Recently, our team hit the show floor at InfoComm 2025, the world’s largest professional audiovisual (AV) trade show. It’s a place where the cutting edge of AV meets the practical realities of delivering technology in the field. The sessions, panels, and exhibitor conversations gave us a window into what’s next—not just in AV hardware, but in the way technology, networking, and service delivery are converging.

Here are two standout themes from the event that we think will shape the industry in the months and years ahead.

1. The Growing Fusion of AV and IT

If there was one phrase that kept surfacing in conversations and panels, it was AV-over-IP. More than ever, AV systems, from conference rooms to stadium jumbotrons, depend on robust, secure network infrastructure. It’s not enough to simply install a display; the hardware now lives in an ecosystem of VLAN configurations, cloud integrations, and bandwidth management.

This fusion creates both challenges and opportunities:

• Skill set evolution: AV techs now need to be part installer, part IT specialist. They should be comfortable with networking, security, multi-platform systems, and remote management, all while collaborating across IT, facilities, and design teams to deliver fully integrated solutions.
• Cross-department collaboration: Projects now require facilities teams, IT departments, electrical contractors, and AV specialists to work in sync from day one.
• Hardware longevity & flexibility: With standards changing quickly, OEMs and integrators are pushing for future-proof deployments, whether through modular hardware or software-driven feature updates.

For service providers, this means a rising need for technicians who can bridge both worlds. It also underscores the value of marketplaces that can quickly connect the right skill sets to the right projects.

2. LED displays: beyond the rectangle

LED technology dominated InfoComm, but the story isn’t just about brighter screens, it’s about design freedom. Modern day LED solutions can be any shape or size and integrate into environments as diverse as retail spaces, sports arenas, and living buildings designed to meet the highest sustainability standards.

Here are a few additional takeaways we noticed about LED displays: 

• Customization is essential: OEMs showed off jaw-dropping projects, from 192 uniquely-shaped panels for the WWE HQ logo to curved and flexible displays that blur the line between architecture and media. For service providers, this means opportunities to specialize in complex, one-off installations where precision engineering, creative problem-solving, and long-term maintenance expertise become key differentiators.
• Service and warranty will drive the market: With hundreds of LED manufacturers worldwide, buyers will gravitate toward brands that can ensure long-term support. For service providers, it means demand will increasingly favor those who can partner with reputable OEMs, deliver manufacturer-certified installs, and offer reliable post-installation support.
• Network-powered displays: Power over Ethernet (PoE) for smaller displays is here, with larger-scale PoE solutions on the horizon. This development will further tighten the AV-IT relationship.

With all of these developments in LED displays, service companies have a massive opportunity to become experts in the commissioning, calibration, and maintenance of these complex systems. As these displays get more sophisticated, the skill required to keep them running will only grow.

Bridge the gap between AV advancements and opportunity with Field Nation

InfoComm confirmed what many leaders in the field service industry already know: AV is no longer a siloed specialty; it’s part of a broader (and growing) technology ecosystem. From hybrid workplace strategies to data-driven content delivery, the future belongs to those who can adapt, integrate, and deliver.

The Field Nation marketplace helps bridge the gap between AV developments and effective solutions by connecting field service companies with skilled, independent AV technicians. Learn how Field Nation makes it easy to find the right expertise, right when and where you need it, so projects get done on time, on budget, and to the highest standard. And if you’re a service company specializing in AV, we’d love to hear from you and help you connect to more work.