ELAN Launches Accelerated Dealer Training Certification Program With g! School!

In response to the growing market demand for its award-winning g! Entertainment and Control System, ELAN® Home Systems today announced that it has enhanced its training program to enable prospective dealers to become certified ELAN g! installers in just 20 hours through a combination of online training and a two-day in-person session.

Nearly 1,000 students have already utilized the free on-demand, self-paced training offered at ELAN’s online g! School, which is available 24/7 and provides more than 150 unique courses.

According to Eric Herdman, ELAN Home Systems Content Manager, “Our coordinated approach to dealer certification combines online and in-person training in a way that ensures that any prospect, anywhere in the world, can become an ELAN dealer as quickly as they want to. By combining a free seven-hour online introduction course with a 13- hour, 1.5 day regional on-site training seminar, we provide new dealers with hands-on experience plus a complete understanding of the inner working of the ELAN g! system.”

The certification process is incredibly simple: a new dealer simply visits www.brainshark.com/go/elan and signs up to take the online course, which is available immediately. Upon successful completion of the 7-hour training course, the new dealer contacts an ELAN regional representative to sign up for a 1.5 day, $100 in-person training seminar in their local area that will complete their education. After the in-person seminar, each dealer must pass a final online exam to receive ELAN g! certification, which is sent in a PDF and available immediately so they can get right to work!

“Our solution allows dealers to become familiar with the ELAN g! system on their own time, with the ability to pause, rewind and restart any lesson they need, so they can progress at their own pace and on their schedule,” Herdman emphasized. “Giving them an online introduction before they do the in-person training is invaluable, and there’s nothing to lose because the online courses are free.”

ELAN’s g! School is the latest incarnation of ELAN U, which debuted as the first-ever online installation-training program in 2003. Since then, installers have taken more than 300,000 online lessons, earning the program numerous awards including the CEA Mark of Excellence Award for Best Training and Support Programs and the Inside Track Certificate of Excellence for Best Dealer Training.

Luxury Yacht Builder Sets Sail With The Niles ICS System!

SanJuanYachts to install Niles ICS System in every new 48-foot SanJuan48 yacht and the company’s new show boat, and make the system available to every client on every yacht model they build.

The Anacortes, Washington-based luxury yacht builder, SanJuanYachts, has a simple vision — redefine what a motor yacht can be from bow to stern. They focus on one yacht, one customer at a time, and they believe that every yacht should be a work of art. This philosophy drives everything they do. It’s who they are. It is why for instance, every material, system, machine and fixture encountered from bow to stern is chosen for its singular performance and beauty — and it is why they have now decided to install the Niles® Intellicontrol® ICS System in every new 48-foot SanJuan48 yacht they build!

“We strive to build the exact yacht that each customer desires, so when a customer came to us and requested we put in the Niles ICS System, we happily obliged,” said co-founder Donald Campbell. “He had used the system in his home and really loved it, so he wanted that same experience in his new SanJuan48. Our team installed the system for the first time with incredible ease, and we soon understood what the owner loved about the system. In fact, we’re so confident in the ICS System that we are installing in our new company show boat. I don’t know any other yacht builders that are using this amazing audio system, but I’m sure they’ll all be rushing to offer it once they see it on display in our show boat.”

“The clean, professional design and appearance of the Niles ICS System and the Contact interfaces are things that we noticed right away. Our installers were able to quickly and easily install and set up the system, and then learn how to use it within minutes. Our previous system used high-end car audio decks in each room and therefore didn’t have centralized control or look as clean as the Niles system. We are going to use this system from now on in every new SanJuan48 we build. The ability to simply integrate streaming music services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Sirius|XM goes above and beyond our previous system and is definitely a feature that new buyers want.”

The Niles ICS System on this SanJuan48 has five zones of audio, each with a stereo pair of speakers. Music and audio sources include am/fm radio, Sirius|XM Satellite Radio, iTunes through an Apple Airport Express, and audio from two 20” and one 26” Samsung LCD LED TVs, each connected to an Apple TV media device. The system is controlled through three Niles Contact touch screen interfaces and two Niles Single in-wall control panel. Internet is provided through a 4G Mobile Hotspot. The system’s layout will be used as a template for future 48-foot yachts.

With a simple, intuitive user interface that is displayed on Niles in-wall Contact panels, accessing an incredible range of music sources has never been easier. With the Niles ICS System, users can connect to their iTunes libraries, digital music files, Pandora Internet radio, Rhapsody, Sirius|XM Radio, and all traditional audio sources including CD players, DVD and Blu-ray players, iPods, am/fm radio and their computers or tablet devices. The Niles Multi-Zone GXR2 Amplifier makes it easy to access the whole home (or yacht) from one interface, giving users complete control over their entire audio experience, from home theaters to outdoor music.

What’s more, by integrating an ELAN Home Controller into the Niles ICS System, it can be controlled by iPhones and iPads through the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System. SanJuanYachts plans to offer this popular and familiar control interface with every ICS System they install.