To reflect a shift beyond traditional broadcasting into a wider, technology-driven MediaTech ecosystem, the International Trade Association for Broadcast & Media Technology (IABM) recently rebranded itself into the International Association of MediaTech (IAMT).
Speaking with APB+’s Shaun Lim, IAMT CEO Saleha Williams highlights how IAMT is helping the industry evolve by connecting broadcasting’s established heritage with emerging sectors such as streaming, enterprise media, and immersive platforms.
By launching new tools such as an agentic AI engine, IAMT is also helping to improve how vendors and buyers find, evaluate, and trust solutions in a rapidly changing landscape.
IAMT is positioning itself as the hub of a broader MediaTech ecosystem. How do you ensure that IABM’s broadcast heritage remains central while expanding into streaming, enterprise media, and immersive platforms?
Saleha Williams: Our broadcast heritage is not something we are moving away from, but the foundation we are expanding and building on. Expanding beyond our traditional broadcast roots to connect with the full MediaTech ecosystem — from technology providers to end users — while ‘broadcast’ continues to remain our foundation, ‘MediaTech’ represents our future.
IAMT as our new identity enables us to better serve our members as they diversify into streaming, enterprise media, and emerging sectors, providing the tools and platforms for influence needed to navigate a rapidly changing global landscape.
In 2026, as we celebrate 50 years, our organisation remains rooted in broadcast, and that legacy gives us a level of credibility, technical depth, and industry trust that is essential as MediaTech evolves.
What has changed is the landscape around it. The same technologies, workflows, and standards that defined broadcast are now shaping streaming, enterprise video, immersive experiences, and beyond. So rather than repositioning away from broadcast, we are extending its relevance into these adjacent sectors.
IAMT’s role is to connect those worlds, ensuring that the rigor, reliability, and standards of broadcast continue to inform the next generation of MediaTech innovations, while also bringing new voices and use cases into the ecosystem.
IAMT MAI is the association’s MediaTech Agentic AI engine for insight and discovery. How will this practically change the way broadcasters and MediaTech buyers find, evaluate, and trust solutions compared to traditional directories or intelligence reports?
Saleha Williams: Traditional directories and static reports require users to know what they are looking for. IAMT MAI fundamentally changes that dynamic by allowing users to interrogate the industry’s collective intelligence in a much more intuitive and contextual way.
Because IAMT MAI is trained on IAMT’s respected journal articles, IAMT MarketPlace and IAMT Business Intelligence Research and Business Insights, it surfaces vendors and connects users to insights, use cases, and real-world context behind those solutions.
This is critical in a market where trust and validation are just as important as discovery.
The integration of IAMT MAI into the new IAMT website and IAMT MarketPlace transforms our
digital platform from a static repository into an active, 24/7 global advocate for our members. By leveraging the latest in Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), IAMT MAI ensures that member expertise is not just hosted but actively cited as the authoritative solution to the industry’s most pressing questions.
It also reflects how buying decisions are made today. These are no longer linear processes, and they involve multiple stakeholders, evolving requirements, and continuous evaluation. IAMT MAI supports that by enabling users to explore, compare, and validate information in a way that is dynamic rather than static.
The new IAMT Marketplace works in tandem with MAI. How do you see this combination reshaping visibility for smaller innovators versus established vendors, and what safeguards ensure neutrality in how members are surfaced?
Saleha Williams: The combination of IAMT MAI and the IAMT Marketplace is designed to improve visibility based on relevance and context, rather than simply on scale or marketing spend.
For smaller innovators, that is a significant shift. It allows their solutions to surface based on how well they align with a user’s specific needs, rather than how prominently they can position themselves in a traditional directory.
Equally important is maintaining IAMT’s neutrality, which is central to our role in the industry. The way content is surfaced is governed by structured data, user intent, and the integrity of the underlying information, not commercial bias.
That balance of visibility with neutrality is essential if the platform is going to be trusted by both vendors and buyers.
The IAMT Global Alliance brings together media partners, educators, and industry groups. What concrete outcomes — standards, sustainability frameworks, or talent pipelines — do you expect in the first year of this alliance?
Saleha Williams: In the first year, the focus is on creating meaningful, practical collaboration and not just high-level alignment.
That includes:
- Bringing buyers, technology providers, and educators into more direct dialogue.
- Identifying shared challenges around areas like skills, interoperability, and evolving workflows.
- Beginning to shape frameworks that reflect real-world needs, whether that is around talent development, sustainability, or technology adoption.
One of the most important outcomes will be stronger feedback loops that ensure innovation is informed by those who are deploying and using these technologies.
Over time, that collaboration can evolve into more formalised standards and initiatives, but the immediate priority is building a working ecosystem that reflects how the industry operates today.
IAMT reported record engagement in 2025. How do you translate those digital metrics into tangible commercial value for members, especially in terms of lead generation and credibility with buyers?
Saleha Williams: Engagement is only meaningful if it translates into tangible outcomes for our members.
What we are seeing is that increased engagement is driving stronger connections between vendors and buyers, greater visibility for member companies, and more opportunities for thought leadership.
Through initiatives like IAMT MAI, the IAMT Marketplace, and our IAMT Business Insights and research programmes, which draw roughly 50% of their input from buyer contributions and are actively used by buyers, we enable members to move beyond visibility. They are discovered in the context of real needs and active evaluation, not just exposure.
At the same time, IAMT’s role as a neutral industry body enhances credibility. When members are positioned within that framework — supported by data, insights, and industry context — it strengthens trust with buyers, which ultimately supports commercial outcomes.
With MediaTech moving towards cloud-integrated, software-defined workflows, what role do you see IAMT playing in aligning innovation with real-world broadcaster needs, and how will you measure success?
Saleha Williams: As MediaTech becomes more software-defined and cloud-integrated, the challenge is not just innovation but alignment with real-world requirements.
IAMT plays a critical role in bridging that gap. Through our research, our engagement with end users, and our broader ecosystem, we are able to surface what is working, where the challenges are, and how requirements are evolving.
That insight helps ensure that innovation is grounded in practical application and not just technical possibility.
In terms of measuring success, it comes down to relevance and impact:
- Are we helping members make better decisions?
- Are we improving connections between buyers and providers?
- Are we contributing to a more informed, more collaborative industry?
Those are the indicators that matter.
Review, reflect and reinvent … and, indeed, IABM has done so by transforming the association into IAMT, a triple A organisation — Alive, Ablaze & Active!
