Building a standard
This week's show features our host Ron Callis interviewing Josh Christian. Recorded live at 12:30pm EST on Wednesday June 12th, 2019.
About Josh Christian
Josh is a home technology veteran, starting on the retail side of the industry in 1995. After leaving retail in 1998, he moved to a high-end custom integration firm in Los Angeles where he specialized in sales & marketing through 2014. In 2015 he worked even more closely with architects, builders, and interior designers as a low-voltage consultant and design engineer. Since early 2017 Josh is proud to run the Home Technology Association, the association that helps consumers and specifiers find the best-qualified home technology professionals.
Interview Recap
Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Josh Christian
- An overall update on HTA Certification, how many dealers are certified and what successes are they seeing.
- Discussion of the power of the HTA Technology Budget Calculator, how dealers are leveraging it
- Announcing that the Budget Calculator may now be embedded in a dealer's website
- Announcing that HTA Certified dealers getting a special tracking URL that will always list them at the top of the dealer finder
- Discussion of why a company certification matters
- Discuss what HTA is NOT (a listing service like Angie's List, HomeAdvisor, etc.)
on Wednesday, 12 June 2019.
Posted in Industry Professionals
Quality > Quantity
This week's show features our host Ron Callis interviewing Eric Thies. Recorded live on Wednesday March 27th, 2019 at 12:30pm EST.
About Eric Thies
Eric Thies is the founder of DSI Luxury Technology, a high-end integration firm in Los Angeles that happens to be the most award-winning CI company in North America. Eric also is a member of The Guild, an alliance of the best integrators in the US. Eric sits on the board of Azione and also is an underpaid and overworked volunteer for the Home Technology Association, which is his passion project.
Interview Recap
Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Eric Thies
- Eric’s background and how he got into the CI industry
- The impending correction of the economy
- The Guild
- Latest HTA news
on Wednesday, 27 March 2019.
Posted in Industry Professionals
Forming clear standards for the AV and automation industry
In this Automation Unplugged interview, Ron speaks with Josh Christian, Director of Certification at Home Technology Assocation. The HTA is a newly formed certification body for custom integrators, providing clear standards for integrators and helping homeowners and trade professionals find the best technology experts in their area.
About Josh Christian
Josh has been a technology enthusiast since a young boy, working hard to earn straight A's as a 6th grade student so he could get the loudspeakers and turntable he wanted so badly. Straight A's were earned, the new stereo was earned, and he has never looked back!
Josh's first job in the electronics industry was as a salesperson at what was then called Wilshire TV & Stereo, now called Wilshire Media Systems in Thousand Oaks, CA in 1995. Josh joined custom installation company DSI Entertainment Systems in late 1998, where he helped the firm grow into one of the largest custom AV installation, home theater, and home automation companies until it was folded into VIA International in 2013. In May 2015 Josh joined Axiom Design, a low-voltage technology consultant specializing in the design and engineering of home technology systems.
Josh is an experienced educator, teaching at the annual CEDIA Expo from 2002 to 2006 and delivering several dozen industry outreach presentations to some of the top architects, general contractors, and interior designers in the USA. In serving in several different roles, as a technology salesperson, a marketing specialist to the design & build trades, an industry outreach liaison, and as a technology consultant, Josh brings years of experience and perspective to the Home Technology Association. Josh's goal has always been to deliver exceptional technology experiences to clients, and in his role as Director of Certification for the HTA, he gets to expand on that goal as he identifies the top home technology installation firms and brings them the recognition they so badly deserve.
Interview Recap
Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Josh:
- Josh's background in the AV industry
- The response to HTA's public launch
- The big names on HTA's board of advisors
- Why HTA formed
- HTA's goals for the industry
- The value of HTA to integrators, manufacturers, homeowners, and trade professionals
- Details on the certification process and requirements
- And more
on Wednesday, 04 October 2017.
Posted in Certification Bodies
Apple Podcast
Spotify
Pocket Casts
iHeartRadio
Stitcher
RadioRepublic
Deezer
Tune In
Google Podcast