Well it's June and that means a number of things. The NHL playoffs are winding down, and I need to start thinking about an anniversary gift for my wife! More importantly though (just kidding), it's InfoComm time. While Enterprise Connect is the premier business collaboration conference,
The show has changed over the years as video has evolved from being a standalone application on a dedicated network. Now there's a greater focus on networking, unified communications, voice and other things that have become core to the video business. I had a chance to discuss the trends in collaboration and the role of the AVI with Marc Brown, Polycom's Group VP of Product Solutions and Market, and bounced around some ideas of what AVIs should be looking out for at this year's conference. These include the following:
1. The Convergence of Voice, Video and Content
UC today is about more than just communications capabilities. Rather, it's about creating a virtual, collaborative experience--and that requires data. Data can be in any form--video content, Word, Excel, Power Point, vertical applications and Web-based content. The solutions today need to be able to bring together content and real-time tools. The convergence of voice, video and content drives the need for video content management (VCM) solutions. We've been talking about VCM now for a few years, and the demand has been spotty. I believe the convergence of content and communications will drive greater need for VCM over the next several years.
2. Different Mediums to Unify Content
Historically, collaboration meant voice on a phone, video on a screen and content on a PC. Recently, though, there have been a number of new devices released to bring these separate experiences together. These include smart boards, video panels and even entire room systems. These endpoints will become a critical arrow in every AVI's quiver, and there should be plenty on display at the event. Also, given the momentum and broad use of mobile devices as collaboration tools, smart pairing of mobile devices with room equipment is something AVIs should focus on.
3. Architectural Aspects of Building a Room
Microsoft has created a blueprint for the Lync Room Systems (LRS), but there's more to the world than just Lync. At InfoComm, AVIs should investigate all of the architectural elements of building a collaboration room. This would include how and where to place multiple UC boards on different walls, camera placement, acoustics of the room and other factors to unshackle the worker within a room. Additionally, AVIs should consider how to drive value back into the rooms by automating many of the manual functions as well as filtering out sound. When collaborating, it's critical that workers have the ability to move freely within a room. However, this shouldn't impair virtual attendees. Room design and ergonomics will be key differentiators for AVIs as businesses leverage collaboration rooms.
4. How to Move Content to People
AVIs are typically very conservative and have become accustomed to a certain type of experience. Traditionally, information was displayed on a fixed endpoint and users moved to the content. Mobile phones and tablets have completely changed the paradigm of how content is accessed and consumed, and this is likely a completely different experience than most AV integrators are used to and comfortable with. Any system or room being implemented today should include a tablet and mobile endpoint strategy.
5. Vertical Use Cases
Collaboration is more than just technology. People and processes are as important or more so than just the tools people use to communicate and share information. However, there's no single killer use case for collaboration. Rather, it can vary widely from vertical to vertical. I'm sure at the show there will be a number of practical use cases that can be applied to different verticals. AVIs should pay particular attention to verticals that they may be established in (without even knowing it, in some cases) and leverage these use cases. In the discussion with Marc Brown, he told me that Polycom would be highlighting a number of collaborative workflows and integration with business applications that would be worth the integrators' time to check out.
While these are the key items, I do think there's a larger issue to be considered. As the concept of the collaborative room becomes more commonplace, AVIs and vendors need to think about these rooms becoming more multi-purpose and not just single use case (as well as considering how the experience moves across rooms).
We're moving into an entirely different era of collaboration, and AVIs need to change along with it. The ones who get out in front of this transition will thrive and play a more important role with their customers. Those who don't adapt will face becoming irrelevant, similar to what happened to the voice interconnects. So, to all AVIs I say this – get out of your comfort zone and focus on the issues I listed above.
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