Integrate 2026 provided an excellent opportunity to interface with the Australian AV market and the market looks like it is set to soar. In the commercial sector, players are consolidating their positions in order to capitalise on the opportunities just over the horizon.
Stable distribution channels
Due to its geographic location, Australia has always been a distributor-led market. The distributors in the country are no strangers to portfolio shuffles, but it seems like we are in a prolonged period of stability.
Almost all of the big distributors had booths and a presence at Integrate 2026 and were showcasing their wares.
The changes, if any, were incremental. A perfect example was the addition of Avonic cameras to the Audio Brands line-up. While not a seismic change, it fleshes out the portfolio of the distributor to better target the verticals and applications it already excels in.
Jands has been appointed as the distributor for Meyer Sound. The agreement comes as Jands parts ways with L-Acoustics.
Perhaps the most significant shift within the last year has been the addition of Shure's conferencing and collaboration products to the Dicker Data distribution portfolio. The move comes as Shure looks to take a more progressive approach to the market.
Integration evolves
While the distribution side of things remains stable, disruption might be on the cards for the integration segment in Australia.
The ripple effects of Forte's acquisition of Vega and departure from GPA are just starting to be felt. Vega Australia in particular will have to respond to the change. But it is too early in the transition to accurately predict how things will unfold.
The big news, however, is the fact that AVI-SPL has established its Australian operation with a new office in Marrickville, Sydney and a new team led by Brigham Milne in the role of managing director for Australia.
AVI-SPL expects the operation to move forward at pace, and the decision to invest in the country and region is a promising, positive sign.
Products and tech
Integrate always provides the Australian AV industry a chance to get hands-on experience with the latest products and technology. Many of the main products introduced to the market earlier in the year were present at the show.
Highlights included Crestron's Collab Compute, Shure's Intellimix Bar Pro, and the Sennheiser Spectera microphones.
Harman Professional introduced new touch panels as part of the Omni platform, and we got a glimpse of the latest Sonos Amp Multi so there were new launches to sink our teeth into as well.
Across the wider floor, the Voice Lift microphone from Maxhub, the smart evolution of Neat's platform to incorporate AI, and Australian-made additions to Lightware's signal extension infrastructure caught our eye.
Visual technologies, in the form of projection and LED, dazzled as always.
In short, there was plenty for AV professionals to get stuck into at Integrate 2026.
Poised for growth
One of the biggest topics of discussion at Integrate 2026 was the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Builders have been shortlisted for the primary stadium projects in the form of two joint ventures: Built and Sacyr, and John Holland and BESIX Watpac. While these are still early stages, the groundwork for being involved has begun. For example, TCL, which is an official Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, has established a distribution deal with Westan.
Ross Video, which has its sights set on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics first, believes that it too is well placed to be involved in the venues required for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
The Brisbane 2032 Olympics is expected to bring growth to the city, the state, and the country with projects spanning across multiple sectors. Along with the venues and stadiums that are expected to be developed, the Australian AV industry is expecting an uptick in ancillary sectors such as hospitality, leisure and entertainment, and transport.
The state of the show
Integrate 2026 was co-located with Fire Security Expo 2026 at the ICC Sydney, as it has been for the past few years.
The change this year was that rather than sharing the show floor, the two exhibitions were in spaces on different floors.
Integrate 2026 took up 2.9 halls of the ICC, up from 2.7 halls last year, which had been shared between the two exhibitions. The expansion was noticeable and the show appeared significant in size.
The show has been going from strength to strength and the trajectory appears to be continuing. The organisers of Integrate revealed plans to perhaps incorporate aspects of smart buildings and connected devices into the show next year.