12/31/2017
Collaboration: What are Commercial Integrators of Video Conference Room Systems telling us?
If business professionals from the 1960s had a time machine and transported themselves to a modern office or a meeting room in 2018 with interactive voice and video collaboration, sharing screens, even documents through desktop, laptop, and hand-held devices they’d likely be shocked at how business and meetings have evolved. This would also be true for business professionals from the 1970s to the 2000s and even from a couple of years ago.
The first video conferencing system I saw in the 1970’s required its own servers and a point to point connection. And, needless to say, it did not take off. But, I was amazed by the technology.
The workplace over the last few years has changed dramatically, and, in a way, all those changes are on display in meeting rooms, offices, cubicles and remote offices. This also includes full interaction between workers, customers, vendors. But, catch the large conference rooms quick, they are disappearing. These capabilities are available to the smallest business on the smallest budget.
• Meetings tend to be smaller, typically between 3 and 6 people.
• Therefore, rooms tend to be smaller, as the traditionally large, rectangular conference room is becoming a relic of the past.
• Meetings often include colleagues who are not in the office as remote employment and conferencing both have gained remarkable traction over the last several years.
• Open office design and elimination of most closed-door offices has spurred more frequent, often impromptu meetings.
• Meeting rooms these days seem incomplete without an interactive platform for voice and video collaboration.
Employees — whether they’re physically in the room or working remotely – all workers need to be able to share content in meetings. They need a platform for interacting with that content.
As such, collaboration of video/voice, screen sharing, and document sharing have emerged as the most important solutions that communication integration firms can provide to their customers across all vertical markets.
Legal, medical, corporate and mom and pop. From the SMB to the largest organization.
If you have meetings, you need video collaboration across all media devices. The challenge is that many systems providers fail to understand the nuances of an effective voice/video collaboration solution. Something that works for everyone and delivers quality without sacrificing data security. Your telephone system or PBX should also be part of the equation to easily bring all stake holders into the discussion at a moment’s notice. Without even having to load a client software on their device.
Many don’t think about how important “interactivity” is to a communications and collaboration solution.
It’s no longer sufficient to throw a typical TV or video display up on a wall and call it a small huddle room. And, don’t forget mobility with tablets and mobile phones. We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto!
