The professional AV industry is undergoing a fundamental shift as software becomes just as critical as the hardware powering today's production environments. Driven by advances in IP connectivity, artificial intelligence, and increasingly interconnected workflows, software-defined solutions enable greater flexibility, interoperability, and scalability across the AV ecosystem.
In this Q&A, Mike Bergeron, Senior Product Manager, Live Production Systems and Video Production at Panasonic Video & Audio Systems shares his perspective on the trends driving this transformation, how organizations benefit from software-defined workflows, and why open, connected ecosystems will play a defining role in the future of professional AV.
Q: The professional AV industry has traditionally been centered around hardware. What is driving the shift toward software-defined solutions?
A: While hardware remains the foundation of each deployment, we’re seeing software introducing intelligence that connects systems, enables automation, and simplifies operations.
One driver is the growing complexity of live production environments, with organizations managing distributed teams, hybrid workflows, and a variety of connected systems. To keep pace, they need flexible solutions that can adapt and scale as operational needs evolve.
A second trend is the demand for, more adaptable technology investments with a longer life cycle. Customers want solutions that can improve over time without requiring major infrastructure changes. Software-defined platforms enable this by allowing organizations to add new capabilities and intelligence while extending the value of their existing hardware investments. Systems can keep improving with the help of customer input.
Q: How have software-defined workflows emerged over recent years?
A: Production workflows have evolved from standalone, hardware-focused systems into more connected, flexible, and scalable ecosystems. Upgrades had to wait for camera firmware versions. Today, organizations are looking for platforms that allow different technologies to work together seamlessly, regardless of manufacturer, and integrate with their existing infrastructure.
This shift is being driven by the adoption of IP-based production, remote monitoring, AI-assisted workflows, and virtualization. These technologies give organizations greater flexibility to adapt workflows over time, manage systems more efficiently, and scale operations as their needs change.
Q: What business benefits are organizations realizing from software-defined applications?
A: Software-defined environments allow organizations to respond more quickly to changing business needs because functionality can often be added or updated without replacing existing hardware. That extends the useful life of deployed systems and improves long-term return on investment.
Organizations also benefit from centralized management, simplified maintenance, remote diagnostics, and greater operational visibility. Those capabilities reduce complexity for IT and AV teams while improving reliability and helping organizations maximize the value of their technology investments.
As our systems become more connected, software also provides the flexibility to adapt workflows over time instead of locking organizations into fixed architectures.
Q: How is Panasonic approaching this evolution toward software-defined AV?
A: We believe our customers shouldn't have to choose between innovation and protecting their existing investments. That’s why our focus is helping customers build technology ecosystems that are flexible enough to meet today’s needs and adaptable for the future. We strive to keep our customers systems eligible for our upcoming innovations.
Our solutions combine reliable hardware with intelligent software while embracing open standards and broad industry interoperability. Whether it's live production and broadcast environments, higher education, corporate, or houses of worship, we're creating platforms that simplify deployment and management and allow organizations to expand capabilities as their needs evolve.
Q: Why is interoperability becoming such an important part of modern AV deployments?
A: Very few organizations build technology environments using products from a single manufacturer. Instead, we're seeing the industry move towards a connected ecosystem where software serves as the common layer that enables devices, platforms, and workflows to operate as a unified system.
Open architectures and interoperable platforms give customers greater flexibility to integrate best-in-class solutions while avoiding unnecessary complexity. They also provide the agility to adopt new technologies as innovation continues to accelerate.
Q: Looking ahead, what do you see as the next phase of software-defined AV?
A: The organizations that succeed will be those that view software not as a feature, but as a strategic foundation for building more intelligent, scalable, and resilient AV environments.
I think we’ll continue to see software become even more central to how professional AV systems are deployed, managed, and optimized. Artificial intelligence will play an important role in automating routine tasks, optimizing system performance, and providing actionable insights. On another level AI will accelerate the software development cycle, and these more frequent updates will continue to deliver new capabilities throughout the lifecycle of a deployment, helping organizations adapt their systems as needs evolve.
As the industry evolves, innovation will be defined by how effectively technologies connect and work together. Panasonic is committed to helping lead that evolution by working with our technology partners to deliver open, software-defined solutions that empower customers to build more connected, intelligent systems.