How Shure and its national distributor, Sun Infonet, are listening to end users and building solutions for India’s growing AV market.

The convergence of IT and AV, along with the rise of AI, is reshaping how Indian customers work. Jose A. Rivas, Vice President of Global Sales at Shure, and Neeraj Chandra, Director of Operations at Sun Infonet, Shure’s national distributor in India, discuss Shure’s response.

“India is a growth market for us,” says Jose. “It has been a growth market for the past five years.” According to Jose, India has delivered the highest growth Shure has seen in any single market over that period. Shure’s numbers indicate that India could become a $14 billion AV market, and Jose says the company believes it can help shape that market.

Jose lists three priorities for India. First, better understand end users’ needs: how they work, what their pain points are, and which problems Shure needs to solve.

The second is to keep developing the distribution channels, both AV and IT, so products and solutions reach the market with the value-added they should carry. The third is to develop solutions beyond products, so Shure’s technology works together to give customers the solutions they need to do their work.

Jose sees the three as one loop. Shure must know what end users need, deliver products and solutions to customers through value-added channels, and then see those solutions work in the market to solve customers’ problems. “It comes full circle,” he says.

From microphones to the meeting room

Shure began in audio, then moved into ceiling microphones, and now into video bars. The interviewer noted that the video conferencing space is very crowded with brands, that Shure is the latest entrant, and asked what drove the shift and how the company views the competition.

Neeraj highlights AI and certification. Shure’s latest video bar is Microsoft-certified, he says, and the ceiling microphones and bars are all AI-enabled. With Microsoft and Zoom certifications, “that gives us an edge in the market,” he says. Sun Infonet has always focused on key business trends, such as enterprise, UC, and live sound, and on deeper penetration into regional markets. Thanks to Shure bringing in these value-added products, he says, a paradigm shift is underway.

Jose says the shift comes from listening. “We are always listening to our end users,” he says. “We need to provide solutions to the problems they face.”

Two trends shaping the industry

Asked about the biggest trends in Indian AV, Jose names two. The first is the convergence of IT and AV, which he says is front and center, not only from the channel point of view but also from the user point of view, among the people specifying products and how those products need to work for their applications.

The second is AI, which he says you cannot go anywhere without hearing about or using.

Jose says Shure’s products have AI at their core, and they are also designed with AI in mind. He compares it to Microsoft’s line: if you cannot understand, I cannot help you. “Our products have to enable AI to work properly,” he says, so people can use AI tools to work more efficiently.

In his view, India is one of the markets adopting AI fastest, not only for research but also in how Indian professionals use AI to work more efficiently. “Our solutions are front and center from that point of view,” he says.

Neeraj sees the same shift. He says the interaction of AV with IT is an emerging trend, and what amazed him on the first day was AI’s role in workflows.

A partnership 25 years deep

Shure is 101 years old, and Sun Infonet has been part of that history for more than 25 years. “For a quarter of Shure’s history, Sun Infonet has been part of that DNA,” Jose says. India is a partner-led market for Shure. Shure trusts its partners to bring its products to the Indian market with the proper added value, support, and services, and Jose calls them the company’s eyes in the market. Shure supplements this with its own resources to stay close to end users.

“It’s always a partnership,” Jose says. Each side has clear roles and responsibilities because the aim is to deliver as much value as possible to end users and channels.

Neeraj says it is great to partner with one of the best audio brands in the industry. “The moment you say Shure, there’s no second thought about it,” he says. With Sun Infonet’s deep understanding of the Indian market, its distribution network, and market demand, Shure has supported the company throughout. Every day brings a new challenge and excitement, he says, and he gets excited seeing new products come in and gets new ideas every day about what to do next.

He credits Shure with introducing innovative products, bringing in new teams, and communicating transparently with customers, with the two companies engaging with them jointly. He says that level of confidence carries over to customers and end users. They feel confident that their investments are worthwhile when the two partners are together.

The trust built over the years is such that people say, if you say it’s done, it’s done. Whether it is deliverables, support, warranties or servicing, Neeraj says it is one window.

Neeraj adds that Sun Infonet has 28 years of industry experience and is adapting to what the industry needs. Its networking with partners, consultants and integrators helps. “It’s a confidence-building exercise,” he says, and people are trusting. He describes the partnership as a perfect marriage, as perfect as it gets.

The road ahead

For Shure, the path ahead returns to the three priorities Jose outlined: understanding end users’ needs, developing the AV and IT channels, and building solutions beyond products. The aim, he says, is to keep solving customers’ pain points, and India remains the market where Shure has seen its highest growth over the past five years.

For Sun Infonet, the focus remains on enterprise, UC, and live sound, with deeper penetration in regional markets. Neeraj says every new product brings new ideas about what to do next. Sun Infonet hopes to deliver strong business, what he calls the bottom line, and, as he puts it, continue to grow alongside the leaders.