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Where Does the Ecosystem Shift Leave the AV Specialists?
Q-SYS, Barco, Biamp, Sennheiser and specialist suppliers have different routes into the platform era. Shared foundations can expand opportunity—and shift bargaining power.
If the meeting room market converges around shared software foundations, what happens to the companies whose value comes from solving particular AV problems?
The answer is more interesting than “the big platforms swallow everyone”. Some specialists can become more valuable. Others risk becoming interchangeable parts in someone else's system.
The companies below illustrate different strategic positions. They should not all be treated as small suppliers, or as vendors making the same architectural bet.
Q-SYS already brings an ecosystem argument. Its position extends beyond a camera or speaker to room integration and control. It has joined MDEP, with its QSP-11 scheduling panel built on Android 15 and MDEP. Its announced RoomSuite Collaboration Bar, however, is Windows-based.[1][2] That mixed approach demonstrates why joining MDEP does not mean moving an entire portfolio onto Android. The opportunity is coordinating rooms; the challenge is retaining that value when simpler systems cover more requirements.
Barco can occupy the connection point. ClickShare Hub Pro is a modular MDEP-based room system combining a native meeting experience with ClickShare content sharing.[3] Partnerships let it assemble room solutions without manufacturing every microphone or camera. Its opportunity is making the combined experience convenient. Its risk is that sharing and meeting platforms increasingly provide more of that convenience themselves.
Biamp can connect compute with its audio ecosystem. Devio UCX combines UC compute and DSP, with Biamp Launch commissioning and Workplace management. Biamp now lists UCX 1000 as shipping.[4][5] That is a direct response to the platform shift. The challenge is proving that audio performance and commissioning advantages justify choosing its wider system.
Sennheiser can win through complementary expertise. Its TeamConnect Bar M is offered in a certified Teams Rooms bundle with Barco's Hub Pro.[6] That demonstrates participation in an MDEP-based system without establishing that the Sennheiser bar itself runs MDEP. The opportunity is trusted audio and AV performance across partnerships. The risk is having less influence over the compute platform and overall customer relationship.
Other specialists face variations of the same choice. Huddly supplies differentiated video within Barco bundles; Shure has announced MDEP participation; AVer continues to offer Teams-certified cameras.[7][8][9] These examples show several routes: join the platform, partner around it, or supply certified peripherals. Certification and MDEP participation are different claims.
Collectively, shared foundations can lower barriers and make specialist products easier to include in enterprise deployments. Individually, success depends on being difficult to replace for a reason customers can measure.
The counterweight is bargaining power. Whoever owns the room specification, management portal and support relationship may shape which suppliers get selected. A superb component can become commercially vulnerable if customers barely know who supplied it.
For resellers, this creates an important responsibility: turn partnerships into clear accountability. A certified bundle still needs someone to resolve problems spanning several companies.
My assessment is that specialists retain a strong future where they solve difficult problems better than integrated alternatives. They become vulnerable when their differentiation is merely a specification that the next product refresh can copy.
Will the platform era make specialist AV expertise more valuable—or will the companies owning the room ecosystem capture the value while specialists do the difficult work?
Sources
- Q-SYS: QSP-11 scheduling panel
- Q-SYS: Collaboration portfolio and RoomSuite announcement
- Barco: ClickShare Hub Pro
- Biamp: MDEP and Devio UCX
- Biamp: Devio UCX now shipping
- Barco: Sennheiser TeamConnect Bar M room system
- Huddly: Barco room bundles
- Shure: MDEP participation
- AVer: TR535 Teams certification
Product positions checked October 11, 2026. Strategic opportunities and risks are the author's assessment.