to meet diverse needs, we empower integrators and organizations to deliver successful deployments that align with their goals — tailored to fit without overcomplicating or force-fitting outsized technology into existing ecosystems.

In 2025, success will come to those who prioritize secure, flexible and value-driven solutions. The future is all about building smarter connections that work for everyone.

 

Source: comercialintegrator.com