India is a key strategic market for Kramer: Gilad Yron

Gilad Yron, CEO, Kramer Electronics

In an exclusive interview with CRN India, Gilad Yron, CEO of Kramer Electronics, shares insights into the company’s strategic growth in the India and APAC regions. He discusses Kramer’s go-to-market strategies for expanding channel partnerships, the strategic alliance with AudioCodes for the Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) market, and how the acquisitions of Ashton Bentley and ZeeVee will enhance Kramer’s portfolio. Yron also highlights how channel partners can leverage Kramer’s end-to-end AV solutions to capture new market opportunities and deliver seamless, integrated experiences.

How do you see the convergence of the IT and AV industries in the UCC space?
The IT and AV industries are increasingly converging, especially in the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) space. Traditionally, IT and AV have operated separately, but now they overlap significantly. In UCC, the technology for managing and distributing audio-visual signals is controlled by IT departments. This overlap reflects a broader industry trend where the lines between IT and AV are blurring. As the demand for IT standards and cloud services grows, the AV industry must adapt or risk falling behind. For manufacturers, adhering to these standards is crucial for meeting market demands, particularly in large enterprises and educational institutions where UCC solutions are vital. To be competitive, providers must offer comprehensive UCC solutions, from basic devices to sophisticated systems, integrating with major platforms like Microsoft, Zoom, Google, and Cisco. Kramer, for instance, is leveraging its AV expertise and expanding into IP through acquisitions and partnerships to meet these needs.

What new service lines or business models should channel partners expect as the UCC space evolves?
Channel partners can anticipate a range of new service lines and business models as the UCC space evolves. Over the past few years, Kramer has expanded its offerings significantly using a mix of buying, building, and partnering strategies. Kramer now provides a complete stack of solutions, from basic infrastructure components to advanced edge devices and ecosystem integrations. A notable recent development is the introduction of Panta Rhei, a cloud-based AV ecosystem platform. This platform offers a comprehensive suite of services, including device management, integration with Microsoft and other platforms, analytics, and remote services. This holistic approach allows for optimisation through data collection and analysis, enhancing the overall user experience. As the technology and platform mature, it will further enrich the service offerings for channel partners.

Can you elaborate on Kramer’s strategy regarding the Microsoft Teams Solutions Market and related acquisitions?
Kramer’s strategy in the Microsoft Teams Solutions Market involves a combination of acquisitions, partnerships, and internal development. Three and a half years ago, Kramer identified UCC as a crucial area post-COVID and began expanding its ecosystem through partnerships with companies like Jabra and Logitech. Kramer also acquired UCW and Quick Launch, integrating their technologies into the Panta Rhei platform. Recently, Kramer signed a co-development agreement with Audiocodes, bringing deep IT expertise and a strong Microsoft relationship to the table. This collaboration enhances Kramer’s edge devices and integrates them with control systems for a seamless management experience. Future developments include expanding PantaRay’s capabilities with monitoring and analytics services through Microsoft Azure, providing deeper insights and control for users.

How do these expansions impact a channel partner’s total addressable market?
Expanding into UCC and related areas can significantly increase a channel partner’s total addressable market. By integrating UCC solutions with IT and security elements, channel partners can potentially add 30% to 60% to their transaction value. The growing trend towards cloud and “as-a-service” models also opens opportunities to replace legacy systems with more modern, cost-effective solutions. As the AV industry becomes more open and progressive, embracing cloud technology and as-a-service models is crucial. Channel partners should leverage these advancements to enhance their service offerings and capture a larger share of the market.

How does the shift from hardware to software impact the AV industry?
The shift from hardware to software is a significant trend in the AV industry, similar to other sectors. The value is increasingly moving from dedicated hardware to software solutions. Advances in cloud computing and software capabilities are driving this change, making it possible to achieve more with less physical hardware. This shift is part of a broader trend towards more flexible, software-driven solutions and away from traditional hardware-based systems.

Do you envision a marketplace for industry-specific applications in the AV space?
Yes, there is potential for an app marketplace in the AV space, similar to platforms like Salesforce. Kramer’s Panta Rhei is designed to be open and flexible, allowing for future development by third-party developers. This open architecture supports the creation of additional applications and integrations, potentially leading to a marketplace of industry-specific solutions. As the platform matures and attracts more developers, it could expand significantly, offering a range of applications built on top of the base platform.

What is Kramer’s vision for the future of AV technology, particularly in relation to software and development?
Our future vision includes a radical shift towards software and a comprehensive platform for AV solutions. The company is investing in technology that will significantly advance software capabilities and create a foundation for future developments. This vision involves developing a robust software platform that will evolve over time, with a projected maturity around 2026 or 2027. This platform will support a wide range of applications and innovations, driving further growth and transformation in the AV industry.

What is Kramer’s strategic approach to the Indian market?
India is a key strategic market for Kramer, being the second largest market after the US. The country’s market size and potential, combined with the strong local team, make it crucial to Kramer’s global strategy. India is not only a significant sales market but also a major development hub, with a large team in Noida contributing to global R&D. Kramer emphasises close interaction between its sales and development teams in India to ensure market needs are met. We are committed to accelerating investment and growth in the Indian market, leveraging its local presence to drive further success.

India is also emerging as a service hub, particularly in the area of managed services. Do you foresee a trend where Indian IT service players, system integrators, or service providers manage global setups using your platform or services?

That’s a good question. I’d divide it into two parts. First, Kramer is primarily a product and solution company, and we do not plan to extend our offerings into integration or managed services. That’s the role of our customers and partners. However, we are actively developing our platform as a managed service platform.

When we initially designed our Panta Rhei platform, we envisioned it as a tool for managed services, and we’re now in the second phase of that development. We are currently seeking design partners for this managed services module, and much of our development is done in collaboration with end customers or channel partners to ensure we are closely aligned with market needs.

We plan to launch the managed services module by 2025. I definitely believe India could become a hub for providing remote services globally, utilising our platform to manage these services.

As a channel partner, this seems to open up more global opportunities. How does the platform help channel partners manage multiple clients or collaborate with other channels?

Yes, for channel partners, the platform allows them to manage multiple clients while collaborating with other channels. During the design process, we aimed to cover all possible scenarios. This includes global end customers with multiple locations served by different integrators who still want to maintain consistency across platforms.

The system is highly flexible, enabling seamless collaboration between global integrators and clients, regardless of geographic location. This flexibility and consistency are core to our platform, ensuring that no matter how complex the setup, it can be managed efficiently.

Could you elaborate on the experience in the UCC space? You mentioned that the overall room experience is becoming more critical than just the technology used.

Absolutely. Today’s conference room experience goes beyond just technology like 4K cameras or high-definition screens. Microsoft has done an excellent job focusing on the overall experience, which includes room lighting, seating arrangements, and other factors.

Recently, we acquired a UK-based company called Ashton Bentley, which has revolutionised the end-to-end audiovisual experience. They address not just the technology but the entire room setup, from how screens are mounted to the optimal height and even the furniture. This holistic approach ensures a fully optimised UCC experience, and their IKEA-style out-of-the-box solution means a complete conference room setup can be achieved in about an hour.

This acquisition is a game changer, allowing for scalability, consistency, and optimised user experience while remaining agnostic to the devices used, whether Cisco, Logitech, or Neat. Ashton Bentley’s solution is even installed in Cisco’s UK headquarters.

How do you ensure your partners are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to deliver consistent messaging and maintain standards?
We ensure consistency through multiple avenues. First, we have the Kramer Academy, which offers both online courses and face-to-face training. We also actively promote our K-Wave events, which take place across 12 cities in APAC, with six of them being in India.

At a local level, we conduct hands-on workshops to complement the online training. For our platinum and gold channel partners, hands-on, face-to-face training is mandatory, with at least two training cycles annually. To be part of our channel program and achieve platinum status, partners must go through various touchpoints of training across our entire portfolio.

This combination of online, hands-on, and on-the-job training ensures that our partners can deliver consistent, high-quality service.

You mentioned the recent acquisition of Ashton Bentley. Can you also speak about the acquisition of ZeeVee and its business impact?

The acquisition of ZeeVee is very recent, just about three weeks ago. This acquisition is part of our broader strategy to strengthen our AV-over-IP offering. ZeeVee is a key player in the industry and a founding member of the SDVoE (Software Defined Video Over Ethernet) Alliance, which focuses on delivering high-quality video streaming over IP networks.

This acquisition creates a critical mass within our organisation, bolstering our AV over IP capabilities. It’s an essential step forward as we enhance our technology and portfolio to meet market demands. The technology ZeeVee brings will be pivotal in our long-term strategy and in shaping the future of AV and IT convergence.

Looking ahead, what are the main priorities and focus areas for Kramer over the next few years, especially in terms of serving your customers and partners?

Our priorities align closely with our overall strategy, which revolves around creating an intuitive, end-to-end audiovisual experience. We are particularly focused on the convergence of AV and IT, with AV-over-IP being a significant part of that.

On the software side, our platform-as-a-service offering is one of the highest R&D investments. We’re continually pushing to empower our customer-facing teams and enhance our presence in key markets, including our regional headquarters in Singapore.

Additionally, we are heavily investing in the transition from hardware-based solutions to software-driven offerings. This shift will enable us to provide more scalable, flexible solutions to our customers as the industry moves toward software-centric infrastructures.

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