According to the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, don’t have knowledge. Here, Ian McMurray betrays his ignorance.

Snowflakes won’t fall

Say what you like about millennials – and many have said plenty, not much of it complimentary (‘lazy’ and ‘narcissistic’ being just two epithets) – but they’re having a profound influence on the AV landscape, and that will only intensify in 2018 as increasing numbers of them dominate the workforce.

You can, for example, attribute the rise of the huddle room to the way in which millennials prefer to work: casual, sharing, technology savvy and so on. They’re also notoriously prone to job-hopping. If an employer doesn’t provide an environment they enjoy working in, they’ll have no compunction about moving elsewhere.

Alexa is your friend 

The past year has seen some 10 million Amazon Echoes and Dots sold worldwide. That may mean that consumers are starting to get their heads around the potential of home automation. They’ve already found they can easily control their lights. Trouble is, for anything else they want to talk to, they’ll need another app and another app – and another app.

They’ll also end up confused by the choices available to them with all the competing but incompatible standards and protocols. 2018 will see a rise in opportunities for the custom installation industry to help unravel the mysteries. If you thought Google, Apple, Nest and so on were a competitive threat – think again.

It ’s getting personal 

Digital signage is going to get increasingly personal – like it or not. Retailers and advertisers want to develop deep and meaningful relationships with each of us as individuals – God help us all –  and that will see them leveraging what they know (or can find out) about us.

Screens will interrogate our phones – the Bluetooth beacon market is growing at a staggering 95%/year. Inbuilt cameras, driven by powerful AI algorithms, will not only detect whether we’re male or female, young or old – but also whether we’re smiling or frowning, so that the messaging can be adapted and personalised as necessary. In 2018, you’ll be able to run – but not hide.

All change at Microsoft

In 2017, we all got used to the idea that Skype for Business ruled the world. Whatever unified communications model your business was building, if it didn’t include Skype for Business, it
was likely dead in the water.

But what’s this? It seems that Skype for Business will be no more, and that Microsoft Teams may well be the future of the world as we know it, with its tight integration into Office 365. 2018 will  apparently see the launch of a new version of the Skype for Business server – but that’s only, it’s said, because big companies don’t move fast.

3D – or not 3D?

The question on everyone’s lips – well, mine anyway – is whether virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality will prove to be the next 3D. Remember 3D? I think 2018 will tell us a lot about whether the new, life-enhancing (allegedly) technologies will be something we in the AV industry need to care about. You can envisage it in control rooms. It certainly looks likely to have a place in installations like museums, visitor centres and so on. Beyond those?

In the home, though, will it prove no more than a must have add on for Call of Duty, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto or The Legend of Zelda? There doesn’t seem much in it for TV manufacturers – who thought that 3D would see us flocking to our local store to upgrade our sets – and that may well see it remain a niche.

Time, as they say, will tell.

In 1996, Ian McMurray was responsible for launching TI’s DLP technology into Europe, and has been closely involved in the AV industry ever since.