We recently had the pleasure of attending the 25th anniversary of the AV Magazine #AVawards. Hosted by multi-award-winning comedian – Rob Beckett, the glittering event at Evolution London celebrated the best of the best achievements, innovations and developments across the AV, events and production sectors. 

This is why we were incredibly honoured to win two awards on the night. The AV Awards are established as the unrivalled badge of excellence for our sector and used as a benchmark for industry standards. 

Firstly, we picked up the coveted ‘Integrator of the Year’ award, following high praise indeed from the judging panel comprising of senior industry leaders: “The judges recognised our winner as the epitome of integrators. Their entry was ‘exceptional, and meticulously covered all the required areas in detail.’ Our winner’s determination in teaching and growing the future of the AV industry is exemplary.” 

Our second award was in the ‘Education Project of the Year’ category, for our ongoing collaboration with the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Following the delivery of a second SmartStage®, for their state-of-the-art extended reality Convatec Digital Learning Studio, the project has enabled Online MBA and Executive Education students to become part of a fully engaged classroom community.  

WATCH: Michigan Ross Online Learning Technology – YouTube 

These wins follow a year of milestone international integration projects, with SmartStage installations making XR accessible for transformational progress in the broadcast, corporate and education spaces.   

It also comes after a period of rapid business evolution and growth of our dedicated Integration team, led by Nick Atkins. We chatted briefly to Nick to find out more: 

What do these awards mean to the team? 

We were certainly up against some serious competition in this year’s awards, so the wins are validation for a great deal of hard work paying off! Like so many other businesses in the sector, we’ve had to work against the many obstacles the pandemic brought and navigate a new way of working during the bounce back. We’ve faced a whole new set of challenges these past couple of years, but we’ve remained focused on delivering pioneering new solutions and innovating with technologies for our customers. We’re lucky to work with a diverse range of progressive clients, who are always striving to push the envelope and put their trust in us to engineer something groundbreaking. 

What else have you been proud of this year? 

It’s been a hugely successful year for awards. In April, we won ‘Innovator of the Year’ with the University of Portsmouth, following the launch of their brand-new £7 million Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR).  

Shortly afterwards, we scooped the Mondo DR ‘Retail & Leisure’ award, for our work as lead integrator for Johnnie Walker Princes Street.  

Mostly I’m proud of the team. Our combined Integration team consists of 60 staff, each with key skillsets and expertise, working across the full lifecycle of all projects – from conception through to ongoing support and service. We work with high-profile clients, with an emphasis on customer-first vision and developing solutions to make that vision a reality. 

What lies ahead? 

As a d&b solutions company, we’ll continue developing SmartStage technology, in combination with d&b’s Soundscape immersive audio platform. This means we can deliver the full range of AVLM technologies and services worldwide, to create spaces to connect people and places. 

As an integrator, we’ll continue focusing on breaking down complex technical briefs and utilising our approach of technical alchemy to devise the best solutions to fulfil client needs.  

Another key strategic aim is to build on our Responsible Business initiatives. We’re a certified B Corporation (B Corp), member of albert – the home of environmental sustainability for film + TV, a London Living Wage employer and member of isla – the events industry sustainability body. In May, we also joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative. These accreditations and certifications ensure we meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability across the business. We’re committed to further embracing responsible business practices wherever possible and supporting associations and networks that promote sustainability across our industry. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss your next project.

Visit our integration page here.

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