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No Jitter Roll: Video Collaboration; AWS CCI Partners

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Image: Elnur - stock.adobe.com
This week we share announcements around video collaboration hardware, video services, and UC&C monitoring, in addition to Amazon Web Services (AWS) contact center intelligence ecosystem partners Avaya and Clarabridge.
 
Pexip and Logitech Partner Up, BlueJeans, Facebook Enhance Video Offerings
Pexip, largely known for providing video conferencing interoperability solutions, this week announced a partnership with Logitech to integrate an upcoming video conferencing solution for meeting rooms (Pexip Room) into Logitech’s new portfolio of video devices. With the service, users can one-touch join Pexip Meetings from a Pexip Room, in addition to joining via Pexip app or web browser, Pexip said. Additional Pexip Room functionality details will be forthcoming, Pexip said. The Pexip Room software will be available this quarter and will run natively on the Logitech Rally Bar, Rally Bar Mini, and RoomMate (see details of those devices below).
 
With an eye on an improved meeting experience, BlueJeans by Verizon and Facebook this week announced enhancements for their respective video services.
 
As shared in a blog post, new features from BlueJeans by Verizon are:
  • Participant interactions — Meeting hosts and attendees get enhanced control over the meeting experience when they click on an attendee's tile. Meeting moderators can add a spotlight to an individual participant, and meeting participants can pin specific video tiles to create a custom viewing experience, BlueJeans said. In addition, participants can direct message each other during a meeting without having to access the People sidebar, BlueJeans said.
  • Participant reactions — Meeting participants can add clap, thumbs-up, smile, and celebrate reactions during a video presentation.
  • Participant time display — Local time now displays above meeting participants’ video tiles.
  • Participant scrolling — In Gallery and People view, participants can scroll through multiple pages of attendees for large meetings. Additionally, in the Expanded Gallery View, the subsequent pages will feature the five most recent speakers at the top of the list.

 

As for Facebook, it has improved the live video experience for its Workplace team collaboration platform to allow for multiple presenters to broadcast live. Live video analytics will surface issues in real time, while a post-video summary of broadcast analytics will provide details such as video views, average watch time, and engagement, Facebook said.
 
Aside for the video enhancement, Facebook introduced a revamped Safety Center for Workplace. Via the Safety Center, admins can share safety incidents, like travel advisories and safety alerts, with employees, Facebook said.
 
Devices Galore: From Video Bars to Web Cameras
Also, for improved video meetings, several hardware vendors this week announced device updates:
  • Logitech revealed a pair of PC-based video bars and a computing appliance. Logitech Rally Bar is designed for mid-sized spaces, and the Rally Bar Mini is for small spaces. Both devices feature USB connectivity, natively run Microsoft Teams and Zoom (with GoTo, Pexip, and RingCentral coming), and feature auto-framing capabilities. Additionally, the new RoomMate computing appliance allows users to run video conferencing services on Logitech conference cams like Rally Plus without the need of a computer. Pricing starts out at $3,999 for the Rally Bar, $2,999 for the Rally Bar Mini, and $999 for the Logitech RoomMate. The Rally Bar will be available end of this quarter, with the other devices to follow, Logitech said.
  • Audio conferencing solutions provider Nureva announced that its Nureva HDL300 audio conferencing system is now certified as a Microsoft Teams Room device. Designed for large meeting spaces, the Nureva HDL300 is a wall-mounted device that features acoustic echo cancelation and sound masking capabilities and can connect to a computer via USB, according to Nureva's device specifications. The device is currently available and costs $3,000.
  • Audio and visual communications solutions provider ClearOne this week released two cameras aimed at hybrid work and learning environments. The ClearOne Unite 10 features 1.5m USB-A cable for connectivity, auto-focus capabilities, and a mounting bracket. Designed for the manager or executive experience, the ClearOne Unite 50 4K AF features a USB 3.0 cable, auto-framing (and auto-focus) capabilities, and a mounting bracket. The ClearOne Unite 10 is currently available for $69, with the current "special price" of $65.55 and the ClearOne Unite 50 4K AF for $399, with a "special price" of $379.05.
 
Vyopta, Stack8 Increase UC Visibility
Two UCC monitoring and analytics providers, Vyopta and Stack8, have announced updates for their respective platforms :
  • Vyopta added real-time monitoring and expanded its analytics support for Cisco Webex Meetings, Vyopta said. Via Collaboration Performance Management for Webex, IT and UC teams get a single view across multiple Webex domains, reduce time to problem detection and resolution, receive granular alerts, and monitor live meeting/call metrics, Vyopta added.
  • Stack8 announced plans to release version 7.0 of its SMACS Unified Communications Management Platform (UCMP) this quarter. With this upcoming release, the SMACS UCMP will be divided into three modules: SMACS Manage, SMACS Automate, and SMACS Control. SMACS Manage will enable admins to offload costly and redundant UC tasks, such as moves, adds, changes, and deletes. SMACS Automate will let admins create custom workflows in HR- and IT service desk-related systems, while SMACS Control will allows admins to consolidate metrics into one centralized system, Stack8 added. SMACS UCMP today integrates with Cisco, Microsoft, and other UC platforms, and Stack8 said it will be adding integrations to 8x8, RingCentral, and others.
 
Avaya, Clarabridge Extend Relationships with AWS
As covered on No Jitter earlier this week, AWS expanded global partnerships for its Contact Center Intelligence (CCI) offering, which combines AI-powered services for text-to-speech, translation, intelligent search, conversational AI, transcription, and language comprehension capabilities. In her post on CCI, contact center analyst Sheila McGee-Smith, of McGee-Smith Analytics said this move marks a “dramatic increase in the number of partners, especially those serving either the global customer base or EMEA clients.”
 
Avaya and Clarabridge are among the CCI partners that issued their own related news this week:
 
  • Avaya OneCloud CCaaS customers can now leverage AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities to improve self-service, analyze calls in real-time, and learn from each interaction with post-call analytics, Avaya said. This AWS CCI integration aims to enhance customer engagement, improve the performance of customer experience teams, and enable more meaningful human connections between organizations and customers, Avaya added.
  • Clarabridge CX Analytics customers can add ML-driven speech and text analytics to existing contact center technologies, helping drive customer service quality, comprehensive risk/compliance management, and reduce costs, Clarabridge said. The AWS CCI integration enables organizations to improve agent coaching processes, uncover potential call deflection or self-service opportunities, and automate quality assurance, Clarabridge added.
 
Other CCI partners include 8x8, Salesforce, Talkdesk, Servion, and Wipro.
 
 
Ryan Daily, No Jitter associate editor, contributed to this article.