In October, Atlantis Partners brought well-known industry veteran Mark Delguidice on board as Western Business Development Director. Frank Papayianis, President of Atlantis Partners, announced the news as part of a strategy to build a growing team of industry leaders for 2021 and beyond.
The news dovetails with not just Atlantis Partners’ plans, but with larger AVIXA and indeed industry-wide trends as we head into a new year and a new chapter for pro AV.
AV industry journalist/analyst David Keene recently spoke to Mark, to get his ideas on the market going forward and how his new position, as well as his ongoing work with the AVIXA ITS Council, will dovetail with strong industry trends and needs as we head into 2021.
Keene: In addition to your ongoing, and laudable, work as Chair of the AVIXA Independent Technical Service Providers council (AVIXA ITS council), you just started a new role, with Atlantis Partners, as Western Regional B&D Director, where you’ll be heading up business development for the entire western half of the U.S., and also contributing to national service strategies. Congratulations. Can you share why you joined Atlantis, and your goals there?
Mark D: I have known Frank Papayianis, President of Atlantis Partners, via the AVIXA ITS Council for many years, and we always got along great. Sharing ideas about the sectors, trends. And I appreciated his support of the Council’s activities and goals. I saw an opportunity to play an even larger role in the industry, helping Atlantis serve their clients at the very highest levels.
Their capabilities and their corporate culture align strongly with my vision of what a great AV services company should be, as well as with the core values that all of us on ITS council are trying to further establish industry-wide.
Keene: In the AV industry, the trend of more AV integrators using highly skilled outsourced labor has been growing for a while. There are of course many parts of that equation. Before we get into 2020 and the changed landscape, how would you describe the main drivers of the trend to outsourced labor generally for AV and AV/IT, in “normal” years, say 2018-2019?
Mark D: Well, there was a time when this sector was, if not “secret,” not fully recognized publicly, and also hard to define and quantify. Yet it was growing, year after year. There were some great freelancers out there working independently, yet few companies focused on providing these services at the highest levels.
At the same time in IT, the outsourcing trend was already strong and accepted, as integrators realized that hiring help on a per contract basis could be very helpful, allowing scaling up and down to demand more readily. Well, I and a few others saw the opportunity to assist AV companies in an organized, reliable fashion – providing training for the Techs, standardized tools, and access to AVIXA classes and CTS certification.
The Industry reacted positively, and the sector grew. We now are accepted as an established and much-needed resource to the industry. What that means now is: an integrator – and in some cases a distributor or even a manufacturer – can now easily access the extra installation help they need, as they need it.
And they clearly see the value of that: lower labor costs, easier scalability to project demand, and more cost-effective project completion in areas where they may not otherwise have had teams ramped up, and saving on installation travel costs. The Sector has grown exponentially, in response to these needs.
Our only “problem” in the past has been visibility. Integrators didn’t always know where to find the best services. That being said, demand for the best, highly skilled AV technicians and installers often was ahead of supply.
Keene: How does your new role at Atlantis Partners dovetail with the strong trends you’ve seen in the past few years in the AV industry?
Mark D: As Atlantis – and other ITS Council member companies – grow, we are often first to implement new ideas and changes in the delivery of tech solutions. As smaller companies, we are all adept and flexible, we can pivot quickly, and introduce techniques, expertise and progress to methods. It’s what we do! At the heart of the business side of the industry is this dynamic: our outsourced labor offerings, have let AV integration companies grow their companies while mitigating the risk of growth – the risk being hiring too many technicians too soon, or too late.
Keene: Companies – and Atlantis is a leader in this category – that supply skilled technical labor for projects on an outsource basis – are providing a great service to AV integrators who often need project-based help, regardless of the larger macro-economic trends. But what about 2021 will see AV integrators needing even more help addressing the labor dynamic, and balancing resources for their projects?
Mark D: I see the recent trends continuing in the coming resurgence of the economy, as the industry struggles to recover and reset.
The project demand from end users will be huge, and it takes time for the integrators to re-hire and train staff. We will be there, ready with capable staff, know-how, and a focus on being a part of the solution. And it’s important to note: in the past, we were 99% labor installation services for the integrators. But as 2021 kicks in, the integrators will be short-handed across the board: programmers, and project managers, for example. We have always had that capability, but we have now ramped up to provide even more of those services, for what will be the new landscape in 2021 especially.
Keene: Getting back to the AVIXA Independent Technical Service Providers Council: it’s not the biggest Council at AVIXA, and the work the members do, professionally, doesn’t always get the limelight. What do you see as the “mission statement” of the Council, going forward? I always see years of disruption as opportunities to “rebrand” and retool any organization. How do you see the AVIXA Independent Technical Service Providers Council getting more attention, more urgency, etc, coming out of a disrupted year? What are the main goals of AVIXA Independent Technical Service Providers Council for 2021?
Mark D: Our Mission statement is on our AVIXA Council web page, along with news about our activities, charity work, etc. But in a nutshell, our goal is to inform the Industry that we are here and able to provide the highest level of reliable professional AV Services.
And we at the ITS Council are getting – as are the other AVIXA Councils – more support from the organization in building exposure, with newsletters, articles, and information about what councils are and how one can get involved.
And it’s important to note that many of the things members enjoy – CTS certifications, InfoComm University, mentoring & diversity programs, etc. – came from Ideas the Councils brough up and suggested. It’s how we help.
