Polycom
As far as we can tell, Polycom did not make any major product announcements at ISE. However, the company's booth was jumping with demos of various products including:
Pano -- a wireless presentation appliance offering touch-display support and a handful of ideation features including whiteboarding (see our evaluation report). Also worth noting, Polycom is one of six finalists for the Best of Enterprise Connect 2018 for the Pano product.
Polycom MSR -- a family of Skype Room System (SRS) bundles including a Surface Pro installed within a Polycom MSR Dock, and additional Polycom audio/video peripherals (depending on model ordered). For example, the MSR 200 is designed for small rooms and includes the Surface Pro, MSR Dock, a 1080px webcam, and a Polycom Trio 8500. According to Polycom, MSR is now shipping.
During our meeting at the booth, Polycom mentioned that its Trio speakerphone is, and we quote, "flying off the shelves" in both audio-only and audio + video flavors.
As one might expect, Polycom's booth also included a range of Polycom phones -- both Open SIP and Skype for Business versions, as well as other Microsoft-friendly solutions (e.g. the Polycom Group Series video endpoints).
Prysm
Prysm announced the general availability this month of two new native apps for its visual collaboration solution -- one for Windows 10-based devices, and the other for iPhones. These apps extend the power of the Prysm work experience from the conference room to the desktop to the mobile device. Prysm for Desktop allows users to connect to visual workspaces and view/share content, files, notes, sketches, and more. Prysm for iPhone allows mobile users to engage in Prysm projects, share files and web content, and add ideas and notes to sessions. In addition, the iPhone app allows users to quickly and securely log in to Prysm-enabled displays directly from an iPhone. Note also that Prysm technology (meaning software) was featured in several other booths including Avocor, Leyard, Planar, Unilumin, and Urben.
QSC
This is an audio company that is very much focused on breaking down the barriers and silos between audio, video, and control within the meeting room. This is the concept behind the Q-SYS platform -- the convergence of audio, video, and control capabilities within a single software-based offering. In other words, customers no longer need separate hardware to create a complete system.
At the show, QSC launched a new version of Q-SYS Control with an improved drag-and-drop approach to creating user control interfaces (UCIs) onto native Q-SYS touch screen controllers, as well as a new Block Controller component, which is a visual coding tool that makes sophisticated scripting easier. Also demoed was Q-SYS Reflect, a new monitoring and management system that allows clients to manage their A/V equipment like the rest of their IT estate.
Sennheiser
Sennheiser was all about microphones -- wired and wireless. In addition to the broad range of devices shown on the stand, Sennheiser introduced its new Control Cockpit portal, allowing customers to manage and monitor their Sennheiser devices. (Think about battery status for wireless microphones and how important monitoring mic batteries in meeting rooms can be in the enterprise environment.) Bottom line: The new focus of Sennheiser revolves around the topic of "Digital Workflow by Sennheiser" and the features of the Sennheiser Control Cockpit.
