Over the past 10 years organizations and consumers have experienced the most rapid advancement, change, and emergence of technology solutions of every sort. From network infrastructure, to audio visual solutions, to security systems. From social media applications, to online subscription services, to internet gaming. From AI (artificial intelligence), to VR (virtual reality), to IoT (internet of things). The R&D budgets of manufacturers along with customer appetite for more, better, faster, different, ensures change will never stop.
When a company needs new technology for their conference space, it can take weeks to months to get the proper system implemented and the cost can be extreme. Ned Coleman, CEO, had the vision to create pre-designed conference room system bundles to take the stress out of customer’s shopping process and lower the financial impact of implementing new technology. This idea blossomed into JUMPSTART ROOMS.
First and foremost, what is an AV Integrator? An AV integrator designs, installs and manages an audio-visual solution. At Smarter Systems, our goal is to help our clients find a smarter way to work together through the utilization of AV systems.
It's time to design your meeting space. Whether you're starting from scratch or updating your current workspace, there are numerous details to consider during the design process. Smarter Systems specializes in room design and below are seven key points we suggest thinking about when designing your conference space.
When researching for the right AV integrator to partner with there are numerous factors to consider such as pricing, timing, location but there are factors beyond these that can truly help you choose the right partner. Smarter Systems has four distinct factors that we believe set us apart from other businesses.
We’re quickly settling into our new office space in the Whitehall Technology Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. This new space allows us to easily get to our clients near and far, has warehousing space to better prepare for projects, and room to continue growing.
WFH (Work from home). BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting). We've added a lot of acronyms to our vocabulary since COVID-19 started. Like WFH, BYOM is something we've started seeing more since most of us have fully embraced video conferencing. Barco, a conference room technology leader, says it's an extension of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the workplace. While working and collaborating via your own tablet, mobile, or laptop is quite common practice in enterprises nowadays, the entrance of BYOM marks the beginning of a new, more dynamic workplace experience.
Back to "normal"? Nope, not so fast! I'm not sure our expectations of "normal" will ever be the same after the things we have experienced over the last few months. If you'd told me in December when I was setting my 2020 goals that a virus would change our world, I would've called you crazy! But the truth is, it has changed everything. If you look around, you will see that life as we know it has changed both in our personal and professional worlds.
UPDATE: We've written a new list for 2023. Check it out here!
When you are thinking about video conferencing, software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams comes to mind. Those types of unified communication and collaboration platforms (UCC) are essential now that the workforce has moved to a work from home model. This software creates a virtual conference room. But, what does it mean for your actual conference room when it's business as usual? Everyone attending your meeting can't huddle around one person's laptop, can they? (The answer is no.)
As COVID-19 restrictions lift and we slowly start to return to the office, businesses around the world will have to adopt a hybrid work-style. The balance between remote and office-based working will be hard for some, especially if it wasn't the business standard pre-pandemic. To ensure business as usual, it's now more important than ever to consider your conference room technology strategy.