Dante at ISE 2026: Audinate Doubles Down on Security

At Integrated Systems Europe 2026, Dante at ISE 2026 was less about celebrating longevity and more about defining the next phase of AV-over-IP.

As it marks two decades of innovation, Audinate used its presence at ISE to position the Dante platform not just as an audio networking standard, but as a secure, enterprise-ready AV infrastructure layer.

For enterprise buyers, that distinction matters.

The conversation has shifted. AV-over-IP is no longer an experiment. It is production infrastructure. And production infrastructure must be secure, manageable and interoperable at scale.

Security Is Not a Feature. It Is the Foundation.

In our conversation at the show, Josh Rush emphasized that security is no longer optional in enterprise AV deployments. It has to be built in at multiple levels.

Dante’s approach is layered:

• Network-level security that aligns with enterprise IT policies
• Device-level authentication and management
• Stream-level protection, including encryption

That last piece is increasingly important. Encryption has historically been inconsistent across AV-over-IP ecosystems. At ISE 2026, Audinate highlighted growing adoption of encrypted Dante streams, including implementations with manufacturers such as Sennheiser and its conferencing bar solutions.

The significance is not just that encryption exists. It is that encryption is becoming normalized.

For enterprise buyers navigating cybersecurity audits, Zero Trust frameworks and internal compliance requirements, that shift reduces friction between AV and IT. Instead of defending why AV devices are exceptions to policy, technology managers can align Dante endpoints and streams with broader network security standards.

In other words, Dante is evolving from “AV protocol” to “enterprise-grade network service.”

One Platform, One Pane of Glass

Security alone is not enough. Scale requires visibility.

Audinate’s messaging at ISE focused heavily on platform cohesion. The Dante ecosystem now extends beyond routing audio streams. It encompasses device discovery, management, monitoring and control.

A key example is Dante Director, which moves device and domain management into a centralized, cloud-enabled environment. The goal is simple but powerful: one pane of glass for managing Dante-enabled devices across locations.

For enterprises with distributed campuses, multi-building headquarters or global offices, that matters.

Instead of managing isolated AV networks in each room or facility, technology teams can logically organize devices, define access permissions and maintain control policies across domains.

From a governance standpoint, this mirrors how IT departments already manage switches, servers and endpoints. The closer AV behaves like IT infrastructure, the easier it is to justify, budget and scale.

AV-over-IP Is Maturing

The broader theme at ISE 2026 was the maturation of AV-over-IP. What began as an audio transport technology has expanded into video, control and data.

At the show, Audinate reinforced that Dante is not just about moving signals. It is about enabling a platform that manufacturers can build on.

More manufacturers are implementing encryption. More devices are shipping with deeper Dante integration. And more enterprise buyers are specifying network-based AV as the default, not the exception.

This is where the security narrative becomes strategic.

When AV-over-IP first gained traction, the focus was flexibility and scalability. Now the focus is resilience. Enterprise stakeholders are asking:

• Can it be segmented?
• Can it be encrypted?
• Can it be centrally managed?
• Can it align with corporate security policy?

Audinate’s message at ISE was that the answer to all four is increasingly yes.

Control Is the Next Layer

Looking forward, control and remote management are becoming the next major battleground in AV infrastructure.

Audinate signaled continued investment in expanding remote management capabilities, increasing device visibility and enabling broader control across manufacturer ecosystems. The idea is to reduce the operational overhead of large-scale AV networks.

For enterprise buyers, operational efficiency is often more important than raw feature sets. The cost of truck rolls, on-site configuration and manual troubleshooting adds up quickly across dozens or hundreds of rooms.

A secure, remotely manageable Dante environment lowers that operational burden. It also makes AV teams more strategic. Instead of reacting to outages, they can proactively monitor performance and maintain policy compliance.

This trend reflects a larger industry movement. As AV integrates more deeply with enterprise networks, it inherits the expectations placed on IT systems: uptime, auditability, encryption and centralized control.

Twenty Years In, Still Platform-Focused

ISE 2026 also marked a symbolic milestone. Two decades after its founding, Audinate is no longer introducing a disruptive newcomer technology. It is stewarding an ecosystem.

Dante’s value proposition has evolved:

• From audio transport to AV platform
• From room-level routing to enterprise-scale domains
• From convenience to compliance

For enterprise decision-makers, that evolution reduces risk. Established ecosystems with broad manufacturer support and maturing security frameworks provide confidence in long-term deployments.

The takeaway from Dante at ISE 2026 was not flashy demos or radical reinvention. It was steady, strategic progression.

Security is becoming standardized. Encryption adoption is accelerating. Device management is centralizing. And AV-over-IP is behaving more like enterprise IT infrastructure every year.

For organizations investing in network-based AV in 2026 and beyond, that is exactly the direction they want to see.

For all of AVNation’s coverage of ISE 2026, visit our dedicated coverage page.