Overly complex audiovisual systems have made it far easier for people today to welcome a standardized, plug-and-play solution — but perhaps IT most of all.
Walking into a conference room can trigger anxious or annoyed feelings in those who must present content to others. Set up requires an extra 10 minutes before the meeting, or longer, with no guarantee the tech wouldn’t go awry at some point during the presentation.
A faulty system? Maybe. But more likely, the people who must use it don’t understand it because it’s too complicated.
What this means is that IT is constantly bogged down with service requests to resolve issues while under a great deal of pressure from their peers (or the worst, executives).
Staff and resource shortages, along with skills gaps, make supporting the organization’s technology difficult enough — let alone a highly specialized, engineered AV solution that only few have truly mastered.
More and more, companies continue to release plug-and-play hardware and software solutions to cut down on the complexity of their technology landscape, which has led to several benefits to both end-users and the overall organization.
In this blog, we cover three of the main reasons why standardized AV solutions make life easier for all, especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy.
1. Standardized, Plug-and-Play AV Tech Deploys Faster
For larger organizations, standardized conference room systems are quickly becoming the norm because predictable solutions can be replicated over and over at scale, enabling facilities and IT teams to better support users and the greater organization.
Today, several options have emerged on the market, making it simple for enterprises to source equipment and install it themselves or pay for installation. Zoom Rooms, Microsoft Teams Rooms, and the Cisco Webex Room Series are among the leading examples of plug-and-play, standardized video conferencing solutions available today, but more continue to enter the market with new, innovative approaches to collaboration.
The main advantages of a standardized conferencing solution:
- Scale — By selecting a standard package of hardware for a small, medium or large room, you establish a model that others can replicate at offices across the country or world. In turn, this also speeds up the process. A standard set of tech means you’re not reinventing the wheel over and over.
- “As-a-Service” Model — Many companies selling standardized room solutions offer them on a subscription basis. Pay for what you need monthly and enjoy the same benefits without a huge CapEx expense.
- Engineering — For some, a custom design is necessary. Those clients need a specialized space that functions in a specific way. But, largely, clients mostly need a simple solution that’s easy to deploy. By cutting down engineering time, clients save in more ways than one.
2. Standards Set Expectations for the Organization
Some studies show employees lose about 28 minutes a day because of technology issues. That’s a lot of time gone to seemingly trivial issues that stack up, which cause people frustration and cost the organization in productivity (a.k.a., money).
“Every day, employees settle for small IT glitches – slow boot-up times, patchy internet connectivity, programs crashing, etc., but these problems go unreported, unnoticed, and amount to more wasted time than we’d like to admit,” said Jon Cairns, VP of Global Solution Consulting at Nexthink, in a statement. “Combined, all of this hurts productivity, morale, organizational culture, employee retention, and ultimately the top and bottom line for millions of businesses.”
Using plug-and-play AV technology and establishing standards helps put in place a set of best practices that all can expect whenever they walk into a space, whether that’s a huddle room, a small or medium conference room, or even a large, executive boardroom. Some companies, like Poly and Zoom, also offer home office solutions for remote workers. These solutions feature USB-based devices to make setup exceptionally easy.
By developing a solution that all can intuitively understand, you help people take advantage of the technology as it’s intended to be used. This puts the tools in their hands to do their best work, rather than hamper their potential.
3. Fewer Problems Leads to More Satisfaction (and Less Cost)
Outdated technology is like a chronic illness to organizations of all kinds. Some research suggests up to 50% of employees say outdated tech poses a moderate challenge at work, with 16% saying it hinders them severely. Further, nearly two-thirds say it impacts their job satisfaction.
Who likes it when…
- Their computer crashes?
- They can’t launch an application?
- The video won’t turn on?
- When the audio doesn’t work quite right?
- They can’t figure out the settings?
…Nobody.
It’s frustrating. It’s degrading. It’s a waste of time.
These sorts of technical issues stack up, bring down morale, derail meetings, and create a poor atmosphere for collaboration. During the development process, it’s important to understand what tools — hardware, software or otherwise — will benefit the organization, so the outcome can reflect how people choose to work.
Standardized, simple and consistent solutions that people enjoy using will leave the IT department scratching their heads, wondering where all the support tickets have gone. (Not really, they would just work on much more important tasks.) At the end of the day, people could walk away feeling more fulfilled leaving meetings, rather than trying to squeeze in another half hour meeting to play catch-up because technology failed yet again.
Access the Largest Nation-wide Network of Certified AV Heroes for Your Next Deployment
As you begin creating standards at work and deploying plug-and-play devices, it’s important to have a backup plan in case you need support for installation, troubleshooting or training. And that’s where AV Hero comes in.
AV Heroes are skilled, certified AV professionals who stand at the ready to help should you need assistance with:
- Presentation systems
- Digital Signage
- Video Conferencing
- Control Systems
- Sound masking
- And more!
“AV HERO has addressed one of the biggest problems in the AV industry… technical response time. We have used them multiple times now with great results,” said Ishak / KDInfoTech of San Jose, CA.
