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Poly’s “Power of Many” Message for Businesses

Alexa for Business

Poly made noise in the AV and workplace collaboration industry this week as it became the new face of the combination of Plantronics and Polycom.

The company is supporting its first marketing campaign, “The Power of Many,” with some high-profile announcements that focus on product integration with technology from Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Poly made these announcements while at Enterprise Connect in Orlando.

In the days that followed the rebranding as Poly, the company announced:

The Power of Many

Common to these products is their emphasis on bringing people together, which is the message of Poly’s “Power of Many” campaign. The “power of many” also describes the functions that are brought together in a solution. Systems that combine useful functions are what you might envision when you hear the term “unified communications” — the ability to review one’s calendar, join a meeting, and make video calls from one device.

Along with this versatility, the goal is simplicity, which is key to the user experience of solutions that combine multiple functions. You could say that’s the main appeal of a solution that includes Alexa, making it possible to manage meetings and room devices through voice.

Poly’s solution announcements this week indicate their focus on a positive user experience. Common to each of them:  These solutions integrate with systems that people are comfortable with and want to keep using in a way that isn’t needlessly complex. One phrase on the Poly website touts the ability to “concentrate on ideas in the air, not devices in the room.” When people use workplace collaboration solutions, they shouldn’t notice the technology to an extent that is disruptive. Rather, they should be able to give their attention to the collaboration that the technology is making possible.

As new solutions enable us to do more from more places, companies are wise to incorporate those solutions in the workplace to attract talented people who want to be able to collaborate in a variety of ways and do it on demand.

The solutions that are easiest to use will be the most attractive, as long as they have the capabilities that people expect. Those capabilities are with us in a variety of solution packages. The power of Poly’s message is in its focus on how its solutions make it easier for people to produce the products, ideas, services and innovations that keeps their businesses growing.

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Webinar Recording: Creating a Customized Collaboration Space for Any Environment

AV in Meeting Spaces

Learn about the NEC solutions that are designed to improve collaboration between teams in the same workplace and across different locations.  During this on-demand AVI-SPL webinar, Chris Feldman, product manager for NEC Display Solutions, addresses:

  • Roadblocks to incorporating collaboration technology
  • NEC solutions for team collaboration, wireless presentation, and interactive whiteboarding
  • The collaboration challenges solved by NEC’s Mosaic Suite, CB Series, and InfinityBoard.

You’ll also discover how you can choose from NEC’s hardware and software options to create the collaboration solution that works best for your organization.

During the Q&A, Feldman addresses how to save work from a session, typical equipment and capabilities in a huddle room, and the best system to use in a classroom environment.

Get the recording for “Creating a Customized Collaboration Space for Any Environment” >

To view our Partner blog, click here

Webinar Recording: Collaboration for the 21st-Century Classroom

21st century classroom

This AVI-SPL webinar looks at Newline Interactive’s TRUTOUCH X Series, an immersive collaboration system that makes students feel like they are in the same classroom with their remote peers and helps teachers focus on teaching.

Tim Garber, manager of professional development at Newline Interactive, explores the X Series’ educational applications, built-in whiteboard, and IdeaMax collaboration software. The X Series enables participants to interact via voice and video and to annotate shared content. Other features include:

  • InGlass interactive touch technology
  • Content annotation
  • Object recognition
  • Video conferencing
  • Windows shortcuts
  • Newline Assistant

Get the recording for “Collaboration for the 21st-Century Classroom” >

About the presenter
Tim Garber is the manager of professional development at Newline Interactive. He manages the day-to-day execution, priorities, and scheduling of the team conducting in-person training sessions. He has developed training materials for K-12 schools and higher education institutions.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Five Ways to Appreciate Your Employees

AV Everywhere

Today, the calendar on the wall — or your desk, or your smartphone — is asking companies throughout the United States to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day.  Companies are their employees, so a business’s success depends on the success of its workers. To attract and keep the employees that make their businesses succeed, an organization’s leaders should remind them that they are valued. Here are a few ways you can show your appreciation for your colleagues.

1. Provide time off and transportation for volunteer work

Support your employees and their dedication to improving their local communities by organizing or taking part in events that help people in need or causes they believe in. From its Tampa headquarters, AVI-SPL takes an active role in Feeding Children Everywhere, which works to ensure that kids don’t go hungry. We also contribute through groups like Metropolitan Ministries, Paint Your Heart Out Tampa, toy drives, and bike-building events. Go to Charity Navigator to find evaluations of charities and choose the ones that you think are worthy of your effort and will do the most good.

2. Share snacks or have a food truck day

Morning bagels or donuts can help your employees get over the midweek hump and keep them buzzing on Fridays, when energy and enthusiasm flags with the weekend in sight. Once a month, AVI-SPL hosts a free dessert day from our Tampa office. And we often have a different food truck visit our business campus during the Friday lunch hour. Sometimes a department will bring in snacks and share them in the break room. A holiday like Valentine’s Day can provide all the excuse you need for a pizza party that encourages people to get away from their desks and connect with each other.

3. Offer day care services or flexible hours

Show the parents in your office that you value their contribution by giving them the time to care for their children and make it easier to attend to their day care or school schedule. It can be difficult — especially for new parents and those with long commutes — to be away from their children and deal with drop-off and pick-up times, so giving them the opportunity to work from home at least part time (such as the morning or late afternoon hours) can really help those who are always rushing through traffic to make it to work or their kids’ school.

4. Reward employees for outstanding teamwork

Invite employees to nominate each other in recognition of their outstanding teamwork and accomplishments. Winners may be recognized with gift cards, company-wide announcements, and other perks, like a monthly parking spot of their choice. You’ll reward coworkers for their great contributions and inspire others to up their game. Tie accolades to activities designed to increase fitness, like walking competitions, and you’ll have set the stage for a lifelong commitment to one’s health.

5. Provide a modern digital workplace

Empowering employees means committing to a culture that values flexibility in the way they work and generate the ideas that spark a company’s success. Modern digital workplaces with collaboration spaces and their technology systems allow people to share content in real time from their personal devices during same-room gatherings, as well as during video conferences that bring in teams from remote locations (such as another office or one’s home).

By implementing a variety of spaces with collaboration technology that is easy to use and meets the variety of ways people prefer to do their work, you’ll be showing you value your employees by supporting their ability to work efficiently in teams of various sizes, and to do it from a variety of locations. And you’ll be effectively meeting your desired business outcomes.

Transforming the workplace can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Visit AVI-SPL’s landing page “Digital Workplace Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent” for a look at the top considerations when choosing collaboration technology for your workplace, the variety of work spaces that support different styles of teamwork, and the technology within those spaces.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Discover the Future of Work With AVI-SPL at ISE 2019

AV Events

The world’s largest exhibition for AV and systems integration begins in less than 24 hours, and AVI-SPL is already there, getting ready to share its latest solutions and services that help companies enter the future of work.

At ISE 2019, guests to AVI-SPL booth 11-C155 will understand what we mean by digital workplace transformation and why it’s so valuable to organizations of all types. In short segments, our staff and special guests will use a five-panel MultiTaction display to explain:

You’ll find the times for these presentations at AVI-SPL’s ISE event website. At our website, you’ll also find a form for requesting a meeting with AVI-SPL representatives to answer your questions.

To view our Partner blog, click here

AVI-SPL and JLL Guide Companies Into the Future of Work

AV Everywhere

We’ve just shared a video about the future of work on the AVI-SPL YouTube channel that shows the efforts of JLL, AVI-SPL and other partners to help companies open up their value by improving how they work. The members of the Project and Development Services Strategic Council also include Interface, Interior Architects, Wiedenbach Brown, and Steelcase.

In this video, produced by VideoLink VLCreative, you’ll see how JLL’s preferred vendors support its “future of work” initiative, which focuses on helping companies find better ways to innovate and collaborate so they lead to better business outcomes.

AVI-SPL contributes by providing its expertise with the AV and collaboration technology solutions and services that improve the worker experience and help them perform their jobs at a high level.

Watch the video and tell AVI-SPL about your company’s goals for being a part of the future of work.

To view our Partner blog, click here