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Sony Electronics has already introduced several new professional products this year and has much more coming, according to Richard Ventura, vice president of B2B at Sony Electronics Professional Solutions Americas.

“It’s kind of nice to finally say 2021,” he said Feb. 9 during the Launch Week 3.0 online conference. “2020 was a crazy year for us all,” he said, noting: “It changed a lot of things – personally and professionally – for us all. It changed how we work. It changed how we engage with our customers, our employees and everything in between.”

And now “we see 2021 as really a transformation year – especially” for the professional product sector, including audio/video (AV) and digital signage, he said.

“AV itself has changed,” he said. After all, “we engage differently today than we’ve ever done before [and] it’s almost like we have to learn now how do we re-engage face to face once we get back to the new ‘normal.’”

Meanwhile, “collaboration has really evolved for all of us,” he said, recalling: “I can remember the first time last year” when many people needed to start using collaboration platforms via their laptops to communicate with their teams, and everybody didn’t know how to do it. “But we’ve all become experts at it unfortunately – and I think it’s also challenged all the software companies and the hardware companies to step up their game.”

An old technology also made its return last year: QR codes, he noted, adding: “A lot of use forgot QR codes and it’s amazing how that little tool has allowed us to do even more.”

The Latest Sony Pro Products

“Signage itself is really constantly evolving and we’re committed to being part of that solution with products that we’ve launched before today” as well as some new Bravia displays that it just announced in the 32- and 100-inch screen sizes, he said, adding: “We’ve got a heavy focus and commitment into the space.”

He was referring to the new 100-inch FW-100BZ40J and 32-inch FW-32BZ30J Bravia 4K HDR professional displays that Sony announced Tuesday.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics, meanwhile, are “going to really drive our industry forward,” he predicted.

We’re also “seeing this amazing evolution that’s happened” with direct view LED and Sony has “one of the most amazing direct Vview LED solutions in the industry and we’re not just sitting on our laurels,” he said, adding: “We’re coming out with new products and launching a lot of new technologies.”

On that front, Sony unveiled  its latest premium direct view LED display systems earlier this year and showcased them again on Tuesday: the modular Crystal LED C-series (ZRD-C12A/C15A) with high contrast and B-series (ZRD-B12A/B15A) with high brightness.

“We’re going to constantly be pushing out a lot of new products and a lot of new solutions as we go forward,” Ventura said.

The “Keys to 2021 Success”

What does Sony think will be the “keys to 2021 success?” Those, he said, will be: “Preparation, connection and agility.”

He explained: “We’ve all got to be prepared. You’ve got to have the right products, the right solutions, the right understanding of your customers.”

Also, “as an industry and as a society, we have to remain connected,” he said. “We’re connected right now digitally, which is awkward for most of us. We have to really find a way to maintain those personal connections.”

And the “key to growth for a successful company is being able to ebb and flow and be agile with what attacks you at all times,” he said, adding: One thing that Sony heavily focuses on is “how can we be agile to the market, to the needs of our customers and  our partners?”