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"Savant" comes from the French word for "knowing." While waiting for
the coffee to kick in this morning, I realized that this etymology
anchored Savant Systems' Dealer Conference, held May 2-4 in Cape Cod,
Massachusetts -- the tranquil island where the company is based.
While Savant is a relatively new name in the
control, automation, and switching industry, it will celebrate its
third CEDIA this year, and is proud of its numerous alliances with
major diverse manufacturers through its Excellence in AV Program.
It considers itself the
most "open" of its peers, an electronics manufacturer with a radically
new concept, said Jim Carroll, company president. What makes it so
different? Its products are open architecture and open standards-based.
What's more, many of its new products leverage Apple end-programming
and automation technology. Included in Mac OS X, Apple's Automator
operating system helps create or edit automated workflows of computing
tasks.
The quote behind Savant president Jim Carroll: "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible." PHOTOS BY: Joseph Tabacca Photography
Savant's Apple-friendliness caught the attention of system integrator
Aaron Andrew. "I install AppleTV, which clients like," he said, "and
clients used to iTunes can use this system easily. Clients appreciate
it."
Andrew, president of the successful Mission Viejo firm Audio Video
Design, was one of the 100 custom integrators who joined the conference
this year. Sixty percent of the attendees were already Savant dealers,
while the remainder traveled to scenic Cape Cod to explore new products
and meet Savant engineers. There are about half a dozen major
manufacturers jockeying for market share in the residential control
systems category. According to recent figures from CEDIA and the CEA,
there are approximately 6,000 custom dealers in the U.S., and related
sales topped $8 million last year. Savant says that its typical
integrator averages $2 million in sales per annum.
Company executives consider their products nothing less than "game
changing" because of the convergence of IT, AV, and interactivity. "We
are trying to change an industry," said Bob Madonna, Savant CEO. "Our
mission is to program complex AV systems without writing code."
Madonna also extolled the virtues of Racepoint Blueprint, which is the
heart of Savant's software. Racepoint Blueprint is an open,
multi-layered graphically based operating system that impacts every
aspect of a custom installer's business, from operations, labor,
procedures and methods, to billing. It supports Savant's expanding
hardware portfolio as well as third-party components and subsystems,
Madonna explained.
More than half of this year's 80 attendees were authorized Savant dealers.
During the Dealer Conference, Sal Soghoian, product manager of
Automation Technologies for Apple Inc., gave a riveting presentation on
why people use automation, and how the classic benefits of automation
apply to Savant's innovative approach for the home. He closed his talk
with a demonstration of converting a story posted on a website to a
spoken audio file stored on an iPhone. Then Soghoian showed how to
create workflows on the fly.
In the classic Socratic sense, "asking" is integral to "knowing."
Perhaps that is why Savant asked dealers to give their feedback on each
product in the live, interactive vignettes. Marketing director Craig
Spinner explained that the feedback from last year's conference was not
only helpful, but it also assisted engineers in developing six new
"Rosie" products, including multi-room audio/video controllers and
high-definition LCD Touch TVs with built-in IP connectivity.
Savant's sleek new touchscreen keypads with customizable interfaces.
The new Savant-branded keypads were handsome and easy to use, and there
were also new streaming video components and a multi-room AV switching
component via the Rosie 12, a new thin, behind-the-TV box introduced to
drive the OSD onscreen display. Last but not least was the "candy dish"
remote, a real conversation piece that put Savant on the map when it
first entered the market. The hand-held jog-wheel remote features
satisfying weight and tactile control, which is a god-send for
iPod-enthusiasts. All of the new products are now available.
The Rosie Coffee Table created a stir last year when it debuted. It is
equipped with a 40-inch touch surface and can download music, movies,
and photos instantly. It syncs iTunes libraries, IP-networked digital
cameras, and business card readers from the graphical user interface.
Savant says that the Coffee
Industry veterans like Randy Massey, Bill Skaer, and Randy Presley were invited to Cape Cod for a closer look at Savant's line of Rosie touchscreen products.
Table is the next stage of interactive
technology as it brings the converged functionality of a touchpanel to
an interactive surface that's exciting for the whole family. Mainstream
media ate up the Apple-based Coffee Table, which slightly resembles the
Microsoft Surface Technology Table that launched a year after Rosie.
While the Coffee Table is a sleek glass surface, it isn't a crystal
ball. Savant can't predict the future, but it says it can ensure future
business stability with scaleable and robust solutions. Open-standards
and code-free programming can help dealers move as the market moves and
grow as the market grows. "It's evolution," Carroll added. To Savant,
"knowing" is a verb, noun, and adjective, but it's also a state of
mind.
Spinner added that this year's conference saw a 75-percent growth in
attendance over last year, and that the network of Savant-authorized
integrators grows every day.
