Bobby Swartz on Innovation, Safety, and a Bold New Chapter for Advanced Network Devices
As ANetD gears up for InfoComm 2026, our president shares what's driving the company's next wave of innovation — and why the best is still ahead.
Advanced Network Devices has never lacked engineering ambition. The company invented IP paging and mass notification as we know it today, built the world’s first scrolling clock with two-way paging in 2004, and has been running its own AI and machine learning infrastructure for over eight years. Now, with Bobby Swartz joining as president, that engineering excellence has a dedicated commercial force behind it — focused on bringing ANetD’s innovations and benefits to more customers.
In a recent video interview with AVIXA’s Backstage Pass ahead of InfoComm 2026, Bobby reflected on his first six months, what the industry has been missing, and what ANetD is building next.
Built to Create, Not to Follow
Bobby is direct about what drew him to ANetD after nearly two decades in distribution: it’s a company that leads markets rather than chasing them. Founder and CEO Brian Donahoe has always pushed the boundaries of what’s technically possible. That culture of invention permeates the entire Arlington Heights campus.
“We want to create what doesn’t exist — but we also want to be the most reliable partner that any of the AV industry has. If there’s a real-world problem and there’s no technology that exists, I’d love to hear about that. Those are the types of things we work on.”
Bobby Swartz
President, Advanced Network Devices
That commitment to solving unsolved problems is more than a talking point. ANetD’s 50-plus engineering team, entirely based in the US, can move from customer feedback to working solution faster than most organizations can convene a meeting. Bobby describes it as the ability to “turn on a dime” — and it’s one of the primary reasons he made the leap.
A Market Still Waiting to be Modernized
Despite ANetD’s long history of firsts, roughly 70–80% of schools and institutions still rely on analog paging systems. Bobby sees this not as a discouragement but as evidence of an enormous opportunity — one that becomes clearer when the total cost of infrastructure is properly considered. When labor, conduit runs, and wiring are factored in, the gap between a legacy analog install and a modern network endpoint narrows considerably. Updated clocks, updated paging, and mass notification capability can often be had for what amounts to a marginal cost difference.
Bringing that message to market — clearly, credibly, and at scale — is one of ANetD’s central missions heading into the second half of 2026.
What's coming at InfoComm 2026
Bobby is tight-lipped on specifics but confident in the direction. Attendees can expect new hardware designed to fill acknowledged gaps in ANetD’s product line — pieces he believes will be considered best-in-class. On the software side, ANetD’s AI and machine learning work is expanding beyond gunshot detection into broader, more proactive threat mitigation: not just identifying danger, but helping to prevent it.
ANetD will be exhibiting at North Hall, Booth #8357. Bobby welcomes conversations from anyone in the industry — whether it’s an integration question, a product gap, or an idea for something that doesn’t yet exist.
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About Advanced Network Devices
Advanced Network Devices (ANetD) is a leading innovator in IP-based endpoints, particularly for mass notification and facility safety and security solutions. Backed by world-class American engineering, operations, and manufacturing, along with customer-centric ingenuity, ANetD delivers vigilant, reliable, first-to-market systems that integrate seamlessly and scale with evolving real-world organizational needs.
Media Contact
Tatiana Avdjiev
Digital and Marketing Communications Manager
Advanced Network Devices
[email protected]