Steve Berrey, Areas of expertise: business and product management, infrastructure and cabling, and network design and security
#HITECnola Part 5
I went to HITEC this year looking specifically for innovation in guest internet solutions and convergence benefits from consolidation and partnerships. One announcement caught my attention from SONIFI/Single Digits. Bernard Poncelet from Single Digits said the company is promising authentication to the casting experience via the sign-on into the Wi-Fi system.
(editor’s note: TeleAdapt announced its Roomcast, powered by Chromecast, a media streaming solution for hotels. The company also announced that Aloft New Orleans Downtown became the first to pilot RoomCast Powered by Chromecast. And also new to the scene but with decades behind them, ADB sponsored the HITEC welcome reception and really launched their brand. Touting the phrase, the biggest hotel interactive TV provider you’ve never heard of, ADB made a big push this year.)
While I was hoping to find new, exciting and even disruptive technologies this year, honestly, I found that this industry is woefully in need of more innovation or consolidation to achieve better economies of scale. Announcements from last year’s HITEC are barely products at this year’s show, and in the guest internet space, the dreams of many years ago are still not coming to pass. Wi-fi is slightly faster, the guest experience is the same or marginally better in a few convergence partnerships. But the overall feel is one of a mature market, when we all know technology is continuing at a blistering pace forward.
This special report is part of a 6-part HITEC 2016 summary focusing on specific technology areas from this year’s event. The previously released part 1 and 2 are available on the TechTalk Blog. And segments 4-6 are available at the links below.