The role of a CSP
This is an excerpt written by Jim Felderman, President of ControlWorks and former Chair of the Crestron Services Provider program. CSPs are not Crestron employees, but are instead independent services providers that have been certified by Crestron.
A CSP (previously known as a “CAIP”) can be an organization ranging in size from a sole proprietor to as large as a 30-employee corporation. In 2001 Crestron started a program to recognize, support and cultivate the community of Crestron programmers that were working behind the scenes building innovative software solutions. Now some 200 CSP organizations exist around the globe expanding the depth of Crestron services for AV Integrators and End Users alike. Any Integrator setup as a Crestron dealer can also program or develop solutions for their own installations. The CSP program provides an alternative to the in-house capabilities of the Integrator.
Questions often asked, “How do I engage a CSP?” and “What are the benefits of working with a one?”. End users as well as Integrators and Manufactures can engage a CSP for a variety of services. Some CSPs engage Crestron end users directly whereas other CSPs have a business model where they contract directly with the AV Integrator. Whatever the specifics of the arrangement, the number one benefit to working with a CSP is their specialized expertise. Most CSPs have a singular focus and when you hire one you are benefiting from a level of specialization that you won’t typically find with an Integrators in-house staff. This is due to a 24-7-365 focus on the Crestron hardware and development tools, which translates into an improved Crestron experience.
While each CSP has their own set of specialties the range of services can start with sales/engineering support, design and documentation then moves on to coding software solutions and user interface designs. Most CSPs also provide services at the project site such as commissioning the control system code, Digital Media commissioning or services focused on Crestron Lighting or Fusion RV® and Fusion EM™ deployments. So if you are a Consultant, End User or Integrator, you’ll find that a Crestron Services Provider can bring a tremendous amount of technical and software expertise to deliver a more consistent, reliable and functional control system experience.
For more information on Crestron Services Providers (CSPs), please visit Crestron's CSP page.
