Item: AVI-SPL
Rating: 2
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

This vendor was in place before I came to the organization, and I am here less than one year. AVI-SPL is used for providing hardware and services (installation and support) for digital signage and video conferencing at various locations for the company. They have been working with my organization for four years. This is the second time that I have inherited AVI-SPL; and it looks like the second time that I will need to fully replace them with another vendor. They are more expensive than most. Installation quality has been a major issue. They have inconsistent processes in both their installation arm and support; neither of which seem to talk to each other or know what's going on. Quote to quote sees pricing discrepancies for the same item. Incomplete installations have occurred on many occasions, with hardware installed that I can't even use; yet they signed the project off as done. There is no apparent testing or certification process. They are very, very high maintenance. If you have the time and energy to call them on their missteps and follow-up to get things correctly, then it is possible to use them to accomplish what you need. They can do a lot of things well, and can deliver if pushed to timelines. They just don't do it consistently well, sometimes unprofessionally and you need to be prepared for the fall-out. Most often, at least recently, are just a vendor - not a partner.

Pros and Cons

Scale - can work on several sites at once

Processes broken: many are manual, some are missing
Service Support and Installation Support are disconnected
Execution through other third parties rather than bench strength - some unprofessional people have showed up to work at my sites
Lacks sense of urgency to solve problems

Return on Investment

Digital signage has value in displaying financial material and community info - when it works ..
Digital signage provides no value when the screens are black - including negative customer comments - which poor installation quality has yielded in several locations

Support Rating

They have a customer support portal, which can be helpful at times, but it is limited in what you can see or do. Their internal support platform is a very high-end system, but it appears that they have not implemented it well, so data to the customer portal side is incomplete. Reports are difficult to get from the internal system, and more often have to be built manually by the account team. They cannot provide me an inventory of what they have installed, nor an inventory by ticket of what has been RMA'd and replaced. Their data management is inconsistent. we struggle to get the correct ticket information sometimes.

Employee Productivity

Their services do not apply to this question.

Alternatives Considered

I inherited two AV vendors when I came on-board. AVI-SPL does the retail locations while the other vendor does other things for HQ and business office locations. I have issues with both, but for different reasons. However, I am actively looking to replace AVI-SPL in the next 6 months.

Key Insights

Do you think AVI-SPL delivers good value for the price?

Are you happy with AVI-SPL's feature set?

Yes

Did AVI-SPL live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of AVI-SPL go as expected?

Would you buy AVI-SPL again?

Likelihood to Recommend

When you know what you want and how it should be done, they can be an asset. However, you still need to have a PM staff that can do the follow-up and verify execution, as I have found them short-cutting some things. If you don't know what you want or how to get it done, then they will do what they want and you may not get what you need.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: AVI-SPL is all of the above

Overall Satisfaction with AVI-SPL