Workplace technology has the capability to enhance an environment by improving collaboration, communication and efficiency.
Where once there were just flipcharts and overhead projectors, we now have an array of audiovisual platforms that have transformed the meeting experience. Making meetings more effective and more enjoyable has been one of the AV industry’s biggest achievements.
Tremendous interest
“We see tremendous customer interest in meeting solutions,” says Michael Helmbrecht, chief operating officer at Lifesize. “We’ve observed, talked to and strategised with organisations of all sizes that are trying to empower and scale an increasingly mobile, distributed workforce through solutions that better arm employees to conduct effective, efficient business and enrich their contributions to the company.”
“We see demand for conferencing and collaboration hardware and software growing exponentially, with growth comfortably sitting in the double digits,”
...echoes Anne Marie Ginn, head of video collaboration EMEA at Logitech. And, as with any technology following the typical adoption curve, collaboration systems are breaching new markets.
“We’re seeing a filtering down from Fortune 500 to smaller corporate entities,” says Andy Fliss, VP of sales and marketing at tvONE. “A lot of small to medium enterprises are now adopting technologies like remote meeting room and collaboration spaces that you’d previously only have seen in the very largest businesses. This is partly because the ‘fear’ is being removed from these technologies as comprehension grows, and also because they are becoming more affordable.”
It’s not just about confidence and cost, however. Ease of use and ease of deployment have also played a key role in the accelerating deployment of collaboration and unified communications (UC) solutions.
“In Unified Communications technology, user experience is becoming a priority,” says Nic Milani, executive director, commercial product marketing at Crestron. “Where it used to feel like starting a new puzzle every time you moved to a different meeting space, there is now hardware available in several forms, for different types of spaces, that all bring a consistent user experience – and that natively support the most popular third-party UC applications. Revolutionary IoT-based deployment and management platforms reduce installation time substantially, simplify and speed up configuration and updates, allow remote monitoring and gather data to optimise space and technology. As a result, the workplace technology supports how people work instead of the other way around.”
More approachable
Tony Leedham, commercial director at Ashton Bentley, sees a similar situation.
“Change is driving business,” he acknowledges. “The use of soft codecs such as Zoom and Teams is on the increase, mainly due to the lower costs and flexibility of portable and easy to connect devices. This will change the way people view the industry; I believe that it will make AV solutions more approachable, especially with remote working on the rise.”
Martin Payne, chief marketing and services officer at Mersive, remarks that:
“AV can now be said to be a competitive differentiator in the corporate environment”
What’s interesting is that successful deployment of collaboration and communication platforms isn’t just about gaining an advantage over other companies: it’s also a key weapon in the struggle to recruit, and retain, the best talent.
“Today,” notes Milani, “millennials make up more than half of the workforce – and that is expected to be 75% by 2025. Research shows that 82% of them say that workplace technology would influence them when deciding to accept a new job.”
Millennials are known for their preference for collaborative, relationship-based working – and value flexibility in terms of hours and location. Today’s meeting systems deliver on both counts.
Another development in the collaboration word is – collaboration. While some vendors will claim the advantage of single-source, others acknowledge that that doesn’t always deliver what’s required.
Working together
“We have seen an increasing trend for brands working together to showcase new innovations,” says Lilian Bores, VP marketing, Oblong Industries.
