SPOR Group and Chris Gore named AV Awards 2026 finalists
SPOR Group and Chris Gore have been named AV Awards 2026 finalists. SPOR Group is shortlisted for Integrator of the Year, and Chris, our co-founder, is a finalist for AV Professional of the Year. Two nominations in two categories, announced on 27 October 2026 and picked up by three technology publications on the same day. We are an AV integrator based in Maidenhead, we support more than 1,500 meeting rooms across the UK and Europe, and our approach to proactive AV lifecycle management starts from one idea: a room has to work every day, not just on the day it is handed over.
AV Awards 2026 Finalists: What Has Been Announced
The AV Awards recognise companies, projects and individuals across the audiovisual sector. This year SPOR Group appears on the shortlist twice, once as a company and once through its co-founder.
SPOR Group: Integrator of the Year
SPOR Group is shortlisted for Integrator of the Year. We focus on audiovisual and workplace technology, and our work centres on reliability and user experience in meeting rooms and workplace systems. For us, an installation is the start of the job, not the end of it. That is why we spend so much time on monitoring and device management, the part of AV that most buyers only think about once something breaks.
Chris Gore: AV Professional of the Year
Chris Gore is a finalist for AV Professional of the Year. He co-founded SPOR Group after a military career, which shaped the way the business thinks about accountability and about systems that keep working after installation. He also hosts the Future Workplace podcast and has written a book on workplace technology strategy and business outcomes.
Chris described it as “a real honour to be named a finalist”. The AV Awards celebration is due to take place later this year.
The News Is Already Making Waves
The announcement was covered by three technology publications on 27 October 2026. Thank you to all three for getting the story in front of their readers.
Why Reliability Sits at the Centre of Our Work
A shortlist for Integrator of the Year is a good prompt to say what we think good looks like. For us it comes down to what happens after handover. We looked at our own service desk data from March 2025 to September 2026 and published what we found in The Connected Workplace Report.
What the Data Says About Why Meeting Rooms Fail
We reviewed 598 service desk tickets and analysed 211 genuine fault reports. Audio was the top cause at 25% of faults. Audio and cameras together, the things remote participants notice first, made up 40% of categorised faults. Connecting a laptop, sharing content and using the controls made up another 32%.
The pattern points away from the hardware. Rooms fail mainly because AV is brought in too late and nobody owns the room after handover.
Fixing Rooms After They Break Is Not a Strategy
Of the service activity we logged, 80% was reactive fault fixing and only 12% was planned maintenance. That ratio matters more as hybrid meetings become the norm. If you want the wider picture, our post on hybrid and remote working covers where organisations really are.
The DITAM Model
The report sets out a five-step model called DITAM: Design, Integrate, Train, Asset manage and Monitor. It treats a room as a continuous cycle rather than a project that ends at handover. The report also includes a five-minute self-assessment for your own rooms and 10 questions to ask before your next AV project. If a project is coming up, our guide on how to write an AV brief pairs well with those questions.
What Happens Next
The AV Awards celebration takes place later this year. Until then we will keep doing what we do every day: looking after the rooms we have installed and helping organisations get more from the ones they already have. Thank you to the SPOR team and to the customers who trust us with their meeting rooms.
To read more about how the business has grown, see our story From Our First Hire to Managing Director.
Want to know why meeting rooms fail and how to fix it?
Real service data from more than 1,500 rooms, the five-step DITAM model and a five-minute self-assessment for your own rooms.
Download the free Connected Workplace Report: wearespor.com/connected-workplace-report
Frequently Asked Questions
Which categories are SPOR Group and Chris Gore AV Awards 2026 finalists in?
SPOR Group is shortlisted for Integrator of the Year. Chris Gore, our co-founder, is a finalist for AV Professional of the Year.
Who is Chris Gore?
Chris Gore is the co-founder of SPOR Group. He started the business after a military career, hosts the Future Workplace podcast and has written a book on workplace technology strategy and business outcomes.
What does SPOR Group do?
SPOR Group is an audiovisual and workplace technology company based in Maidenhead. We support more than 1,500 meeting rooms across the UK and Europe, with a focus on reliability and user experience.
Where was the AV Awards 2026 finalists news covered?
The announcement was covered by TechDay, Channel Life and IT Brief UK on 27 October 2026.
Where can I read the Connected Workplace Report?
It is free to download at wearespor.com/connected-workplace-report.
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