I am working at a large theater in Las Vegas. We are finishing installation of a large scale permanent system for the venue, and are looking for software solutions to maintain and track all maintenance and repairs for our assets. Again, we are not doing any kind of rental business, just working to maintain a repair log for all of our devices. Does anyone have experience with these types of database systems? Do you have any that you can recommend or get or avoid? Much thanks

Started a new job at another University and they are asking me to estimate the replacement cycles for their rack equipment in 6 year old installs. I come from an Extron environment and moving into a Crestron house.  My gut says a mix of (warranty + N) formula or experience with the style of equipment would be the way to go about it. I feel like I'm missing exposure to this type of estimation to know the keywords to search for.  Projectors from my experience tend to last a decade before they've lost the brightness to do their principle job in a space. Touchscreens however appear to be in the 5-8 year range.  We are wanting to estimate more on the physical lifespan of the components more-so than staying perfectly up-to-date with industry trends. They spent quite a bit on high quality components that they hope will serve for a long-time.  TL:DR I was wondering how you all base lifecycle estimations for rack equipment and displays?

Hi Technology Management Pros! @Tim Cichos , Streaming Engineer, University of Notre Dame posted a question in the Q&A, and I thought I'd bring it into your room in case you'd missed it. His question is: Do you regularly use Ross Inception Software? I'm looking to connect with users of Ross Inception, specifically where content (images) from social media sites are brought into the production of a live event. (through Ross XPression for example) Please tag in others that may be able to contribute. I'll loop in some live events experts as well... @Justin Frick @Kristi Ross-Clausen @Rick Bloom @chris wildfoerster .  Tim, thanks for reaching out to the community - hope we can help you connect with other users!

At InfoComm the Technology Managers Council is hosting the Technology Managers Forum and Reception on June 9 from 3:00-5:00 pm.  If you're going to InfoComm, we would love for your to join.  You can register for this event at infocommshow.org, the cost is $20 for members and $30 for non-members. During the session, attendees will move through the room to four different discussion stations. One topic we will discuss at InfoComm is around staffing and I would love to hear from you now. What challenges are you facing when finding and retaining staff? Have you had successes in recruitment and retention that might be valuable for others to hear about?  What about DEI Initiatives? If you are actively searching to create a diverse staff, what successes and challenges are you facing in doing so?

Glad to be part of this group as the AVIXA Content Manager responsible for the Learning Tech Managers Power Hour webinar series. I welcome your topic ideas, comments on the Power Hours, and participation in this room. 

Thanks for inviting me in. Let's break some ground together, because where would we be without collaboration?

Are you registered for session 1 or 2 of the upcoming course, Mastering AV Service Management (MASM) – The Aspiring Manager Certificate? The purpose of the Aspiring Manager Certificate is simple—this is how to take a technician through the massive leap of understanding to the perspective of management. Learn more and sign up today!

I recently wrote an article about how much the community of higher education audiovisual technology professionals means to me.  @Lisa Matthews, CTS aptly noted to me that this new AVIXA Xchange can be a part of growing that sense of community, and I completely agree!  Let's use this platform as another resource to build our community.  I hope you enjoy the article, and let me know your thoughts and feedback!  https://higheredav.com/the-higher-ed-technology-family-integrator-insights/  Thanks! Mike Pedersen, CTS-D, CTS-I, EAVAAudiovisual Experience ManagerIowa State University