Colombia. According to the survey recently conducted by the organization InfoComm Colombia, among entrepreneurs from all sectors of the national economy, 30.1% of them believe that education in the country is the sector lagging behind due to lack of adequate technologies in academic processes, while 29.7% say that it is agriculture, the most left, taking into account the great potential of our country in this segment.
And, with respect to the first figure, according to the Ministry of National Education, in Colombia there are seven students for each technological device, and while it is true that these tools have not proven to be 100% "cost-effective", as an OECD report assures, the use of projectors, interactive screens or virtual reality devices, they are still exclusive to a large minority of educational institutions, which have put their hand in their pockets and have not been afraid to innovate.
As for agriculture, for example the use of drones, or video surveillance, they are still considered "exotic" tools and very far from the purchasing power of the generality of the Colombian countryside, which although it is very prolific, is also one of the poorest in the region.
Likewise, in the opinion of 14.1% of respondents, government entities need to update their audio, video, lighting, Networks, Voice and Data technologies to be more effective, while 10% of them say that the country's industry also shows an evident technological lag in this regard, and, with less representative percentages, it is perceived that segments such as banking, entertainment and commerce in general, show significant delays in implementing these technologies for development.
InfoComm Colombia, an organization that next October holds in Bogotá the tenth edition of its fair, considered the most important in the region and that, precisely, is dedicated to the industries of integration of multimedia technologies and IT, advanced this survey as openers of the event, which annually brings together more than 5,000 participants and more than 70 exhibitors from around the world.
In order to know what are the types of technologies (referring to these industries), of greater growth in Colombia, said survey found that 45% of the interviewees assured that connectivity is at the forefront, while 29.7% of them affirmed that it is the audio and video solutions that show a greater dynamic, followed by the digital signage, control rooms and lighting systems industries.
In relation to connectivity, the survey figure is consistent with the connectivity study in Colombia which, according to the latest report of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, at the end of the third quarter of 2018, the country reached a total of 31.01 million broadband Internet connections.
With reference to the Audio and Video industry, and according to the market study "Panorama of the professional audio and video industry (Pro AV) and trend analysis IOTA 2017, produced by AVIXA, in collaboration with IHS Markit, Colombia as an important player in the region, is an important part of the growth of this business in the Americas. According to this study, growth is forecast for this market that can reach USD 83 billion by 2022 in the region.
With regard to the investment of Colombian companies in this type of technology, the survey shows that in the opinion of its respondents, at present, 37.5% of organizations invest between 10 and 20 million pesos a year, while 29.7% of them spend between 5 and 10 million, and 28.6%, from 1 to 5 million, in the same period.
Thus, as the last data reported for the year 2018, the sectors that contribute the most to this indicator are private companies (51.94%) and the public sector through the general budget of the nation and royalties (22.34%).
Likewise, compared to the frequency with which companies make investments in technology, 20% of respondents said they do it once a year, while another 20% of them observe that organizations do it twice a year, 15%, every 3 years and 14.1%, every 5 years.
Wanting to inquire about the consumption trends of Colombian households, the InfoComm Colombia survey reveals that 45.3% of its respondents say that it is the audio and video solutions, for which they are most inclined, while 42.2% of them highlight that they are home automation applications, followed by IP telephony applications.
This trend, which is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to the massification and cost reduction of solutions such as audio, lighting and video surveillance, has been enhanced by the Hand of the Internet of Things because in the Colombian market are already everyday, smart refrigerators, interactive screens and all kinds of applications to control the home remotely, even from the cell phone.
It is important to note that, according to the survey, among households consuming this type of technology, 73% invest from 1 to 5 million pesos and 20.3% spend 5 to 10 million pesos when it comes to providing their family enclosures, while a smaller percentage is willing to pay between 10 and 20 million in this type of solutions.
According to Víctor Alarcón, director of the organization in the country, "this survey offers a panorama that we can already validate first-hand within the framework of the InfoComm Colombia 2019 fair, which this year celebrates 10 years in the country, and which constitutes the best reference in this industry by bringing together the most important manufacturers, distributors, engineering firms, rental firms, integration and installation contractors, as well as end users."
Likewise, Alarcón assures that the event, organized by AVI Latin America & AVIXA, this year will occupy pavilions 11 and 16 of Corferias and this time will have more than 50 speakers and multiple spaces dedicated to specialized professional training programs.
