From their roots renting fax machines in the 1980s to installing large scale digital signage and interactive collaboration solutions today, United Kingdom-based Involve has always been passionate about one thing: communication.
“Empowering people to connect simply but effectively is core to our business and a fundamental requirement of work practices today,” said Jason Ward, Sales Director for Involve. “We create the solutions and provide the environments which bring real value by helping teams work together on key projects, wherever they are.”
As the AV Industry Evolves, so Does Involve
As user needs evolved and new capabilities like video conferencing came on the market in the late 1980s, Involve expanded their portfolio to meet the changing needs of their customers. In 1995, they won their first major AV integration contract as the prime contractor on a video link project for a prison system. That project was the start of a key part of Involve’s business.
“We are known here in the UK as the criminal justice integrators,” said Paul Berry, Director of Operations. “We have installed and supported thousands of courtroom and prison video systems, all connected to the Ministry of Justice network.”
To meet the unique security requirements of clients in this space, all Involve engineers carry a Cosmic Top Secret security clearance, the NATO equivalent of the U.S. Top Secret Clearance. Additionally, Involve employees hold 21+ CTS certifications, and the company is ISO 9001, ISO20001 and ISO 27001 certified. The ISO 9001 certification means Involve adheres to established international standards for quality management so that they can meet the statutory requirements of customers anywhere. Adherence to the ISO 2700 family of standards (and Cyber Essentials Plus) further helps Involve provide reliable and consistent information security management across all their projects. By following the PRINCE2 framework for all their projects, Involve further ensures that projects are thoroughly planned before they begin, that every phase of the project is clearly structured, and that there are no loose ends left when the project is finished.
Involve has also made a name for themselves in the growing healthcare and telemedicine space, embracing video and cloud-based solutions to meet the evolving needs of both patients and providers.
“Involve has a unique set of services built for healthcare,” Jason said. “For example, we have a cloud service that resides on the National Health Service (NHS) network and supports programs such as a doctor to patient consultation service, a video-based interpretation service (both spoken and sign language), and traditional calling and video conferencing.”
In total, Involve completes about 250 AV design and integration projects a year. You can read more about their work here.
PSNI Supports Involve’s Ongoing Growth
Involve hasn’t just grown the services they provide to keep up with the demands of a changing AV industry—they’ve grown as a company as well. In 2011, Involve had 55 employees. Today, they operate with 122 employees out of five offices. And, as members of the PSNI Global Alliance, Involve enjoys a global reach. In their two years as a PSNI affiliate, Involve has partnered with Meritech, Granteq, and VCA, and Involve looks forward to events such as the PSNI Super Summit and ISE to connect with fellow affiliates, strengthen existing relationships, and establish new ones.
Strong industry connections and sharing experiences and lessons learned through affiliate partnerships will only become more important as the AV industry continues to evolve, and companies like Involve change and expand to keep up. The days when AV meant TV and radio are long gone, and so are the days when experience with just sound engineering or just video installation was enough to make you an AV expert.
So, in the eyes of Involve, what does the AV of tomorrow look like—and what will it require?
“The further integration of AV and IT is changing the type of expert the industry needs,” Jason said. “We often talk about how the industry is full of ‘ex-rock and roll’ guys who came up on the live audio side of things and learned the rest of the industry on the job. I expect the future of the AV industry to shift from ‘ex-rock and roll’ to ‘evolved IT.’ And evolved IT professionals are technologists who want to be more involved in the customer experience. The generation about to join our workforce has grown up with smartphones, fast internet, and the cloud. That will change the workplace as well as user expectations and experiences.”
You can learn more about Involve here.
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Thank you, Involve, for being our Member of the Week!
