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3 Reasons Why Outsourced Technician Assistance Should Be a Key Part of Your 2021 Strategy

January 6, 2021 By Cory Allen Leave a Comment

2021 is here, which means we have had a chance to say goodbye to what was a challenging 2020 officially. We are all hopeful that 2021 will be a year filled with opportunity. But it will not come without some uncertainty, and that will hold true for the AV industry as a whole. As an integrator, this does not mean you can’t plan to scale your business. Yet, prediction and preparation are not mutually exclusive! 

Here are our top 3 reasons why your company should be using Outsourced Technician Assistance for 2021.

It is time to get back to growing! 

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your business in some way, shape, or form. For some, the impact may not have been as severe, but for others, tough decisions were made to keep businesses alive. Those decisions were likely in the form of reducing headcount, most often from the outsourced technicians. 

Now that we have rolled into 2021 with some optimism and renewed energy. It’s time to start moving into growth mode. One of the fastest ways is by augmenting your staff through outsourcing and reduce risk. This is the simple practice of augmenting your labor force to help assist your skilled W2 technicians/project leads out in the field. 

This form of outsourcing has become very popular in recent years. The need to augment technicians through an outsourcing program was accelerated due to the pandemic’s impact. With technician augmentation capability, you no longer have to pass on jobs due to lack of employees, keeping your calendar full for 2021. 

Now is not the time to lose control!

You have spent a considerable amount of time and effort building your business, so it is understandable that the reputation you have made through your relationships and proof of performance means everything. 

They are possibly the biggest reasons for your success. By using technician augmentation it could be perfect for your business as you wade through uncertain times. Let me explain: Augmentation and supplementation are two very different things. 

Augmentation gives you access to technicians that will work alongside and take direction from your on-site staff members, whereas supplementation is relinquishing an entire job to be outsourced. 

It is often vital to consider technician augmentation rather than supplementation to ensure that specific processes are followed, control is maintained, and the project outcomes are as you desire. Technician help allows you to perform the job YOUR way. 

We don’t need no education (yes, we do).

In December, Presidential Elect Joe Biden announced a plan to get kids back in the classroom in 2021. That plan came with a recommendation to Congress to pass a $4 Billion emergency package to upgrade technology in school systems across the country. 

We all understand the importance of kids being in school from an academic and social perspective, and it’s clear an aggressive effort is being made to get kids back on the school bus! In preparation for the upcoming school year, technology implementation will be crucial to accommodating in-room distanced and virtual learning. 

So what does that have to do with technician augmentation? Well, it’s simple. Whether public, charter, or private, most schools have at least a handful of classrooms and often hundreds, if not thousands per district. Most of these classrooms are cookie-cutter in terms of technology deployment for clear reasons. 

Teachers and students are trained on how to interact with the same systems, no matter what room they are in. An assisted technician staff best fills this type of repeatable work. From wire-pulling to display mounting to disposal of waste, outsourcing technicians in multi-room environments can prove to be very cost-effective and very efficient—no more hiring and firing based on a single job. 

You can take comfort knowing your organization can complete the work without incurring any unwanted pre and post burden. We should all have a shared enthusiasm for what is next in our industry. The collective ability to adapt and overcome in 2020 has been remarkable, but there are more audible calls to come.  The AV industry will continue to shift and change rapidly, as it did in 2020 (let’s never speak of it again). I cannot stress enough the importance of making sure outsourced Technician Assistance is a Key Part of Your 2021 Business Strategy.

3 Key Things to Know About Panasonic Professional Displays

December 29, 2020 By Angie Greene Leave a Comment

1.THE LINEUP

Did you hear?  Panasonic is extending their successful line of entry-level and standard display panels to include more sizes, more features, and more versatility.  This growing line of panels are reliable, and come from a well-established brand like Panasonic – a staple in the audio-visual industry.  You will notice Panasonic’s display form factor has not changed much, if any, over the decades – and that design decision is purposeful.  Simply put, it makes swapping out an older Panasonic display for a new Panasonic display quite easy.  Panasonic is a tried & true brand and a go-to supplier for many, many resellers and integration firms.  Here are some of our favorite go-to models. 

Oh yeah, they also have touch displays and video wall options – but I will save that for another blog write-up for now.  I must share that their product finder is also an excellent tool to find the size and display type needed for your next project. Check it out.   

2. THE FEATURES

Let’s talk features!  There are so many great features, but I am going to touch on the ones that I think are more important and show why Panasonic displays are in a league of their own.

Quality

Many Panasonic displays employ 4K picture quality to render intricately detailed images. For example, the SQ1 Series features the “12-Axis Color Management function” for ideally faithful color reproduction of digital signage content, and “HDR” compatibility to express a wide brightness range from dark to bright. Equipped with the new Intel® SDM specification slot standard, the SQ1 Series can be combined with an interface board for simple but wide system interoperability.

Versatility

Here’s a quick summary of the best applications for Panasonic’s multi-series professional display lineup.  SQ1 Series is ideal for signage – portrait or landscape.  The EQ1 is designed for and has features that are ideal for conference & meeting spaces, and this model is budget-friendly, too. And finally yet importantly, the CQ1 Series is ideal for bars and restaurants.  Click here for a rundown of all features and specs. 

3. THE WARRANTY

One of the best warranties in the Pro AV industry comes from Panasonic.  Their flat panel display products come with a three-year limited warranty with advance replacement.  Yes, 3 years – that is awesome!  To further delight resellers and their customers, Panasonic adds a higher level of protection to their displays with extended support options available for purchase. In addition, if you or your staff require product training or equipment deployment assistance with any Panasonic products, they provide on-site consultation packages. Here are the details.


Flat Panel Advance Swap Program

Professional displays mission critical application are backed up with an exchange program (Hot Swap) included in the standard warranty. This includes:

• Reducing repair turn-around time on your defective display

• Replacement unit sent with two-day expedited shipping

• Shipped anywhere within the continental states

• Applies to all display models purchased after April 2018

• Replacement units are inspected and conditioned at our Panasonic National Repair Center

• Warranty for replacement unit will be a continuation of the defective one being replaced

What you can expect: 

• Two Business Day Delivery

• Support 5 Days a Week (Monday-Friday)

• Free Shipping and Delivery on each instance for the flat panel swap

• Technical Support available 8AM-8PM EST (requests must be received by 12:00PM EST to meet shipping deadlines for delivery

• Same or comparable model provided

• Transportation times for larger display sizes (above 55 inches) may vary due to handling requirements

Panasonic Tech Support experts will manage the logistics of getting the replacement unit to your customers’ locations as well as to pick up the defective unit.


Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the Panasonic panel lineup or any or any of their professional equipment.  I am here to help!

Angie Greene

Business Development Manager, CTS, DSCE

Email: agreene@almo.com
Toll-free: 888.420.2566 x6209
Fax: 267.350.0314

Best Practices for Menu Board System Design

September 13, 2019 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

  Alan Brawn, an AV industry veteran with experience spanning over 3 decades including management of a Pro AV systems integration company for 7 years, and one of the founding members of Hughes-JVC back in the early 1990s knows something about QSRs and Menu Boards. read more

LESS IS MORE. ONE SECRET TO ALMO PRO AV’S SUCCESSFUL 10 YEARS.

June 3, 2019 By Brian Rhatigan Leave a Comment

  As Almo Professional AV prepares to celebrate 10 years in operation as business unit of Almo Corporation I feel grateful and proud to be part of this great organization. Looking back to 2009, at the origination of the division we had no vendor partners and no cus read more

The “10-Foot Rule” and Other Viewing Distance Considerations

November 26, 2018 By Jim Nista Leave a Comment

I was recently asked my opinion on guiding principles for content prepared for close-up viewing versus long distance.  My immediate response was that there was a category missing there.  The Almo Content Design team looks at viewing distance as three different categorie read more

8K Displays… So What’s the Buzz?

October 30, 2018 By Darren Altman Leave a Comment

You’ve heard the buzz about 8K display technology. But what is it about these displays that make them ideal for commercial settings? According to research firm, IHS Markit, as the demand for super-large TV displays grow, the need for higher resolution is set to increase read more

A Free-Standing Interactive Kiosk Installed with Content in 30 Minutes? Yep!

August 28, 2018 By John Wills Leave a Comment

Would you be interested in installing a free-standing, 55” portrait kiosk with touch and Wi-Fi connectivity?  This kiosk would support a simple interactive directory board, which an end-user can easily update and manage using a cloud-based CMS.  All this for around $5,5 read more

Samsung Goes All-In on Digital Signage

July 27, 2018 By Mike Casey 1 Comment

  I learned something new this year at InfoComm: I have no future as a professional gambler. While true, that’s not really it. What I REALLY learned was that LED may soon take over the world of digital advertising. There were probably more digital signage dis read more

Checking Boxes

May 4, 2018 By Todd Heberlein

  A digital signage content management software that ✓ all the boxes. Clients looking for a digital signage solution often have very similar feature sets that they are seeking. In the past, there were some features that our solutions could not provide, so the clien read more

Big Things Come in Thin Packages

December 8, 2017 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

  by LG Commercial Display It’s only fitting that the world’s largest shopping mall should have the world’s largest LG OLED video wall. The mall is the Dubai Mall, the city’s shining landmark. Home to 1200 shops, the multi-million-dollar mall contains the area of 5 read more

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Digital Signage Information

The Digital Signage Federation defines Digital Signage as a network of digital displays that is centrally managed and addressable for targeted information, entertainment, merchandising and advertising. Now Digital Signage means different things to different people. It could be a digital display at a supermarket checkout line showing information about products and promotions; it could be a television in your local deli or pizzeria showing live programming and advertising for businesses in the area; it could be a welcome sign with the day’s events in a hotel lobby; along with a nearly unlimited number of other purposes. Here at Exertis Almo, we are experts in all areas of Digital Signage. We would be happy to help you with any of your Digital Signage needs. Want to know more about Digital Signage? On this page we have a collection of our blogs all around the topic of digital signage.

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