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Which integrator really has the biggest global footprint? If you measure individual companies by published info about city offices, Forté and AVI-SPL are close. If you include GPA and PSNI Global Alliance as integrators, they still have many more. Graphic: Vega, a Forté' company / LinkedIn As AV M&A becomes a global spectator sport, which integrator now has the largest global footprint? The answer depends on what you mean by footprint and integrator. Let's go through some candidates. Forté Forté's statement announcing its acquisition of Vega said it now serves customers in more than 70 cities worldwide and says this is "the largest global footprint in the industry". For clarity, AV Interactive is measuring cities served rather than turnover. Forté has over 40 locations in the US plus 27 Asia-Pacific and Middle East locations that come with Vega, with the rest coming from prior expansion into Ireland, Germany, Sweden, the UK and Mexico. GPA If you count GPA as a single global integrator, with regional business units as shareholders, then it operates in even more cities: more than 180, according to a statement on Forté 's departure. Of course, you could say that, behind the legalities, GPA isn't one integrator, but many working together, even with central services and co-ordination. Against that, if the GPA acts as a single integrator on a particular global project, why not count it as one? Ultimately, what the customer and shareholder need counts more than definitions, one way or another. PSNI Global Alliance PSNI Global Alliance has an even bigger global footprint than GPA, when measured by licensed offices, with its latest statement saying it covers more than 70 countries with more than 300 licensed offices. AV Interactive is not measuring like with like here, though, as there are cities where PSNI has more than one office, so 300 licenced offices doesn't mean 300 cities. Relatedly, you might argue that PSNI has less claim to be a single integrator than GPA because its model doesn't involve an exclusive shareholder for a particular territory. Being a single integrator or an alliance is just a matter of definition here. Again, what matters is what works for the PSNI customer and integrator. AVI-SPL Turning once more to uncontroversially single integrators, when AVI-SPL announced expansion into Costa Rica, Australia and Switzerland in June, it said its operations now spanned more than 85 locations worldwide. If locations means cities, this is more than Forté's latest number. AVI-SPL's website lists about 73 locations, including 42 in the US, 10 in Canada, half a dozen in India, six in Europe, six in Latin America and three more in APAC before you get to the June additions. So the company is one of the strongest, and perhaps the strongest contender for biggest global footprint measured by cities, based upon publicly available information. Ricoh Ricoh operates in around 200 countries as a single company. But it is not solely an AV integrator, and how many of its offices provide AV integration as opposed to something else does not appear to be publicly disclosed. Diversified A special shout-out to Diversified. This integrator only operates from around 40 locations, but that's enough to put it in the top two individual AV integrators for revenue. Is doing more business from fewer offices not something to be celebrated too? If anyone has the time to count office locations on websites, or has a philosophical impulse to query definitions, do get in touch.

IntegratorForté Outgrows GPA. Forté and GPA will end their partnership at the end of 2026, marking a major shift in the global AV integration landscape. As GPA loses its largest member, Forté is accelerating its transformation into a fully global workplace technology provider, with further acquisitions expected. August 13, 2026 by Florian Rotberg Forté is leaving GPA, the global network of workplace technology and AV integration partners, at the end of 2026. The separation marks a significant shift for both organizations: GPA will lose its largest member, while Forté continues to expand its own international footprint, increasingly through acquisitions of former GPA partners. GPA and Forté announced that they have mutually agreed to conclude their partnership effective 31 December 2026, allowing both organizations to focus on their respective strategic priorities and growth ambitions. Since joining GPA in 2020 under its former AVI Systems brand, Forté has worked closely with GPA members to deliver multinational collaboration and audiovisual projects. The partnership enabled global customers to benefit from local expertise and service delivery across key markets. However, as both organizations evolved, their growth strategies increasingly diverged. Different visions for global expansion. The separation has been years in the making. GPA is built around a network of independent integrators, with members typically holding exclusive responsibility for their local markets while providing on-the-ground resources and support for global projects. Forté, meanwhile, has steadily expanded beyond the traditional GPA model. Through a series of acquisitions, the Minnesota-based integrator has built its own international organization, including the acquisition of several GPA members. In effect, Forté has been creating a directly managed global footprint rather than relying on a partner network. This strategy positions Forté alongside global integration heavyweights such as AVI-SPL and Diversified, while increasingly competing with technology service providers and managed services specialists including Ricoh and Econocom. At some point, the two models became difficult to reconcile. GPA's value proposition is based on a federation of independent local champions. Forté's ambition is to become a globally integrated workplace technology provider with direct control over customer delivery and service operations. Business continuity remains a priority. Both organizations emphasize that the transition will be carefully managed. Existing projects, customer commitments and active engagements will continue to be supported through agreed transition arrangements. For multinational customers, continuity is expected to remain the priority while both parties prepare for their post-2026 strategies. Who could replace Forté? The departure leaves GPA with a significant gap in its most important market. The United States remains the largest AV and workplace technology market globally, making Forté's role within the network particularly valuable. Several smaller US-based integrators may seek to replace Forte at GPA. Industry observers also speculate that companies such as Kinly could be interested, although Kinly itself has been building a broader transatlantic presence and pursuing its own global ambitions. Regardless of the eventual solution, joining GPA as the lead North American partner would represent a substantial opportunity for any integrator seeking greater influence in the global enterprise market. Forté's next phase. Forté will need to establish direct coverage in markets that are currently served through GPA partners. However, the company appears well prepared for the transition. The move aligns closely with the vision of CEO and Chairman Jeff Stoebner, who has been driving the company's international expansion strategy. According to industry rumors, Forté is expected to announce a major acquisition in the APAC region in the coming weeks, further strengthening its global delivery capabilities. The managed services imperative. Going independent is a logical next step for Forté as the workplace technology market increasingly shifts toward managed services. The industry is moving away from project-based installations toward recurring service models focused on lifecycle management, monitoring and user experience. As enterprise customers prioritize service outcomes over hardware ownership, traditional AV integration is becoming increasingly commoditized. Revenue growth is shifting toward long-term managed service contracts, cloud platforms and workplace technology operations. To succeed in this environment, Forté requires deeper IT and managed services capabilities as it evolves beyond a traditional AV integrator. GPA's federated model and its network of independent members no longer fully align with Forté's direction, investment priorities and global ambitions. After several successful years together, the decision reflects a simple reality: GPA and Forté have outgrown their partnership and are now pursuing different visions of the global workplace technology market.