The New Age Consultant

As someone that hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, the term “New Age” has a very particular connotation. Simultaneously, if you were to mention new age to a wrestling fan I can promise you that their next response will be to recite an entrance speech from a popular tag team in the late 90s and early 2000s. Sadly, because of the former, being part of the new age doesn’t always carry the most serious connotation, even if you consider the fact that we seem to be living in a “new age” every few years as technology and humanity evolve. Look to the future, though, I see that there is a new age in the AV industry presenting itself more consistently and it is starting at the consultant level.

How It’s Always Been

Traditionally, consultants in the AV industry have relationships with architects, general contractors, and clients. They establish these relationships like we all do, over time by providing quality services and information that result in successful projects and happy clients. I will remind you at this point I am not discussing the concept of “copy and paste” consultants or their projects; we are all familiar with their work and that is a rant for a different time. In this traditional model it is the consultant’s responsibility to sit down with the client and work through the concerns, questions, desires, and ultimately put together a scope of concept as to how the system should function along with an initial drawing set, and, if the bidding integrators are lucky, an equipment list.

The consultant effectively becomes the client’s advocate. Due to the fact that they are the people establishing the initial needs analysis and tweaking the resulting design as the project evolves, it is up to them to guarantee that the vision discussed is what comes to fruition. Next in the evolution of a project come the partnerships wherein the consultant is expected to work with the trades and the AV integrator with the winning bid. This is the time where the details of implementation are ironed out as to how to accomplish the desired end result. At a certain point in this model of doing business, the consultant becomes removed from the equation because it is the integrator who is physically installing the solution, filling in any gaps in the design after the initial request for information (RFI) concerns, and beginning to have direct contact with the user level individuals. Once the project has reached final completion the consultant returns to test and evaluate the reality of their design against the initial intent. This gap where the consultant is not present in the project results in a fundamental question for consultants: how do you stay connected to a project and a client as the project gets closer to completion?

A Modern Renaissance

For the new age consultant, however, the project reaching the installation phase isn’t the end of their involvement. Instead, they keep an active eye on the integration process because, in the end, they will be assuming the commissioning and programming responsibilities. There are several consulting firms that have adopted this full service approach where they continue to offer services to the client well beyond the installation. As mentioned earlier, this begins by taking the responsibility for the programming of the systems. Who better to handle the user interface devices of the control systems than the person who has been a part of the project since its inception? They have seen the project evolve from the beginning and seen the alterations that the systems have taken throughout the consulting process. It is with that background of information that they are able to bring a certain amount of intimacy to the project that a programmer from an integrator who enters the project in the final weeks just cannot have.

Do not mistake the generic example above as the way that all projects are handled. These are just generalized terms to set the stage to examine why this new age of consulting could possibly change the way the AV industry is doing business and alter the roles of integrators over time.

I freely expect that the example above has potentially made a few of the AV integrators reading this feel threatened because they see it as another competitor they now have to face in the industry. The difference is that this time they have no way to compete because they are just trying to win the project. I would like to be able to reassure you that wide spread adoption of this model wouldn’t change business, but that’s exactly what it will do. The consultants have recognized there is an opportunity to provide a more full service solution because it keeps them in direct contact with the client for longer periods of time and then provides them the ability to maintain a closer relationship for future project development and upgrades. Under the more traditional business model, this relationship might fall to the integrator.

What Does It Mean For Integrators?

So what’s the advantage for this new business model? Could it be just a small offset of consulting firms that feel this is the way to go? Is it possible that this is the next evolution in the industry? If we look at it from the client’s perspective, especially since those are the people that we, as an industry, are here to serve, what is it that’s going to make them feel most comfortable? Would it be having someone from the beginning to the end of the project that works with all aspects and ensures that their goals are met? That sure sounds like the ideal example of customer service to me. But it goes deeper than just the idea that this would give the consultant more face time. The discussion roots back to the larger trend in the industry of providing a service versus providing a product.

This new age method puts the consultant in the position to be responsive as the needs of the clients change and continue to advise them. It also gives the client a single point of contact if, or when, the systems encounter an issue. It puts the consultant in a position to take accountability, or force it on the integrator that won the project. In the earlier example if a system were to not meet the expectations of the client, who are they supposed to call? It was the consultant responsible for the design of the system, but it was the integrator that implemented.

We have all encountered the finger pointing that results in these circumstances, and it is exactly why many consultants have that clause in the scope of work that states it is the integrator’s responsibility to provide a fully functioning system regardless of any omissions or errors. It’s the catch all that many traditional consultants have to absolve them of the responsibility if something goes wrong, which can sometimes be followed with the accusatory statement “my design was correct, what did you do wrong?”

Having spent over three years working with consultants and integrators that do design and build work all over the US to design audio systems to meet both common and exceptionally unique scenarios, I have seen a great deal of people that want the full control of the system design and implementation. I have also worked alongside many individuals that set the parameters for the project and then leave the details for the integrator to handle. With the move towards consultants taking a more hands on approach and bringing the system programming in house along with the design work, they are making a statement of ownership over their projects.

So what happens next if this new model starts to evolve? Well, as I stated before, we have all heard the discussions going throughout the industry how our future success will revolve around offered services and not offered hardware. If the consultants are going to be the ones that hold the responsibility for the commissioning and programming, then it will be up to them to provide that service. Where does that leave the integrators of the world? Could it be that the integration firms will become the grunts just pulling cable, rigging and mounting hardware, and placing the physical devices in the space? It seems like a likely scenario, especially as more and more of our devices become accessible from remote locations via network connections. There will still be a role for the integrators beyond just the initial installation as devices fail and need replacement, but how do they ensure their place in this potential new world?

The Age of Accountability

In a recent issue of Systems Contractor News there was a who’s who of consulting list published. Many of these are the larger firms that hold a presence in multiple states. Consultants are not restricted to working within their own region, but may often focus the majority of their efforts on projects there. Will we start to see direct partnerships where a consultant and integrator become near exclusive? We have all experienced the favoritism that can happen between a consulting firm and an integrator. It may or may not be intentional, but there are many cases where the consultant will choose a firm that he or she is most familiar with because they know the project will be successful. Will this bond get stronger? Will we reach the point where this relationship results in a merger? It’s unlikely to be the case because the idea behind the consultant is that they are an independent consultant advocate and by merging with an integrator the concerns will now shift to making certain that project makes money throughout the process from needs analysis to final commissioning.

I currently work for an integrator that has a similar methodology to this new age consultant when it comes to the way it runs projects. There are no sales people and the project engineering is handled cooperatively between project managers and the engineering department. The project manager is responsible for finding the job, winning the job, working with engineering to design the job, working with production to ensure a smooth roll out of the project, and collaborating with the programming team to be certain that the specification and client’s desires are still coinciding and implemented.

This new age method creates a world where the consultant assumes the responsibility that their status indicates they should have while pushing the integrator into a quality assurance role for the system implementation. Personally, I like seeing the individual accountability that is being taken by this new method and I see the business forethought that they are adopting for their own longevity. There is still not wide spread adoption for this practice yet, but that does not mean that it isn’t on the horizon and that it won’t be another factor in changing the landscape of an industry continuing to evolve almost as quickly as the technology and services it offers.