Lewis CaliburnOver the past several months, CEDIA has held four Tech + Business Summits across the UK covering Bristol, London, Edinburgh and Leeds. The Association for Smart Home Professionals unveiled its reconceptualised agenda at the start of this year, expanding its programme following the success of CEDIA’s 2023 Tech Summits, which spanned three UK locations.
This year, the Summits were rebranded CEDIA Tech + Business Summits: The Tech You Need, The Business You Want – aimed at combining the dual focus of these events to support members’ success.
The goal of the CEDIA Tech + Business Summits were to provide a unique, accessible opportunity for professionals within the smart tech industry, from business owners and technicians to installers and engineers, to access all their tech needs under one roof. In achieving this, the free events offered attendees the chance to view the latest in innovative technology, created a practical environment to network with fellow industry peers and delivered a range of dynamic, business-centric education.
“We’ve been coming to the CEDIA Tech + Business Summits for quite a few years now,” says Ella Umney from sponsor, Snap One. “They are always a good opportunity to meet with our existing partners, but also to talk with any prospects to learn more about OvrC, Control4, and all the other Snap One brands that we have here. It’s also a smaller, more intimate environment to talk to people in. I’d say if you’re wanting to get on a more personal level with people, it’s a good opportunity as some really high quality, valuable conversations always come out of these events.”
A line-up of insightful business seminars was curated and presented by a selection of hosts. Leslie Shiner from The Shiner Group hosted two sessions over three events on Better Job Costing and Labour Controls to Increase Profits and Growing Your Business Without Growing Out of Business.
Hazel Napier from BEB Consultancy held an interactive session on Late Payments, Paperwork and Problems also at three of the four Summits, and CEDIA’s Steve Carter delved into CEDIA Standards by hosting Money Matters – Enhancing Business Profitability with Standards across all four events.
This year, Bristol was a new addition to the 2024 itinerary, where the Tech + Business Summit tour began at Ashton Gate Stadium in March. This was the first time CEDIA had held an event in the Southwest city in six years and they were pleased with the turnout, with 25 sponsors signing up to showcase their latest products to integrators, electricians, designers and technicians.
“It was great to see the CEDIA Tech + Business Summits return to Bristol after a few years away,” comments Owen Maddock, CinemaWorks. “The event came back to the city bigger than it was before, including more sponsors, better networking opportunities and with a wider focus incorporating the business seminars. The highlight for me was Leslie Shiner. If you ever get the chance to hear Leslie speak, you should take it as it’ll no doubt help your business.”
In London, 55 sponsors attended The Business Design Centre displaying their latest products and getting involved in a packed agenda. Alongside valuable opportunities to network and get hands-on with cutting-edge technology, the London programme also held networking drinks following the event at the Silent Gliss showroom.
“I’ve attended the CEDIA Tech + Business Summits in London for the last two years and have really valued the time that I’ve spent at them,” comments Pip Evans, NVI. “They are the perfect event to drop in for the day (or half a day if time is tight) and catch up with peers and suppliers. This year, I particularly enjoyed the business seminars because while we as integrators are knowledgeable about the technology side of things, very few of us have studied business, so having experts in their field speak to us on these topics is invaluable. I’ve even partnered up with one of the speakers on some work since listening to them speak at the summit. I champion CEDIA to keep the business element to these events going forwards.”
In Edinburgh and Leeds, over 35 sponsors signed up to each event. An episode of The Integrated Home Podcast was also recorded with Stuart Lillis from Limitless Automation and David Coutts of Highland Smart Homes in front of a live industry audience at Edinburgh’s event.
“I was delighted when I was asked to join the live recording of The Integrated Home Podcast at the CEDIA Tech + Business Summit in Edinburgh,” explains Stuart. “Everyone knows that I love to talk about tech, but with it being recorded at the CEDIA event allowed us to dive deeper at times and focus a little more on the business side of things. I loved the interaction that came with being in front of a live audience.”
Across the four UK events, a total of 697 industry professionals were recorded.
“We love attending the CEDIA Tech + Business Summits. I believe they are the best shows that we as a company do,” shares Ronan McTernan from sponsor company, Alltrade. “All four events this year were very positive in terms of customer engagement and ultimately, more customers coming on board and sales. The events are always very well organised, which makes it easy to get on with enjoying the event.”