Jan. 11, 2024 - We are one week into 2024, a year with so much promise already that we sat down for a quick chat with Nick Begleries, Commercial Vice-President of PPDS North America to talk about what this year has in store for PPDS and digital signage.

Happy New Year! What trends will we see in the ProAV space in 2024?

There is so much happening in the ProAV space right now. One exciting trend from last year that I am confident will continue to become more front and center in many conversations is sustainability. Companies are increasingly examining their corporate social responsibility and recognizing how they operate has ripple effects on the environment. In 2023, we made significant strides in reducing our packaging and looking for improvements in our manufacturing processes. We introduced sustainable products, such as the Philips Tableaux ePaper display, which has won several accolades in the sustainable space. It’s a great way for companies to add digital signage without continuous power consumption. Most recently, E-Ink, the technology that we use in Philips Tableaux, was recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Sustainability will continue to be an emerging trend in 2024.

Another area that continues to grow, and I believe will be a hot topic in 2024, is Cloud Based products. Being able to control and monitor your networked displays remotely has huge advantages. PPDS’s Wave platform is a modern, cloud-native platform delivering integrated applications and services that put you securely and fully in control, allowing you to integrate, install, manage, update, and maintain your Philips professional display fleet devices, regardless of size and from any location. Having the flexibility to view and make changes remotely gives businesses more flexibility.

What are your short- and long-term goals?

In the short term, we want to narrow our focus and play to our top strengths. Our parent company TPV, the world’s largest LCD manufacturer, has the capability to meet any display need there is. This is an incredible asset when serving our customers, as they can get all their signage needs in one place, regardless of the industry. In North America, at this stage in our development though, we want to focus the team where we can have the most immediate impact and build from there.

Long term, we are still on target to be recognized as a Top 3 brand in North America. This is both a lofty and achievable milestone within 5 years.

Where do you see the pro-AV industry heading?

Forward, as it always does. The industry will provide better, faster, and more economical ways of sharing information and conveying messaging. Also, “easier” is particularly en vogue right now. There’s an increased emphasis on standardized solutions.

Additionally, in 2024, AI and VR will play more significant roles in both speeding up the design process and helping customers “see” their vision before actual construction and implementation. Having that capability to experience your design before it is built, again, makes things “easier” by expediting the decision-making process.

What is the greatest challenge you face this year?

Hesitation. We need to remain bold ourselves, not letting uncertainty in specific markets dictate our strategy, but we also must give our partners (and their customers) confidence that our solutions will lead to a return on their investment quickly. We know we offer the best solution; we need to continue to drive that home in all we do. Therefore, more “white papers,” testimonials, “lighthouse installations,” reference sites, and case studies will be paramount.

What are you most excited about for 2024?

Collaboration opportunities with software and other ancillary partners. The ability to create complete, fully-integrated, commercial display solutions for specific verticals is what differentiates professional displays from their TV cousins. Working as a team with these partners and the System Integrator community to solve unique design challenges is what I find most gratifying. With sustainability increasingly becoming a main design consideration, that only adds to my excitement for alliance programs across complementary platforms.