Dr. Joe Way is the executive director, digital spaces at UCLA, cofounder of HETMA, owner of EdWay Advisory, and AV hall-of-fame inductee.

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For years, business continuity planning treated audiovisual (AV) technology as a supporting service. Conference rooms, production systems, digital signage and communication environments were viewed as conveniences rather than essential components of business operations. That model is quickly becoming outdated.

Audiovisual technology is undergoing a transition. Integration with cloud platforms, collaboration tools, building management systems, workplace applications and enterprise workflows represents the next phase of growth. As AV, IT and unified communications and collaboration (UCC) continue to converge, cloud-based audiovisual infrastructure is becoming essential to resilience, operational efficiency and scalable growth.

AV has moved from rooms to platforms.

Traditional AV systems were designed around individual spaces. Each room had its own equipment, programming and operating logic, often built around the preferences of its primary users, and useless otherwise. This created isolated systems that required specialized knowledge and hands-on support. When something failed, technicians needed to be physically present. Delayed response times could lead to canceled meetings, interrupted events, reduced productivity and higher labor costs.

Developments in open cloud-connected AV provide a more efficient operating model. Devices, rooms and services can be monitored and managed through an enterprise platform. Support teams can view system health, identify recurring issues, deploy updates and adjust configurations across multiple locations, limiting downtime and ensuring continuity across locations in real time.

This approach creates a clearer picture of operational readiness. Organizations can determine whether a room, workflow or communication service is prepared to support the people who depend on it. Business continuity relies on the entire experience, from in-room technology to the cloud services and processes behind it.

Collaboration is critical business infrastructure.

Hybrid and distributed work have permanently changed the role of audiovisual technology. Video meetings, streaming platforms, cloud production tools and virtual collaboration environments are embedded in daily operations. They support decision-making, customer engagement, training, sales, emergency communications and teamwork across locations.

In a traditional boardroom, a failed display or microphone might have caused an inconvenience while the conversation continued. In a remote-first environment, the audiovisual experience is the meeting. An interruption can delay approvals, stall projects, affect customer relationships and prevent employees from accessing essential people and information.

Organizations should evaluate audiovisual services with the same discipline applied to other essential business operations. This includes defining priorities, identifying dependencies, documenting alternative workflows and testing how teams will continue operating during a disruption.

Leaders should know how employees will communicate when a conferencing service is unavailable, how meetings can be redirected when a building loses connectivity and how critical messages will be distributed during a platform outage. Business continuity depends on making these decisions before operations are affected.

Scalability supports continuity.

Scalability is one of the strongest advantages of cloud-AV convergence. Organizations with heavily customized rooms and inconsistent standards often struggle to expand efficiently. Every new space introduces another design, support requirement and life cycle plan. Growth can increase complexity faster than resources can keep pace.

Cloud platforms help organizations apply shared configurations, common standards and repeatable workflows. New rooms, offices and facilities can be added efficiently, while support teams manage a larger footprint through centralized tools.

Standardization also improves continuity. Technicians can diagnose issues faster, maintain common replacement equipment and apply successful solutions across multiple spaces. Meetings and services can move between locations with less disruption because users encounter a familiar experience. A scalable model allows the business to grow without sacrificing reliability or increasing support costs at the same rate.

Visibility enables effective operations.

Cloud-audiovisual platforms provide real-time visibility into device status, room availability, software versions, network conditions and service usage. Integrated with scheduling, service management and building systems, this information helps organizations identify risks earlier.

Usage patterns can reveal repeated failures, aging equipment, capacity limitations and services requiring additional redundancy. These insights support preventive maintenance, life cycle planning, budgeting and resource allocation. However, alerts must connect to documented procedures and responsible teams. Operational data only creates value when it leads to timely action.

AI extends operational audiovisual intelligence.

Artificial intelligence will become, and is rapidly becoming, increasingly important as cloud-connected AV systems integrate with security platforms, enterprise management tools, building systems and organizational data. By aggregating information across these environments, AI can help organizations better understand how people use spaces, services and communication platforms.

This integration, when approached strategically, can create more responsive and personalized experiences. Rooms can be prepared based on meeting requirements, support resources can be directed before an issue causes disruption, and enterprise systems can use shared data to improve space planning, maintenance and resource allocation. Proper AI integration can also help identify unusual activity or access patterns when AV systems are connected to broader cybersecurity and physical security strategies.

My advice, as you consider the role of AI and cloud-AV convergence for your organization, is to always start with the desired business outcomes first. There are many new and emerging tools and products being released, but there's only one right fit for your situation. Map the people, workflows, systems and data involved, then build the cloud-AV strategy around how those must work together. The organizations that succeed will treat this as an enterprise transformation, with AV, IT, security, facilities and operations aligned from the beginning.​​

For employees and customers, the result is often a more consistent, secure and efficient experience. The greatest value of AI will come from its ability to connect previously separate systems and turn their combined data into meaningful action. ​

Continuity necessitates shared ownership.

Cloud-AV convergence connects audiovisual systems with networks, cybersecurity, facilities, workplace technology and business applications. These relationships require coordinated governance and shared standards for architecture, monitoring, security, support, life cycle management and incident response.

Every organization should assess whether its audiovisual systems are enabling business continuity and growth or reinforcing legacy limitations. Organizations that draw on expertise spanning integrated AV, UCC, IT and cybersecurity—whether through internal teams, external partners or both—will be better positioned to scale, adapt and maintain resilient operations as business needs evolve.​

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