How the Mighty Have Fallen – A Case Study – Via International’s Recipe for Success Missed the Key Ingredient

The recent announcement that the giant A/V integrator Via International is shuddering it operations got us to thinking. How is it that a company boasting $73M in annual sales ($200M in sales projected within five years) can fail? The creation of Via International was touted as the portent for the future of audio video integration – the benchmark for how all custom A/V firms were going have to do business, if they want to survive.

Not so fast…

It’s easy to understand why all of the industry experts were falling all over themselves to pump up the Via International narrative. The story was quite compelling. Combine six of the CE Pro Top 100 Technology Integrators from all over the United States – with their capital, manpower, extensive customer databases, product knowledge and sharpened business practices. Centralize all operations under one gigantic tent, unify financials, operating systems and vendor relationships.

With a full-time staff of nearly 400 people, 20 locations nationwide and a customer roster comprised of the ultra-wealthy, Via International was poised for greatness. The only thing missing was the glass slipper.

Sadly for the Via International staff, whose employment was unceremoniously terminated, there was no fairy tale ending. All that remained was a case study in the scalability of successful A/V integration firms.

In theory, wildly ambitious plans to take over the world are all well and good – In theory. Just ask the Romans, the Mongols or the British Empire…

By contrast, for the past 40 years Audio Den has embraced a slow and steady, organic growth business model. Where it lacks in sex appeal and excitement, this methodology has helped Audio Den weather three major economic recessions. What started as a modest two-channel tweak shop in a strip mall, has evolved into a full-service technology integration firm – housed in its own 7,000 square foot facility and retail showroom.

Growth is good – but not when it comes at the cost of your founding principles – the very essence of what made your firm great in the first place. At its core, Audio Den is a customer service company – the electronics, speakers, accessories and programming just come along with that relationship.

There are countless places to buy A/V hardware these days, on-line and in-person. However, there is a rapidly shrinking number of companies who care about you after you’ve clicked “Buy Now” or walked out of their store with your hardware. Audio Den cares – walk into our showroom, call us on the phone or invite us into your home and let us prove it.

Audio Den is prepared to take over the world – one installation, one household, one relationship at a time. Steady as she goes…

Get a Professionally Installed CCTV Surveillance System for Your Long Island Home - Audio Den Offers Options for Surveillance Camera Systems

Get a Professionally Installed CCTV Surveillance System for Your Long Island Home – Audio Den Offers Options for Surveillance Camera Systems

The phrase CCTV surveillance might conjure an image of grainy, black and white monitors with no interactive capabilities. While this may have been true of the technology in years past, CCTV displays and surveillance capabilities have come a long way. Today’s systems offer color, high-resolution displays and the ability to zoom in on an image and track movement.

Have you considered hiring a professional to install a CCTV surveillance system in your Long Island home? With so many different types of security cameras to choose from, the hours of research required to make the best selection can be overwhelming. That’s where the experts at Audio Den come in. We’ve created a basic security camera guide to help you learn more about the different features each camera offers:

Outdoor Audio Brings High Quality Audio to Summer Fun - Outdoor Home Theater and Outdoor Audio Systems Bring Movies and Music to NY Homes

Outdoor Audio Brings High Quality Audio to Summer Fun – Outdoor Home Theater and Outdoor Audio Systems Bring Movies and Music to NY Homes

Transform the outdoor living space of your Long Island home into an entertainment lounge with pool speakers, deck speakers or even an outdoor home theater system. Outdoor audio and entertainment systems are the ideal ways to bring the tunes outdoors or lounge outdoors in your Hamptons home while catching your favorite TV show or taking in a classic movie. These additions to your home also add value. Many homebuyers are willing to pay a premium for home that is equipped for outdoor entertainment.

With deck, patio and pool speakers, Long Island homeowners can set the perfect scene for dinner under the stars or kick back and relax while listening to their favorite playlist. Take outdoor living to a whole new level of enjoyment with outdoor audio from Audio Den. We’re Long Island’s premier audio, video, automation and home theater specialist.

At Audio Den, we plan the placement of deck, patio and pool speakers carefully. For example, if there’s a wall, we place the speakers on the wall facing the home or underneath the eaves. This way, the sound is focused toward the outdoor living area. For larger yards, the speakers can be placed decoratively in a circle pointing toward the outdoor living space or discretly in landscaping around a pool or spa. Subwoofers can also be partly buried in the ground. All around, we arrange the outdoor speakers in a manner that adds to the aesthetics of the outdoor space. Plus, we install outdoor speakers for reputable brands such as Paradigm outdoor speakers, which are specifically designed to withstand temperature and weather extremes.

We can also set up multiple audio zones for outdoor spaces. With this flexibility, kids can swim in the pool with louder volumes while those dining outdoors can turn the volume down to conversational levels. Multiple audio zones allow you to control the volume and source independently. It’s a win-win for everyone outdoors and the key to summer fun.

Never miss a ballgame or your favorite TV show with an outdoor entertainment system. We install Sunbrite and Seura outdoor TVs that are built to withstand the elements, such as sea breezes to Hamptons homes, rain and snow. Even with high humidity from salty ocean air, these outdoor TVs are completely weather resistant. These outdoor TVs can be put on full articulating mounts to avoid the sun and positioned so the screen is viewable from multiple locations in the backyard. Totally adjustable, you can view a TV show from any location. Just keep in mind that screen size is a factor with outdoor TVs. Anything smaller than a 46-inch TV is likely too small, unless you’re sure that viewers will always be close to the screen. We also can add external speakers for the TV audio. This way, if you’re throwing a pool party during a major sports game, you can play the games feed on speakers throughout the yard.

With outdoor speakers and entertainment systems, you can turn your outdoor living space into a social summer retreat.

JL E-Series Subwoofers Deliver on Performance and Value - JL Subwoofers Compact Design Warrants Consideration for Long Island Home Theater Builds

JL E-Series Subwoofers Deliver on Performance and Value – JL Subwoofers Compact Design Warrants Consideration for Long Island Home Theater Builds

Searching for the perfect subwoofer for a home theater build isn’t an easy task. Deep impactful but controlled bass is as much an art as it is science. One of our most popular (and favorite) subwoofer brands is JL Audio. Their line of subwoofers, E-Sub, Fathom, and Gotham are some of the best in the world and possess a quality and value proposition virtually unmatched in the Home Theater design world.

Tivo Roamio: The Intuitive Multi-room Smart Home DVR - Stream HD Video, Store 1000 of Hours of DVR Content, and Download for Offline Viewing

Tivo Roamio: The Intuitive Multi-room Smart Home DVR – Stream HD Video, Store 1000 of Hours of DVR Content, and Download for Offline Viewing

The Roamio is the latest in a long line of consumer level digital video recorders from Tivo. It takes all of the features that home users everywhere have come to love and elevates them to the next level, allowing you one simple solution for all of your over the air TV recording needs.

 Tivo Roamio Features

The Tivo Roamio includes four separate tuners, allowing you to record up to four different shows at the same time. All four tuners are fully HD compatible, meaning that you can enjoy the benefit of full high definition, 1080p or 720p playback whenever you’d like.

To make things even better, the device comes with a 500 gigabyte hard drive – larger than what you would be able to get from renting a DVR on a monthly basis from most cable television service providers. This will allow you to store hundreds of hours of full HD video without needing to worry about what you’re going to be forced to delete to make room for the latest episode of your favorite show.

Perhaps the best feature of the Roamio (and the biggest difference from previous iterations of the company’s DVR systems) has to do with the built-in Wi-Fi connection and the large number of streaming apps that are available. When you’re not using your DVR to record over the air shows, you can use it to connect to the Internet and watch streaming content from Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu and more.

Using the Roamio

Since its inception, Tivo is a company that has always prided itself on simplicity. The Tivo Roamio continues this fine tradition by offering software that is not only easy to use, but an interface that is even easier to navigate. The graphical user interface of the Roamio has been redesigned and streamlined compared to older models, allowing you to begin recording much faster and change any necessary settings with minimal hassles.

Smart Home Connectivity

Because the Tivo Roamio is connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you can also control it in a number of ways that have nothing to do with the recorded remote. You can use iOS and Android apps to use your tablet or smartphone to delete shows, add new recordings and more whenever you’d like. You can even access the DVR while you’re away from home to set a recording that you forgot to do before you left the house.

Telsa P85D: The Smart Home Owner’s Smart Automobile – Being Green With 681 Horsepower

In the twenty-first century, the recognition of the need for environmental consciousness and sustainability in all facets of our life is ever present. Smart Home Technologies have been transforming our lives towards convenience and cost-savings. Solar panels that absorb energy from sunlight and transfer that energy into electrical charge to power even the largest buildings have been incorporated in residences, office buildings, and many other types of buildings. Smart Lighting controls and systems dispense, distribute, and monitor this green energy towards efficiency that was once only dreamed of. Water conservation techniques and new developments in wastewater treatment have been integral in trying to provide an adequate and pathogen-free water supply to various populations at minimal environmental expense. The efforts towards environmental consciousness do not stop there. One of the more prominent trends in sustainability is the electric car. Electric cars reduce the necessity for fossil fuel consumption and thus reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One of the more prevalent brands in electric car technology is Tesla Motors. After founding PayPal, one of the most successful online financial exchange providers, Elon Musk moved on to bring Tesla Motors into fruition. Tesla Motors has found a very specific niche at the crossroads of the luxury automobile and environmentally conscious technology markets.

The New Control4 Experience - 2015 - Control4 OS 2.7, New Touchscreens, System Remote, and More! Watch the Livestream April 22, 2015 at 7 pm EST

The New Control4 Experience – 2015 – Control4 OS 2.7, New Touchscreens, System Remote, and More! Watch the Livestream April 22, 2015 at 7 pm EST

Join us for The Smarter Living Experience—an online event that will give you an in-depth look at the slew of new products, features and experiences that Control4 has just announced for the smart home. If you are ready to make your house smart (or smarter), you won’t want to miss it! For details, visit http://www.control4.com/o/live-event?dealer=aud941.

 

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