Bengaluru, March 2 (.) India’s professional audio-visual (pro AV) market is being powered by a “dual engine” of Global Capability Centre (GCC) expansion and post-pandemic technology refresh cycles, according to James Berry, Managing Director – APAC at Diversified.
In an interview to United News of India (.), Berry said the country’s pro AV growth is not being driven by technology hype alone, but by a structural combination of new enterprise build-outs and modernisation of existing workplace environments.
“Both infrastructure and enterprise expansion are driving growth. We’re seeing continued GCC expansion from international corporates, which creates demand for fitting out new premises and enabling new workforces,” he said.
India has emerged as a strategic hub for multinational GCCs, with global firms scaling operations across major cities. Each new centre requires workplace collaboration infrastructure, unified communications systems, digital signages, control rooms and hybrid meeting environments that align with global standards.
At the same time, Berry noted that existing GCCs and enterprise campuses are entering a fresh upgrade cycle.
“Many organisations slowed investment during the COVID period. Now they are refreshing systems to take advantage of newer, AI-driven capabilities and step-changes in AV hardware form factors,” he said.
He described the current growth phase as a “dual engine” dynamic.
“In practice, it’s refresh cycles plus greenfield expansion. We support clients on both tracks — helping modernise estates at scale while delivering new-build deployments that align to global standards and local realities,” Berry said.
Industry projections suggest India’s pro AV market is set to grow at around 6 per cent in 2026, reaching an estimated revenue pool of nearly USD11 billion. According to Berry, this reflects sustained enterprise demand rather than short-term experimentation.
On competition between global and local players, Berry said India’s scale and diversity mean both have a role to play.
“The Indian market is large enough to require both international integrators and strong local competitors,” he said.
He explained that multinational corporates often prefer standardised, high-quality solutions influenced by UK, US or European design frameworks, delivered consistently across geographies. Indian corporates, meanwhile, may prioritise cost efficiency, flexible deployment models and reach into Tier-4 and Tier-5 cities where infrastructure conditions vary.
“Our role is to match value to need — bringing global design and delivery discipline for standardised estates while value-engineering for local business cases and geographies,” he said.
On whether immersive and AI-driven workplaces could reduce the need for traditional AV integration services, Berry offered a balanced perspective.
“Immersive and AI-driven environments will grow in specific use cases, but wholesale displacement of traditional AV is not imminent,” he said.
“There’s hype, but corporates prioritise productivity and adoption. Introduce too much change too quickly and employees reject it. Sensible change management keeps pace with what users can absorb while still creating shareholder value,” he added.
He emphasised that most organisations will continue investing in dependable AV infrastructure alongside selective immersive deployments where there is a clear return on investment.
“Near term, organisations will run both tracks in parallel. India’s projected 6 per cent growth and nearly US$11 billion revenue pool in 2026 underline why traditional integration and newer capabilities will coexist for the foreseeable future,” Berry said.
Explaining Diversified’s positioning, Berry said the company delivers end-to-end solutions, spanning conventional AV integration as well as advanced AI-enabled and immersive environments.
“We take clients end-to-end on the journey. We’re a traditional AV integrator where required, and we also deliver high-end, AI-enabled and immersive environments,” he said.
“Our focus is on the right solution, not just the newest one — avoiding expensive ‘white elephants’ that become obsolete within two to three years. We help clients deploy capital carefully, balancing innovation with lifecycle resilience and user adoption,” he added.
On the advantages of a global delivery model, Berry said Diversified operates as a unified international team capable of deploying expertise across borders.
“We can tap into leading expertise wherever it sits and apply it to India-based projects — whether that’s design capabilities from California, delivery support through our GCC in Bengaluru on programmes deployed in Hyderabad, or thought leadership from Berlin or Melbourne on deployments in Bengaluru,” he said.
Coupled with global supplier relationships, this model enables competitive pricing, consistency in execution and strong support frameworks to maximise uptime and usability.
“As India’s market expands, this global-to-local model helps organisations scale with confidence,” Berry said, reinforcing that the country’s pro AV momentum is being built on the combined strength of enterprise expansion and systematic technology renewal. . . ARN KK