The audiovisual industry is constantly evolving through new technologies and changing customer needs. This presents both opportunities and challenges for AV professionals when it comes to estimating projects. Traditional paper-based and spreadsheet methods are becoming outdated as tools for the modern AV business. This blog post will explore some key trends shaping the future of AV estimating and highlight innovative software solutions emerging to help companies adapt.

Changes in AV Technology

The types of AV systems being designed and installed today look much different than just a few years ago. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with new products and capabilities becoming available all the time. This presents challenges for estimators used to more static environments. Some of the biggest technological changes impacting AV estimating include:

Digital Signage and Interactive Displays - Digital signage and interactive displays with touch interfaces are becoming a bigger part of many AV installations. Their software-driven nature requires new approaches for planning, configuration, and pricing vs traditional video walls.

Audio Conferencing - Advanced audio conferencing technologies like voice over IP, room systems, and wireless microphone systems are more common. Proper planning and accurate pricing of these solutions differs from standard audio setups.

Video Conferencing - Video conferencing has transformed from dedicated hardware codecs to flexible software solutions. Integrating video conferencing into meeting spaces demands new estimating methodologies.

Cloud and Networking - Cloud-based AV control, content management, networking infrastructure, and digital distribution are prevalent technology categories that weren't part of the estimating process just a few years ago.

To address these shifting technological landscapes, AV estimators need access to current product information, built-in configuration tools, and automated pricing databases—capabilities manual and spreadsheet-based methods struggle to provide. Outdated estimating approaches risk bids being under or over what’s required in the installed solution.

Rise of Custom and Complex Projects

Alongside technological change, the nature of AV projects themselves is growing more tailored and multifaceted. Standardized system designs and simple control requirements have given way to highly customized solutions. Some characteristics of modern complex AV projects include:

Multi-Site and Campus-Wide Networks - Integrating AV throughout entire organizations, campuses and multi-location networks introduces a new level of coordination and granular planning during estimating.

Special Venue Considerations - Unique project types like corporate auditoriums, esports arenas, simulation centers and medical environments require specialized domain expertise and non-standard components during the estimating stage.

Integration with Other Technologies - AV is increasingly merging with security, IOT, building automation and other disciplines. Estimators must account for the interactions between technologies.

Custom Programming and Interfaces - Many projects today demand extensive custom programming, interfaces and integrations beyond basic control. Proper pricing of software development and IT services is crucial.

Changing Scope - As projects evolve through design, scope elements are frequently added, cut or altered. Manual methods struggle to adjust estimates seamlessly in response.

Modern software solutions help estimators tackle complexity with capabilities like ger discrete sub-system or site-based estimating, collaborative review/edit features, and real-time price adjustment based on automatic BOMs, programming calculations and more granular reporting.

Changing Business Models

In addition to technological shifts and project trends, the business models of AV companies are also evolving in ways impacting estimating workflows. Two notable changes include growth of recurring revenue services and new supplier relationships.

Managed Services and Long-Term Support

Many integrators now derive a substantial portion of their business through recurring support and managed services agreements rather than one-off product sales or implementation projects. This necessitates estimating costs differently—taking a longer term, annuitized view of service-level requirements and pricing over multi-year periods rather than as lump sums. Traditional tools provide little visibility into multi-year forecasting and business planning.

Direct Sourcing Trends

At the same time, many large integrators now source significant portions of their product requirements directly from manufacturers rather than distribution partners to gain competitive pricing advantages and influence over new product introductions. However, this level of direct sourcing involves more complex supplier relations and pricing models that may change frequently based on volume thresholds, regional variations and promotions. Outdated approaches cannot easily adapt estimates in real-time as suppliers update their programs.

Software Innovation for Estimating

To address the trends and challenges outlined above, a new generation of specialized AV estimating software solutions is emerging. Leading examples are driving innovation in a few key areas:

Configurability and Complexity Management

Advanced configuration interfaces equipped with catalog-style browsers, pre-defined templates, matrix selection and combinatorial options allow for rapid yet granular planning, quoting and BOM generation even for extremely customized systems. Dependency mapping and conditional logic further aid complex multi-variable projects.

Cloud-Based BOM and Pricing Databases

Cloud delivery of product databases containing tens of thousands of items enables ubiquitous access, real-time supplier updates with published pricing schemes, and global company-wide edits. Integrator-specific pricing tiers and markups can also be managed.

Report Customization and Flexibility

Intuitive dashboards and fully customizable report types (proposals, scopes, construction documents etc.) provide versatile stakeholder-specific deliverables. Automatic formatting, branding and versioning remove manual report assembly burdens.

Automated Calculations

Integrated cost models compute labor/equipment estimates for tasks like programming or installation based on collected parameters.elligence assists with more accurate service/support cost projections across projects and locations.

Collaboration and Approval Workflows

Teams can simultaneously collaborate on estimates in real-time. Built-in review/comment features and electronic approval chains streamline stakeholder consensus without email chains or document sharing.

Resource and Schedule Management

Interfaces to business systems power project management functions like assignment of crews/technicians to tasks, generation of installation plans, and consolidated portfolio forecasting/budgeting for long-range business reporting.

Integrations with Specialized Modules
For even more vertical-specific functions, modular integrations exist for managed services support tracking, campus/enterprise network mapping, fusion with 3D/CAD systems for advanced bidding preparation, and more niche capabilities addressing the full range of project complexities today.

Conclusion

As AV technologies, business models and projects grow increasingly sophisticated, manual methods of estimating struggle to keep pace. Software solutions tailored for audiovisual budgeting and bidding are taking estimating into the modern age through configurability, automation, collaboration and data/workflow management capabilities. Adopting innovative estimating platforms empowers companies to efficiently tackle a widening scope of project types while maintaining accuracy, oversight and forecasting power necessary for success today and into the future. Those that embrace software transformation of their workflows will be best prepared to capitalize on ongoing innovation shaping the AV industry.

Read Related:- https://avblogs.edublogs.org/2023/11/06/exploring-the-av-info-ecosystem-from-blogs-to-industry-publications/