rewrite this title Tech Leadership Interview: Longevity Over Hype – Future-Proofing Displays in the Age of AI – UC Today

Imagine investing huge sums in a large-format display for a classroom or boardroom today – only to find it cannot support the collaboration tools, security protocols, or AI-driven applications your organisation relies on in five years’ time.

That is the risk many education institutions and enterprises are trying to avoid as they navigate a market saturated with AI announcements and rapid hardware innovation.

Speaking to UC Today on the sidelines of the recent ISE 2026 in Barcelona, Lance Solomon, Chief Product Officer at Promethean, urged buyers to look beyond headline-grabbing AI features and refocus on fundamentals.

“The trends are probably ones that everyone knows about,” Solomon explained. “It’s adaptability, it’s security, it’s longevity.”

In categories such as interactive panels and digital signage, he noted, organisations are making significant capital investments.

These devices are expected to function for five, seven, even ten years. The challenge is ensuring they remain secure, compatible, and relevant throughout that lifecycle.

Large-Format Displays As Long-Term Infrastructure

Unlike laptops or smartphones, interactive displays are not refreshed every few years. Once installed at the front of a classroom, lecture theatre, or meeting room, they become core infrastructure.

That longevity is both an advantage and a pressure point.

Customers are increasingly asking whether today’s hardware will keep pace with tomorrow’s software. Applications used in education and enterprise environments are evolving rapidly. Artificial intelligence features are being embedded into collaboration platforms, productivity suites, and content creation tools at speed.

Solomon emphasised that organisations want assurance their devices will continue to run those applications effectively.

“So customers want to make sure that if this thing’s going to function [for] five, seven or ten years, is it going to keep up, both from the security of the device, but as well as how long will the applications continue to run, whether it’s classrooms or workplaces or lecture halls.”

That question extends beyond processing power.

It includes operating system flexibility and ecosystem compatibility.

Modern environments rarely standardise on a single platform. Some organisations are firmly embedded in Windows environments, others favour ChromeOS, while Android continues to play a significant role in display technology.

Promethean’s approach, according to Solomon, has been to meet customers where they are – supporting multiple operating systems and allowing organisations to choose how devices are managed and deployed.

The objective is not simply to sell hardware, but to provide a platform that integrates smoothly into existing IT strategies.

Security And Longevity: Two Sides Of The Same Coin

If adaptability is one pillar of purchasing decisions, security is the other.

As displays become smarter and more connected, they also become potential entry points into wider networks.

For schools handling student data or enterprises managing confidential discussions, that risk cannot be ignored.

“I think the biggest [challenge] is security, quite frankly,” Solomon said.

Security, however, is not a one-off feature – it must endure for the entire lifespan of the device.

A panel designed to last a decade must also support evolving security standards, patches, and protocols over that same period.

This creates a tight link between longevity and protection. Hardware that cannot accommodate future updates risks becoming vulnerable long before it physically wears out.

Buyers are therefore scrutinising vendors’ roadmaps. They want clarity around software support, update cycles, and how devices will adapt as new cybersecurity requirements emerge.

In a climate of increasing regulatory scrutiny and heightened awareness of cyber threats, security is no longer an optional extra. It is central to purchasing conversations in both education and enterprise markets.

In many cases, organisations also want flexibility in how they manage devices. Some prefer centralised management tools, while others prioritise open integration with their existing IT infrastructure.

AI Must Solve Real Problems

With AI dominating exhibition halls across ISE 2026, the temptation might be to assume that more AI automatically equals more value.

Solomon disagrees.

“First and foremost, [you need to ask] is the AI product solving that?” he said, referring to customer pain points. “Second is, again, security. There [can be] data privacy issues. And how do those solutions handle data privacy?”

In other words, AI must address genuine needs – whether that is streamlining lesson delivery, enhancing meeting collaboration, or improving device management – rather than serving as a marketing hook.

Interoperability is also crucial. Most organisations already rely on established productivity tools and collaboration platforms.

AI features must integrate into those workflows rather than disrupt them.

Another emerging concern is whether AI solutions can coexist.

As organisations experiment with multiple AI-powered tools, they are increasingly asking how those systems interact.

Does one platform leverage another’s capabilities? Are data policies aligned? Can tools operate within a broader ecosystem without creating silos?

These questions reflect a maturing market. Rather than chasing novelty, buyers are evaluating AI through the lens of operational fit and long-term viability.

Total Cost Of Ownership In An AI-Driven Market

Cost pressures are also shaping decision-making.

Component prices for technology products have been influenced by surging demand from AI data centres, which rely on similar processing and memory components. This has had a knock-on effect on both enterprise and education technology budgets.

While education – particularly K-12 – remains highly price-sensitive, Solomon noted that both sectors are increasingly focused on total cost of ownership rather than upfront pricing alone.

“It’s not just the cost on day one,” he explained. “It’s the cost over the life of the product.”

That includes the expense of upgrading compute modules, adapting to new AI capabilities, and maintaining compliance with evolving security standards. A lower initial price may prove more costly if hardware requires frequent updates or early replacement.

Promethean’s recent product developments, including its D-Series digital signage and ActivePanel 10, are designed with that lifecycle in mind.

The company is expanding beyond its traditional K-12 base into corporate meeting rooms and higher education lecture halls, tailoring hardware and software to operate across varied environments.

The strategy reflects a broader market reality: customers want choice, flexibility in operating systems, device management approaches, and deployment models.

And they want assurance that their investment will not “age out” as AI continues to evolve.