Recently, Poly announced that the Poly Studio P15 video bar won this year’s iF Design Award, a world-renowned design prize that "identifies outstanding design, its relevance for business and everyday life awards one of the most important seals of quality in the world." 

Digital signage has been a vital communication tool in the COVID era. During this time of shifting safety protocols and variable levels of risk, easily updated digital signage delivers up-to-the-minute information that  helps people navigate spaces safely. With offices and commercial spaces opening their doors again, digital signage strategies take on even greater importance and utility. Let’s take a look at a few areas where digital signage plays a key role in facilitating business. 

No matter how many employees you have, whether they work in the office or from home, it is essential that the AV and UC solutions they connect and collaborate are well-maintained and secure. It is also important that your employees, both at home and in the office, are properly trained to take advantage of modern-day collaboration solutions and AV equipment. Solutionz has launched several services for maintaining and monitoring your devices, as well as ensuring adoption and workflow integration for your team. 

According to a recent report issued by IDC Research, 83% of business leaders plan to provide more opportunities to work remotely than before the pandemic, with a nearly identical percentage (84%) planning to accelerate the digitization of work processes via such tools as video conferencing. Offices won’t be a thing of the past, but with more and more options for flexible work arrangements, there will be an increased demand for video conferencing solutions designed for all types of working environments. 

As the last year has borne out, companies equipped with adaptable and flexible technology solutions are better able to handle unforeseen upheavals and unprecedented changes in the need for remote work accommodations. While it’s impossible to predict the future, being agile enough to adapt is within your control. StarLeaf’s recently unveiled spring 2021 release adds a host of new tools and features that will have you heading into the future with confidence. 

Recently named a “Visionary” in Gartner’s annual Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions, StarLeaf specializes in video conferencing services that are secure, reliable and easy to use. With StarLeaf Cloud, you can connect any hardware endpoint to the cloud and enjoy StarLeaf’s top notch service from wherever you are. Let’s take a look at a few features that make StarLeaf so special. 

Video conferencing fatigue is real, and you are not the only one feeling it. Whether you’re burned out on feeling like you have to be “on” or exhausted from work colliding with your responsibilities at home, you’re probably familiar with feeling tired after a day of video calls. So let’s take a look at a few strategies for mitigating stress and avoiding video conferencing burnout. 

The new Poly Rove wireless IP phone solution brings durability and security to meet scalability and cleanliness. Built for onsite employees, Poly Rove phones can be scaled to support up to 1,000 handsets, and each device is ruggedized with an IP65 ratting to be dust-proof, water-resistant and drop proof up to 6.6 feet.

It seems that we are all on video calls more than ever, right? But are we present? Are we engaging with our colleagues, clients and employees in ways that makes them feel seen and heard and appreciated? This is a hard time for nearly everyone and human connection is more important than ever. How do we stay focused and accomplish the goals of your online meetings while fostering important relationships? Let’s look at targeted ways we can remain present for the people who make up our businesses.

Although cloud-based video conferencing solutions like StarLeaf Cloud have made it easier than ever for remote users to connect with others, many are still making do with the hardware that came with their home computers. That’s all going to change with the arrival of Poly’s new crop of USB devices. Designed with the work from home environment in mind, these USB devices aim to deliver premium video and audio to everyone everywhere. 

The rapid shift to remote learning last spring forced institutions of higher education to adapt on the fly. Professors, students, administrators and staff had to reimagine nearly every aspect of the college experience. Now, with a year of hindsight and some idea of what’s to come, we can take stock of the changes we’ve witnessed and make some educated guesses about the future of higher ed in a time of remote learning.

In a recent Gartner survey of 127 company leaders, 82% of respondents said they intend to permit remote working some of the time once employees are able to return to the workplace. With so much work happening off-site, companies will have to rethink how they use their office space. To get the most out of conference rooms and huddle rooms, organizations will be designing spaces for a dispersed work force that isn’t on-site full-time. So let’s take a look at the four keys of hybrid office planning. 

As companies rushed to implement remote work plans in 2020, use of Microsoft Teams skyrocketed, with approximately 115 million active daily users logging in to the conferencing and collaboration platform as of November 2020--a whopping fifty percent increase from earlier in the year. Now, as companies plan for a future that will find many employees opting for hybrid work plans and full-time work-from-home arrangements, organizations will be looking for ways to make Microsoft Teams a permanent fixture, both on-site and in home offices. So let’s look at a few ways you can optimize Teams performance to get the most out of every employee, no matter where they’re working. 

Pexip, provider of enterprise-wide conferencing solutions, has announced Pexip Private Cloud, a new cloud-based conferencing option that combines the flexibility of a traditional cloud solution and the security of a self-hosted conferencing set-up. With Pexip Private Cloud, customers can take back control of their data and decide where they would like to host it.

Effective team management often comes down to identifying work styles and implementing practices that accommodate various methods and approaches. It can be a bit trickier to negotiate these various styles in these work-from-home times, so here is a quick breakdown of four remote work "types" and how to handle them.

As more employees transition into remote working arrangements, the demand for versatile and compact on-premise collaboration solutions has increased. 

Video conferencing solutions have become the tools of choice for staying connected with friends and family during the COVID-19 pandemic. For casual users,  FaceTime or Google Hangouts are simple and accessible platforms that keep distant loved ones a mere click away. Remote workers, however, often need complementary hardware and an advanced video meeting platform to work efficiently and effectively. With temporary work-from-home arrangements turning into long-haul situations, employees need enterprise-grade solutions. And that’s where Poly comes in. Already a leader in video conferencing and telepresence solutions before 2020 came along and changed the way we work, Poly has cemented its trailblazer status this year, with a host of room solutions optimized and certified for Zoom.

Many people around the world are working from home and making do with new technology and makeshift home offices. While traditional office life may be forever altered due to COVID-19, some businesses will require employees to return to the office at some point. Here's what to expect if you're called back. 

Although folks might be trickling back into the office to work on-site at least some of the time, large scale gatherings continue to be absolutely off-limits due to COVID. Which means events, conferences, trade shows, holiday soirees and the like must be limited to the virtual realm. This makes it a bit more difficult to pull off an event that people will remember, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show your attendees a good time. Here are a few tips for making a virtual event nearly as unmissable as the real thing.

Poly used the occasion of Zoom's all-virtual Zoomtopia 2020 to unveil the Poly Sync Family, a brand new line of smart speakerphones that leverage proprietary microphone technology to more effectively track the talker instead of the noise.

StarLeaf, a global provider of innovative meeting room solutions and video conferencing services, has been named a “Visionary” in Gartner’s annual Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions. This marks the second year in a row that StarLeaf has landed in the vaunted “Visionary” category, which honors companies that “understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules.”

With schools across the U.S. reopening in the midst of the COVID pandemic, administrators are doing everything they can to keep students safe during a time of uncertainty. As a part of their technology plan, school districts should consider implementing a district-wide digital signage solution to keep students and employees informed and engaged. Let’s take a look at how that might work.

According to a new poll conducted by University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, one in four older Americans had a virtual medical visit in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with most of those virtual visits being conducted with videoconferencing technology. This signals a precipitous rise in telehealth tech usage. In a similar poll conducted just last year, only 4% of people over fifty said they’d ever had a virtual visit with a doctor.

Students around the world had to transition into online learning mode in March, and fall finds many of them continuing to learn via video. It’s not only school-age children, though. New hires are attending virtual trainings. College students are logging in to online lectures. All manner of continuing education has moved to remote communication. We might not all be in school, but many of us are now learning online. This poses a great challenge to teachers, who are adapting their lesson plans to an entirely new learning context. Here a few tips and tricks for those among you who have been tasked with teaching in these unprecedented times.

If you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention to communication trends over the last few years, you’ve heard this time and time again: huddle rooms are the future! And this: huddle rooms are the now! Let’s briefly sketch how we got there. As more and more companies embraced flexible work models, fewer and fewer employees worked in offices full time. The age of jam-packed conference rooms was nearing its end, and the new era of collaboration favored small groups and video-assisted meet-ups. Big rooms were no longer necessary. What these mobile workers needed were more intimate staging areas outfitted with collaboration tools that allowed them to connect with distant colleagues and clients. And thus, the huddle room was born.

Recruiting and hiring is difficult in the best of times. Same goes for job hunting. During a pandemic, though? Talk about a headache. But using video conferencing solutions wisely can make the process a whole lot easier for companies and prospective employees alike. Let’s take a quick look at a few methods for making this all go smoothly for everyone.

As work-from-home arrangements have become the norm, Zoom’s daily participant count has increased by over 2,000 percent, while total meeting minutes have increased by 3,000 percent. Those numbers may drop when offices reopen, but many companies have realized something important: remote work, works. Even when it is no longer required due to COVID concerns, employees will continue to push for work-from-home options. Which means manufacturers of video conferencing and collaboration solutions have to step up and remove as many barriers to communication as possible. 

We all know there is more to effective communication than simply speaking clearly. Your facial expressions matter. The way you move (or don’t move) while you speak (or listen) conveys a great deal of information that adds subtle shades of meaning to verbal expression. And even though you might have mastered the use of silent cues to become an eminently effective communicator, transferring these skills to video conferencing involves a few tweaks you might want to consider.

Just because you’re a remote worker doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have access to the same conferencing and collaboration tools as your on-site counterparts. Poly’s vast selection of affordable and intuitive collaboration solutions include a number of products that deliver high quality audio and high def video to home offices. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Working from home is a real treat in many ways. No more commuting! You don’t have to wear shoes! No one will steal your lunch from the fridge! But as more and more people are finding out this year, the work-from-home lifestyle poses its own unique challenges. Here are a few tips and tricks for settling in to your new schedule and avoiding some of the more common pitfalls.

According to a report recently published by Nemertes, 36% of organizations would like to continue offering full-time work-from-home arrangements once offices open back up, while 41.8% say they will support employees who would like to work from home on a part-time basis. Offices certainly aren’t a thing of the past, then, but many companies will clearly be making remote work a viable long-term option for their employees. But this means management will have to do more than simply subscribe to a video conferencing service. Implementing a successful work-from-home culture is an ongoing process. Here are a few tips for making it work.

According to a recent analysis of the post-pandemic meetings market published by Frost & Sullivan, the number of remote workers post-COVID will be approximately 500% greater than the pre-pandemic number. Many companies were forced to transition into remote work arrangements with little to no warning. It’s understandable that businesses went into “make it work” mode. But if Frost & Sullivan’s projections are even close to accurate, there will be a sizable workforce of full-time remote workers who will need comprehensive video conferencing solutions that are as feature-rich as they are easy to use.

According to a recent study of 3,500 remote workers conducted by Buffer, 98% of people who are currently working from home would prefer to work that way for the rest of their careers. It couldn’t be more clear that people want remote work options. That should be reason enough for your company to implement a permanent video conferencing solution.  But if you need some added incentive, let’s look at the ways video conferencing will improve your business.

Global communications giant Poly has issued a new report surveying the shape of the post-COVID workplace, which we can probably all agree won’t return to the “old normal.” And why should it? Although we are still grappling with instability and uncertainty, the recent lockdowns have proven that many organizations can run fairly smoothly with a remote workforce. And a healthy number of those recently relocated employees might not be too happy to return to a traditional office-based arrangement. When things return to "normal", the definition of "normal" will have undergone a transformation. Poly’s report suggests a full-scale transition into hybrid working, which upholds flexibility and choice as factors that determine how and when and where we work.

Long before COVID-19 changed the way we do pretty much everything, telemedicine was revolutionizing the healthcare industry. According to the Journal of American Medical Association, telemedicine visits increased at an average compound annual growth rate of 52% per year between 2005-2014. And the American Hospital Association reported that 76% of U.S. hospitals were connecting with patients and consulting practitioners using some form of telemedicine technology as of 2019.

So you’ve finally gotten the hang of this whole remote work thing. You’ve familiarized yourself with the features of your video conferencing and collaboration solution. You’ve settled into a work-from-home routine that works for you. Now it’s time to refine your skills. Effectively communicating with colleagues via video requires a host of techniques and considerations that aren’t exactly organic. So let’s take a look at a few things you can be doing to keep your work connections healthy and strong.

Video conferencing provider, Lifesize, has announced a native integration with Alexa for Business, which will allow Lifesize customers to access voice-activated controls on their meeting room systems. To inaugurate their new partnership, Lifesize and Amazon Web Services will be offering 90 days of complimentary service for joint customers to trial Lifesize with Alexa for Business.

It should go without saying that more people are using video collaboration and conferencing solutions in 2020 than in any year previous. Even before COVID-19 reconfigured pretty much everything, remote work was trending steadily upward. We would have seen growth regardless. But with lockdown restrictions in effect, video conferencing and collaboration solutions have become the bedrock of global commerce and communication. A new report issued by StarLeaf early this month reveals just how much the landscape of work has shifted.

Last year, when Poly introduced the Poly Studio series for smaller conference rooms and Poly G7500 for larger meeting rooms, we knew they would update their offerings with tweaks and improvements that made conferencing and collaboration even simpler and more intuitive. With the release of their latest software update, Poly Video OS 3.1, Poly has done just that, with refined and expanded features that make a good thing even better.

In response to the sudden need for remote work options during the COVID-19 crisis, StarLeaf has announced an initiative to provide free conferencing and collaboration solutions to anyone who needs them, in addition to offering licensing flexibility to existing customers.

Now that many of us find ourselves working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we may realize keeping a work life balance is a little harder now that work is at home. We might notice we are working more than we should or that its harder and harder to get out of that work mind set. Here are a few tips to help keep things separated (source: Cisco). 

Working from home #WFH can be a treat. You can wear whatever you want. You can take your lunch break early or not at all. You don’t have to brave traffic, weather and parking. The perks are many. However, remote work poses unique challenges you may not have considered. Here are a few tips for overcoming them.

If you’re hoping to maintain productivity while #WFH, you’ll need to beef up the technologies you’re using. For those not used to working from home, it might not be easy to know where to start. Here are five technologies remote workers should consider to stay on top of their work:

The remote workforce has added millions of people to its ranks in the last few weeks. There will certainly be a learning curve as employees adjust to the logistics of working from home. For those who will be meeting with their co-workers and bosses via video, there might be some additional trepidation around technology. Here are a few tips for video conferencing newcomers.

According to a recent survey conducted by Poly and Future Workplace, 40% of workers in open plan offices say they are always or very often distracted at work, with one in three open plan office workers reporting a loss of at least one hour of productivity per day due to distractions.

Working from home #WFH doesn’t have to be hard work. Especially when you have the right tools. With many employees now faced with working from home, Poly products are set to play a bigger part in businesses than ever before. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influx of people working from home, there has been a significant increase in end user organizations ordering computer monitors as well as large format and interactive displays for their employees and teams to work remotely.

Providing your employees with innovative and easily accessible video collaboration and conferencing solutions is only the first step in a successful unified communications plan. It’s a huge first step, and gets you most of the way to where you need to be, but it’s vital that you monitor and manage your deployment in order to understand how your resources are being used and how they might be used more efficiently.

At this year’s Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) trade show, held in Amsterdam in mid-February, cloud conferencing pioneer StarLeaf unveiled three new collaboration solutions designed to facilitate workflows and increase interoperability. Let’s take a quick look at what StarLeaf has in store for us.

StarLeaf, which was recognized as a "Visionary" in the Gartner 2019 Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions, is an industry leader in cloud conferencing and collaboration services, but they are just as dedicated to innovating user-friendly hardware solutions for rooms of all sizes. The company's latest breakthrough, StarLeaf Huddle, aims to transform the huddle room into a collaboration hub.

As recommended by the CDC, organizations are strongly encouraged to have a continuity plan for COVID-19 outbreak and prevention. As a result, many organizations, including schools, hospitals, government entities and large organizations, have implemented a "Work From Home" policy/mandate without having the proper enterprise communication systems in place for their employees to do so.

We are experts in video conferencing and unified communications and have provided a few tips on how to help maintain business continuity while working from home.

In our recent roundup of collaboration trends that will define the future, we made a case for AI as one of the next frontiers in video conferencing. A recent RELX survey supports this. Their poll found that 88% of business leaders believe that machine learning or AI can help their companies be more competitive. However, the survey also found that only 56% of organizations are currently using these technologies. So we have the perfect combination for growth: belief in the technology's efficacy combined with plenty of room for new adoption.

Unified communications solutions have made it easier than ever for companies to provide their employees with comprehensive collaboration tool kits, but if recent studies are any indication, too few organizations are taking advantage of the many conferencing and collaboration resources available to them. A recent survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan found that 80% of employees use applications at work that aren’t approved by IT. This speaks to a general dissatisfaction with the official collaboration tools on offer.

Last year, Poly conducted a global survey of office employees to find out how open office plans were impacting their productivity. The results probably wouldn’t surprise anyone who has ever spent a good chunk of time trying to do business amidst the hustle and bustle of an open space. 99 percent of employees said they get distracted while working at their personal workspace, while more than half of respondents said that distractions make it hard to listen and/or be heard on calls.

We don't need to tell you that video conferencing and collaboration solutions will play a role in business in 2020 and beyond. But what might those solutions look like in the coming year? And what should you be thinking about throughout the next twelve months, as new technology appears on the horizon and promises to shake things up? In some ways, 2020 will be more of the same, with UCaaS continuing to trend upward, but there are some new developments worth keeping a close eye on. Let's take a look.

The increasing feasibility and popularity of remote work was one of the defining features of the 2010's, and so it makes sense, here at the beginning of a fresh decade, to consider what might be in store for us in the next ten years. How will remote work evolve? What might it look like? Feel like? Here are a few roads we are likely to travel down on our way to 2030.

You've thought about implementing a digital signage solution, but something held you back. You thought it might cost too much. Or be too complicated. Or just wouldn't attract enough attention to justify all the trouble of installation and content creation. These are semi-reasonable objections, but they don't hold nearly as much water in 2020 as they might have five years ago. In reality, digital signage technology is a cost-effective and a fairly simple way to convey your company's message. Let's take a look at a few common points and see if we can't get digital signage onto your To Do List for 2020.

The bywords for video conferencing speak to a workplace of flux and change: flexibility, mobility, interoperability. The business world has pivoted toward cloud-based solutions that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. It’s a shift in thinking that mirrors personal computing trends. We want the world in our pockets, and we want that world to encompass work as well as play, meetings as well as meet-ups.

We are cruising to 2019’s finish line but before we settle our soft clothes and tend to hearth and home, let’s take a few minutes to consider a few ways to get next year off to a great start. If you’re looking to improve collaboration and unified communications practices in 2020, we’ve got a few hot tips to carry into January.

The thinking behind open office plans goes something like this: no longer confined to cubicles and tiny offices, employees will communicate more often and more effectively, while the entire workplace transforms into a realm of natural light, easy conversation, non-stop brainstorming and constant collaboration. But as numerous studies have shown, employees too often find themselves distracted by the co-workers with whom they were supposed to be attaining a whole new level of productivity.

Streaming video accounts for over two-thirds of all internet traffic and is expected to jump to 82% by 2020. A hefty portion of that percentage is probably eaten up by video game streamers and Instagram influencers, but the stats are saying something that businesses should hear: live streaming is an ideal way to keep your employees and customers engaged and excited about your mission. Let’s take a closer look at how and why.

Earlier this year, Poly unveiled Poly Studio, a plug-and-play video bar that delivers conferencing and collaboration capabilities to any room with a monitor. Seemingly incapable of resting on its laurels, the global communications giant has just announced Studio X, a brand new iteration of Studio that offers a built-in Microsoft Teams experience.

Cloud-based conferencing and collaboration pioneer StarLeaf has just announced the opening of a brand new office in Jersey City, New Jersey. The new office will serve as a center of support for StarLeaf’s rapidly expanding enterprise customer base in the Northeast.

As remote work and cloud-based solutions continue to gain in popularity, more and more companies are shifting to a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) model of communication and collaboration. Allowing your employees to use their own tablets and smartphones for mobile collaboration will ultimately result in productivity gains and financial savings, but you might find yourself contending with growing pains as you transition out of a more conventional on-premises strategy. Here are a few crucial tips for establishing a healthy and helpful BYOD culture.

Poly excels conferencing and collaboration technology, but they are especially forward-thinking when it comes to Unified Communication endpoints. Although they are rightly revered for their innovations in desktop phone solutions, they also understand that mobility defines modern communication. Enter the recently released Poly Elara 60 series, a mobile-first solution that can transform your smartphone into a desktop collaboration hub.

Over the last five years, the number of remote workers in the U.S. has grown 44%. The longer view reveals an even more pronounced upward trend, with 91% growth over the last ten years. Today, over 4.5 million people in the U.S. work remotely, and their ranks will undoubtedly grow in the years to come. A recent study found that 80% of U.S. workers say they would turn down a job that didn’t offer a flexible working arrangement, so if you don’t currently have a remote work plan in place, you’ll want to start working on one ASAP, because the top talent will surely gravitate toward companies with at least some remote work options. The rise of remote work makes sense on a gut level--of course flexibility is attractive to employees and employers --but what do the numbers say? Is it really good for business and the people who conduct it? The answer is a resounding yes.

In the grand scheme of things, the world of unified communications is still in its infancy. As such, every day seems to bring a new development, a fresh quirk that changes the shape of work. Relying on ever-changing technology on a daily basis can be disorienting, and sometimes we forget to press pause and take stock of where we are, how we got there and where we are going.  We must see the present clearly in order to step into the future with confidence. So let’s try to wrap our heads around where we stand in relation to unified communications in the middle of 2019.

Poly has just unveiled a new addition to its versatile Trio series, and this time they are taking aim at huddle rooms with a smart audio conferencing solution designed for small groups. The Poly Trio 8300, which was preceded by the 8500 and 8800 models, comes loaded with the features that make Poly’s solutions for medium and large rooms so essential, but it has been scaled down for use in tighter spaces.

A recent report issued by Research and Markets estimated that a mere 2% of the 32.4 million huddle rooms around the world are currently video-enabled. The math is clear: many companies are aware of this collaboration trend, and have even put some effort into adopting a huddle room strategy, but something has kept them from fully committing.

No matter what business you happen to be in, confidentiality should be a top priority. You don’t have to be working in government secrets to be wary of data breaches and accidental leaks. With the rise of cloud-based computing, people are more concerned than ever about how information travels and where it ends up. With that in mind, we have a few security tips for keeping your video communications safe and secure.

Are you dissatisfied with your company’s open office? If so, you are not alone. In a 2017 study conducted by Gartner, 25% of employees assigned to open office work spaces reported being less than satisfied with their arrangement. Meanwhile, only 9% of employees with private offices said they weren’t satisfied with their work spaces.

Lifesize, which has been innovating video conferencing and collaboration solutions since 2003, recently released its 2019 Impact of Video Conferencing Report. If stats and figures aren’t your thing, here’s the short version of the report's findings: video conferencing continues to grow in popularity, with more and more companies turning to solutions that cut down on travel time, foster collaborative workplace cultures and appeal to a new generation of young workers.

With the rise of cloud-based conferencing and collaboration solutions like Prime Call Cloud UC, offering telecommuting options to your employees is easier than ever. With nothing more than a computer and a camera, your employees can connect to their colleagues and clients anytime, from anywhere. No longer constrained by the cost of hardware investments and IT maintenance, you really have nothing standing between you and an expanded remote workforce.

Huddle rooms represent an opportunity to respond to the needs of a more diffuse and mobile workforce. You might not want to bother with this buzzword, but your employees probably do. So let’s look at why and how you should get on board.

Companies that fail to recruit and retain top talent are not long for this world.  However, as time goes by and the landscape of the workplace changes, employees’ needs and desires shift. What might have compelled a new employee to sign a contract ten years ago might not cut it these days. The young people entering the workforce now, i.e. the future of your business and of the world in general, have different priorities than the generations preceding them. If you don’t take these priorities seriously and do everything you can to honor them, it won’t be long before your competitors pull ahead.

Last year, Cisco conducted a survey of over 1,000 “IT decision makers” from seven countries in order to assess interest in and plans for cloud UC strategies. The survey found that 74% of these decision makers planned to choose a cloud provider in the next 24 months. Clearly, cloud-based UC is the future of business communication. The only question is how to go about transforming your conferencing and collaboration environment without needlessly disrupting workflow. We have a few answers to that question.

It goes without saying that video conferencing is an important and ever more essential part of business communications. Video conferencing solutions are simpler and more accessible than ever, in quite a few ways, but there are also so many more options and add-ons. Here are a few key things to look for when you’re shopping for a video conferencing solution.

Here's the thing about video conferencing in 2019: everybody is already doing it all the time, and most people have been doing it for years. Consumer apps like FaceTime and Skype and WhatsApp (to name but a few) have turned our phones into video conference devices. With that familiarity comes certain expectations: that video conferencing should never be more than a single click away, and that any device will do when one needs to join a meeting.

Okay, that title is a wee bit misleading, because you don’t necessarily have to choose between huddle rooms and conference rooms. But you will have to make some decisions about what kinds of rooms (and, in turn, what kinds of video solutions) to prioritize. Here are some things to consider.

Cisco’s WebEx Teams collaboration platform, which was released last year after absorbing the much-loved Cisco Spark, is an all-in-one conferencing and collaboration solution that brings together messaging, video meetings, white boarding and audio conferencing in one easy-to-use package. Designed with flexibility and accessibility in mind, WebEx Teams keeps co-workers on the same page no matter where they are or what device they are using. With this commitment to seamless workflow in mind, Cisco recently added a number of useful features to an already dynamic collaboration solution. Let’s take a look at a few of the latest additions.

Manufacturers of video conferencing and collaboration solutions have creating more flexible, interoperable  solutions with huddle rooms and remote workers in mind, but traditional conference rooms are not a thing of the past. They are coming along for our ride into the future, and Poly is making sure they are properly outfitted.

It’s a good time to be a huddle room. They make conferencing intimate and on track for small meetings and work groups. Using huddle rooms for conferencing makes a great secure environment to always have a space that is quiet with minimal distractions. 

Digital signage is a highly effective communication tool that can help you tell your company’s story in dynamic and engaging ways. But it can easily backfire if you aren’t on the lookout for pitfalls. So let’s take a quick gander at a few of the most common digital signage mistakes and how you can avoid them.

It used to be that remote workers and distributed teams did not have access to compact and manageable collaboration solutions that matched the quality of on-site infrastructure. This is no longer the case. Remote employees now have access to a host of solutions that liberate business-grade technology from the confines of the office. Among the pioneers of such accessible and mobile solutions were Polycom and Plantronics, who merged last year and rebranded as Poly.

Mobile conferencing solutions like Prime Call Cloud UC and Cisco Spark make it easier than ever to join meetings from tablets and smartphones. Such convenience is great to all employees, whether they’re on the move or in the office. The former contingent, most often seen hustling to catch a flight, can quickly sign in to a video conference from whatever lobby or waiting area they happen to be working from, while the latter group can take advantage of BYOD flexibility and share content with a mere touch of their screen.

Video conferencing might make it easier for people to come together, but it doesn’t necessarily eliminate the small hassles and minor faux pas that can make meetings exceedingly difficult. With that in mind, here are four common meeting mistakes that you would do well to avoid, whether you are on a video conference call or leading an in-person meeting.

G Suite, Google’s cloud-based collaboration solution, added Google Voice to its array of features last year, and it didn’t take long for Poly (formerly known as Plantronics) to make sure its new VVX x50 series of desk phones were fully integrated with Google’s communication platform.

Remote workers tend to be self-starters who cherish independence, but that doesn’t mean they should be left entirely to their own devices. They need support. They need guidance. They need understanding. Here is how you can start giving your remote teams those things.

An open office is supposed to bring your employees together to form a buzzing little hive of activity and innovation. Tear down those walls! Let the ideas flow! It’s time for interdepartmental collaboration! Right? Sure. But it turns out that busy buzzing might be backfiring for some organizations.

The conference phone is the gold standard for communication technology. As unified communication solutions have advanced with video technology so have audio innovations that allow each conference phone to intelligently adapt to different room environments. This eliminates confusion and enhances productivity. Video conferencing is the future -- especially paired with the right audio solution.

As of 2019, the cloud computing market neared the $200 billion mark, jumping 21% from just a year before. The cloud is claiming more and more information technology services, and for good reason. With cloud-based services, companies big and small can forget storage, maintenance and IT support worries. And with various subscription options available from most cloud computing services, companies don’t have to fret about the future--with everything in the cloud, capacity can shrink and grow along with business. 

It doesn’t matter how sophisticated your conferencing and collaboration solution is--if you haven’t figured out how to light your room for video, you will defeat the purpose of video conferencing all together. What good is a face-to-face video chat if your colleagues are getting a distorted version of you that distracts from the matter at hand? You don’t have to have a brilliant cinematographic eye to get your lights right. Just follow these rules and you’ll be fine.

Late last year, Lifesize became the first manufacturer to offer a true 4K video and content sharing video conferencing solution. With 20x zoom, dual display support, ultra-wideband Opus audio and rich camera optics, the Icon 700 leapt to the front of the video conferencing pack.

Mobile conferencing and collaboration solutions are essential tools for employees on the move, and companies intent on implementing a robust and flexible unified communication solution should make mobility a high priority. But even though smart phones and tablets give people the freedom to take their work anywhere they want, most employees will be spending most of their time working on laptops and PCs. And so regardless of where they are--at the office, at home, in a hotel room, plugged into coffee shop wi-fi, on an airplane--the odds are good they’ll need access to a reliable and feature-rich desktop solution.

When Plantronics announced it would be relaunching as Poly last month, the communications giant renewed its commitment to making today’s variegated collaboration methods mesh as seamlessly as possible.

StarLeaf, which powers Prime Call Cloud UC and provides meeting room solutions to organizations around the world, has announced the opening of new offices in Chicago and New York City. With the addition of these two U.S. locations, StarLeaf now has fifteen Points of Presence around the world. These localized data centers offer StarLeaf customers an unparalleled level of security and reliability.

Nearly a year to the day since announcing its acquisition of Polycom, Plantronics has unveiled its latest evolutionary leap. The company formerly known as Plantronics will become Poly, and with the new name comes a renewed commitment to collaboration solutions that bridge distances and eliminate distractions.

According to a report published by Frost & Sullivan in 2018, there are over 32 million huddle rooms in the world, but only 2 percent of those rooms are currently video-enabled. With more and more companies hiring remote employees and adopting informal collaboration models that rely on unified communications, it is only a matter of time before those millions of huddle rooms will need simple and seamless video collaboration solutions expressly designed for small spaces.

With the rise of the remote workforce, successful management of virtual teams has become a crucial skill. Managers who don’t understand how to motivate and oversee a group of distant employees won't be able to help those in the increasingly dispersed world of work. So let’s take a look at a few ways you can support and manage your virtual teams.

Cloud conferencing pioneer StarLeaf, which powers Prime Call Cloud UC and aims to make video collaboration accessible to everyone, has just announced the arrival of a brand new meeting room solution called StarLeaf Pronto. With nothing more than a simple USB connection, Pronto eliminates the clutter and confusion that plagues too many meeting rooms.

There is no such thing as a future-proof unified communications solution. Technology advances and mutates with mind-boggling rapidity, and not even the most forward-thinking IT department can make any airtight predictions about when and how video conferencing and collaboration tools will be different two or three years from now. To stay competitive, you must offer your employees (and clients) access to cutting edge communication solutions that respond to the shifting needs of a physically dispersed but increasingly interconnected world.

Last year, Lifesize introduced the compact and intuitive Lifesize Share, a wireless solution for presentations that made it virtually painless to get up in front of a group and share ideas via screens. It was a great start. But the modern meeting is, ideally, an omnidirectional exchange of information and images, and Lifesize is taking this into account with its new enhancements for Lifesize Share, which is poised to become the go-to solution for companies looking for a simple collaboration tool for smaller meeting rooms.

With video conferencing, content sharing and whiteboard capabilities, Cisco WebEx already seemingly did it all. But now, with the introduction of a digital signage feature, Cisco is taking their all-in-one communication solution to another level.

Plantronics, which acquired Polycom last year, has just announced its first foray into the huddle room market with Polycom Studio, a plug-and-play video bar that aims to deliver high quality video and audio to smaller meeting spaces.

The new year is a month old already, so you've probably just about gotten used to writing "2019" on your checks, but there's still plenty to figure out about the coming months. You might not have had "think about digital signage" on your list of New Year's resolutions, but that doesn't mean you should let yourself off the hook. We're here to help, though. So let's take a look at the ways you can revamp your digital signage over the next year.

We have written quite a bit about the ways companies can attract the cream of the millennial crop by providing employees with easy access to video conferencing and collaboration tools, but new arrivals to the workforce aren’t the only ones for whom video tools are an enticement. With more and more retirees reentering the workforce, companies would do well to think about the ways video conferencing and collaboration solutions can bring unretired employees into the fold.

This isn’t exactly breaking news, but the rapid rise of video conferencing solutions is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. A recent Polycom-sponsored survey of 159 IT professionals in the US, Germany and Australia offers us a detailed breakdown of just what this A/V boom looks like right now.

Soon after completing its acquisition of Polycom last July, Plantronics threw its weight behind Microsoft Teams, promising a range of solutions for the Office 365 communication platform and heir to the Skype for Business throne.

Cloud-based services are making it easier than ever for businesses large and small to get up and running with conferencing and collaboration solutions, and soon we will all be conducting our affairs in the cloud. For now, though, there are plenty of companies still weighing the pros and cons of a cloud-based conferencing solution. It is for those companies that we have compiled this cheat sheet of pressing concerns. When you are looking for a cloud-based solution, consider the following four things.

If you’ve strolled through a bright and blaring electronics store in the last couple years, you’ve surely noticed that 4K televisions are becoming the industry standard for home theaters. With a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels--that’s four times more pixels than your average HD set--4K televisions boast a level of picture detail and clarity that no other technology can match. While these displays are becoming increasingly common in the consumer electronics realm, the video conferencing world hasn’t quite kept pace with the 4K revolution.

 You want your company to have industrious collaborators and innovative wiz kids, but to have a company like this you have to work for it. You have to create the conditions for such a culture to take root. Let’s look at the three most crucial ingredients for a company intent on improving collaboration and communication.

As 2018 winds down and we all shift into New Year’s resolution mode, it’s helpful to take stock of where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going. To that end, No Jitter recently surveyed 142 IT professionals to get an idea of how they are (or are not) implementing video conferencing and collaboration solutions and what the future might hold for their companies. Let’s take a look at the results and what they mean.

The holiday office party is a mixed bag for sure. Suddenly shifting gears into party mode with a bunch of people you work with can be difficult and awkward. For some, an office party feels more like work than actual work. It’s like getting to know a group of people you already know for the first time, and that’s a recipe for social anxiety. We aren’t here to tell you that office parties are always fun. But even the most reluctant reveler has to admit that getting to see different sides of co-workers can humanize the workplace in ways that can make the rest of the year just a little more fulfilling.

In August of this year, Polycom commissioned Forrester Consulting to poll companies of various sizes for a snapshot of the current state of video conferencing applications and endpoints. Polycom wanted to get a sense for how organizations are using video conferencing solutions and whether or not they are getting the most out of their video technology.

The jury’s still out on whether this is a good thing or not, but according to a recent study conducted by Upwork and Freelancers Union, freelancers will make up fifty percent of the U.S. workforce by 2027. Over thirty percent of the U.S. workforce is currently composed of freelancers, so this prediction doesn’t seem all that far-fetched. This isn’t to say the everyday contract employee is a thing of the past, but it is a sign that the workplace just isn’t what it used to be.

It doesn’t matter what you call them. Huddle rooms. Mini rooms. Closets. What matters is that you have them--those small spaces that can accommodate just a few people. These modest rooms often go overlooked and underused, but organizations that have harnessed the power of small teams know just how crucial these rooms can be. With the right video conferencing and collaboration solutions, these rooms can become more than just ersatz offices. They can be transformed into conference rooms uniquely suited to bridging the distance between small teams and distant colleagues.

We’ve written quite a bit about the transformative power of huddle rooms, but we haven’t spent nearly as much time talking about how the small teams using such rooms can be drivers of efficiency and productivity. The rise of the huddle room didn’t happen in a vacuum. The space of the workplace has been redefined because the nature of teamwork has changed. Small teams are the future. They are the now. Let’s look at why.

As troublesome as it might be for your company’s IT departments, your employees who use unauthorized messaging and conferencing apps to do business have very good reasons for doing so. So-called “shadow IT,” or technology that your company has not approved for communication purposes, is so appealing because it comprises tools that people are familiar and comfortable with, and for employees, it can often feel like the shortest distance between two points. But the convenience comes with a price: your IT department can’t manage these tools, nor can they ensure the security of the software. Employees using unauthorized apps can leave your company vulnerable to security breaches and frustrate IT attempts at solving problems. So let’s look at a few ways you can get your team on board with the conferencing and communication solutions you have implemented.

Cloud or on-premise? On-premise or cloud? This debate might seem played out at this point, but the choice between on-premise and cloud-based conferencing solutions is one that more and more companies are being forced to make. And although you might think you know exactly where you stand on this particular issue, it never hurts to take a fresh look at it.

Approximately 4.3 million U.S. employees (or 3.2% of the workforce) work from home at least half the time. That’s a lot of people. But that 3.2% starts looking a little measly when you consider how much of the U.S. workforce is composed of jobs that are compatible with telecommuting. Just about 50% of employees in the U.S. do work that can be accomplished (at least in part) remotely. Of that 50%, about half actually does telecommute occasionally.

When you think about the process of digital transformation, your imagination probably skips ahead to an ideal future in which AV integration solutions and mobile conferencing technology combine to create a mega efficient workforce in both the virtual and physical realms. But undergoing such a sweeping transformation requires more than just plugging in new machines and watching them work their magic. It is a process that involves many moving parts. Which means things might get complicated. Let’s see how you can avoid some of the more common obstacles to successful digital transformation.

Cisco WebEx is a versatile, all-in-one conferencing and collaboration solution that is ideal for remote workers on mobile devices. It has always been an intuitive and user-friendly solution for meeting participants on the move, but with Cisco’s recent integration with Apple iOS, it’s even easier for WebEx users on iOS devices to connect with their colleagues. Let's dig in to these exciting new features.

Harvard Business Review recently polled 1,153 employees and found that 52% of respondents worked from a home office at least some of the time. This shouldn’t shock anyone who’s been paying even a little attention to the changing shape and culture of the modern workplace.

You might have heard about WebRTC. Or maybe this is your first encounter with the word. Either way, you might have some questions about this video technology that is changing the way people connect. Let’s take a closer look at some of these questions.

A lot has been written (by us and by others) about the transformative power of video conferencing solutions in the classroom environment. Much of this writing has been focused on students, and that’s probably a good thing--the impact of technology on learners should be the first thing we think about when we think about implementing new solutions in schools. If a conferencing and collaboration solution doesn’t help a child learn, what good is it?

You might think of video conference call recording as a bonus feature you’ll never use, but there are plenty of ways to employ this collaboration technology in your everyday practice. Recording a video conference requires no more work than clicking a single button, but the impact that single click could make should not be underestimated.

The phrase “digital transformation” is a buzzword we hear often, but without a carefully considered strategy informing your implementation of audio visual solutions, your “transformation” may not go as planned. So let’s look forward and think about how to transform your organization in lasting ways.

Mobile conferencing and collaboration solutions have radically changed the way we work. Untethered from the office and liberated from the desk, we now have a vast array of conferencing and collaboration tools at our fingertips at all times. Versatile models like Skype for Business allow anyone to join a meeting at any time, no matter where they are. This is most definitely a boon for businesses of all kinds, and for the mobile worker, the video capabilities of cell phones and tablets eliminate the anxiety of missing out on important happenings back at the office.

Video walls have long been a staple of public spaces like lobbies and malls, and they’ve always been effective vehicles for straightforward information and standard advertising. However, with the rise of touch screens and high definition images, the potential of the video wall is now virtually unbounded--such large displays can now become interactive experiences that enhance trainings, elevate meetings and engage customers. Let’s take a closer look at how interactive video walls can have an impact on business.

Mobile conferencing and collaboration solutions and their many bells and whistles might seem forbidding at first. But sorting through security specs and management details is a job for your IT experts. At their core, these solutions offer intuitive user experiences: anyone with a smart phone or tablet or laptop can quickly get the feel for a cloud conferencing solution like Prime Call Cloud UC.

When we talk about video conferencing and collaboration solutions, we tend to do so in a way that foregrounds established companies. You’ll notice our blog posts referring to ways in which collaboration and conferencing technology can improve business. Implicit in this language is an assumption that the business has been around long enough to need shaking up. Or we will write about how seasoned employees can be trained to use new technology. It’s not that established businesses have the most to gain from these solutions--it’s just that they might be more likely to have settled on a way of doing things that doesn’t jibe with the tech-assisted nature of business in the 21st century.

In March, we reported that communications titan Plantronics would be acquiring conferencing and collaboration company Polycom for $2 billion. The proposed deal made a great deal of sense to industry observers, as Polycom’s much-respected collaboration solutions dovetailed nicely with Plantronics’ various audio innovations.

In a recent survey conducted by Wainhouse Research, 94% of responding businesses reported that video conferencing solutions have increased their productivity. That statistic alone makes a compelling case for the necessity of video conferencing and collaboration solutions in the modern workplace, but it’s helpful to take a step back from numbers and examine the why and how. 

When we talk about conferencing and collaboration solutions and other digital incursions into the workplace, we tend to focus on things like cost and productivity and security. But at the end of the day, what’s most important are the people who will end up sitting in front of those screens and using the technology. If the technology doesn’t work for them--if it doesn’t make the job easier or more fulfilling--it ultimately won’t work for your company. So how do employees feel about technological innovation in the workplace? A recent survey by Aruba has some answers.

Cisco Webex Meetings is a full content-sharing and video conferencing solution that allows users to initiate and join meetings from desktop computers, mobile devices, internet browsers and video devices. It’s a true all-in-one solution designed to maximize accessibility and flexibility but without skimping on the features that 21st century companies and workers need to excel. Let’s take a look at five key features that make Webex Meetings such a crucial tool.

In addition to their trailblazing work in the realm of video conferencing and collaboration, Polycom has long been a leader in the world of audio technology. From Microsoft phones to multimedia hubs, Polycom has audio solutions for spaces of all sizes and purposes.

The video capabilities of the Polycom Trio line of conference phones has already made it an industry favorite, but with Polycom’s recent announcement of additional video features, the Trio has become an even more powerful force in the realm of AV solutions.

That headline sounds a little menacing, but don’t worry. Meeting spaces aren’t becoming sentient forces and planning a Terminator-like takeover. Be that as it may, you’d be remiss not to pay attention to the ways meeting spaces are being reconfigured due to the disbursement of the workforce and the development of increasingly sophisticated mobile collaboration technology. In case you still need convincing, we’ve got some numbers to back it up.

Polycom has long been an industry leader in the  conferencing market, and with recent innovations like the video-ready RealPresence Trio, the forward-thinking manufacturer has only further solidified its standing as a trailblazer in conferencing and collaboration technology.

It is hard to relinquish control, especially when you are on the verge of making a decision that will fundamentally alter the way your company does business, but when you are in the market for a video conferencing and collaboration solution, you might want to consider giving your IT department as much say as possible.

Cisco Merges WebEx And Spark To Simplify Collaboration

Until recently, Spark was Cisco’s go-to video conferencing and collaboration solution for modern teams seeking a fleet and flexible platform for messaging, content sharing and video calling. It was essentially an amped up version of Cisco’s popular WebEx collaboration solution. Now, in an attempt to streamline its collaboration offerings, Cisco will be merging Spark and WebEx so that all users can access the benefits of both platforms./p>

As you’ve probably heard, Microsoft is positioning its newly minted Teams collaboration platform as an eventual replacement for Skype For Business. According to Microsoft, it is “now aiming to bring the capabilities of Skype for Business in the cloud into Microsoft Teams to deliver a single hub for teamwork, with built-in, fully integrated voice and video.” Combining chat, voice, video and content-sharing capabilities, Teams aims to bring co-workers together in a cloud-based workspace that can be modified and personalized for every team’s needs.

Polycom has a long and fruitful history of cooperation with Microsoft’s collaboration innovations, integrating the best of what Microsoft has to offer into its audio and video conferencing systems. Whether it’s Office 365 or Skype for Business, Polycom has been there for the last fifteen years, providing customers with an ideal gateway into the world of Microsoft communications technology.

Millennials are often dismissed as a layabout generation allergic to work and responsibility, but this is just a bogus myth perpetrated by folks who simply haven’t bothered to notice that it is the nature of work itself that has changed. Young people are still working--they’re just working in different ways. And if you want to attract and retain the young talent that will keep your company vibrant and forward-thinking, it is absolutely essential that you provide said talent with the tools they prefer. And what do they prefer? The thing they grew up with: digital technology that engenders mobility, flexibility and freedom.

Skype For Business is one of the more common video conferencing tools, as it is already familiar to so many people. But just because it is intuitive and simple doesn’t mean it isn’t sometimes tricky to manage. StarLeaf, which specializes in innovative Skype For Business solutions, has found a way to help IT departments manage its army of endpoints with StarLeaf Maestro.

The average consumer has grown accustomed to the idea of an all-in-one device with which they manage all communication, but a recent survey of IT professionals conducted by Spiceworks found that this assumption about connectivity does not hold sway in the world of business. According to Spicework’s survey results, 77% of North American IT professionals are using multiple providers to meet their conferencing and collaboration needs.

Video conferencing has become the communication and collaboration method of choice for organizations intent on keeping remote employees and distant customers connected to home base, and Polycom has been at the leading edge of the video revolution for some time now. Polycom’s RealPresence desktop and web solutions make video-based collaboration possible anywhere at any time.

Back in June, when Cisco announced that Spark, its all-in-one collaboration solution, would be fully integrated into devices running iOS 10, Windows users might have felt a little bit left out. But fear not, Windows fans! It turns out Cisco had something special in store for you. And now, the Windows-friendly bonus has been revealed.

According to a recent study published by Global Workplace Analytics, 3.7 million U.S. employees currently work from home at least half of the time. That’s a mere fraction of the total work force, but we’re still talking about millions of people here. In a recent Gallup survey of 15,000 adults, 43 percent of Americans reported spending at least some time working remotely. And there is still room for that number to grow, as 56% of workers in the U.S. have jobs that are compatible with telecommuting. That number is up from 50% in 2014. So what we are seeing here is a kind of feedback loop: as telecommuting becomes more common, the nature of work becomes more amenable to telecommuting.

We’ve written at length about the myriad wonders of Cisco Spark, an all-in-one messaging app, conferencing solution and phone system that delivers powerful cloud-based collaboration tools to everyone in an organization, no matter where they happen to be.

We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about how to make collaboration and video conferencing solutions more intuitive and accessible for the everyday user. There isn’t a boss out there who doesn’t want their employees to quickly adopt and adapt to new technologies that make for more efficient and productive workplaces. But user engagement isn’t the beginning and end of the story. You also want your IT department to be happy. And how do you keep an IT department happy? By giving it power and control.

Back in March, we partnered with StarLeaf to launch Prime Call Cloud UC, a cloud-based conferencing and collaboration service that allows users to link up with ANYONE on ANY video system. With Prime Call Cloud UC, powered by StarLeaf, you can video conference with clients and co-workers on Skype for Business, Polycom, Lifesize, Cisco, Avaya et al. to achieve universal connectivity.

Back in June, Polycom introduced the world to Pano, a collaboration solution that, in the words of Polycom CEO Mary McDowell, “makes content sharing easy and fits into any ecosystem or environment.” Wainhouse Research recently took Polycom Pano out for a spin to test the company’s claims. It should come as no surprise, given Polycom’s reputation, that Pano passed with flying colors. But let’s take a closer look at the results.

You might think remote workers are just happy they get to work from home, but the convenience of having a home office isn’t quite enough to keep employees satisfied at work. Even the most shy and self-sufficient among us like to feel connected to the world at large, and that connection can fray all too easily if an employee works remotely the majority of the time. An effective manager should be aware of this risk and work to remedy it. Here are a few ways you can keep your remote employees engaged and happy.

As anyone who’s ever bought a new TV knows, it’s not enough to get the best and biggest technology. You also have to figure out how a piece of equipment will work in an actual room. Where will the screen look best? How will your fancy new gear work with the furniture you already have? How will you keep the cables and cords out of view? The same concerns can and should occur to companies undertaking A/V integration projects. Here are four such design and installation matters that should be on your mind while you undergo your A/V transformation.

Video conferencing and collaboration solutions make it easier for your employees to connect and work together no matter where they are. But the power of video extends beyond the day-to-day routines of the people on your payroll. To fully exploit the potential of video conferencing and collaboration technology, you should be thinking about how to use video to reach beyond your organization.

Polycom has long excelled at innovating versatile and intuitive video conferencing and telepresence solutions that facilitate easy connection and fruitful collaboration. Polycom Desktop Solutions give on-site and remote workers alike a clear path toward productivity through conferencing, collaboration and content sharing.

It’s pretty difficult to think of an industry that can’t be radically transformed by video conferencing and telepresence solutions. Think of a company or organization and we can tell you how it would become more efficient and profitable with video technology. Daycare? How about a video feed for parents at work. Construction? Workers on-site can stream vital visuals to the higher-ups at the office. Fast food? Employees can be trained via video. We could go on and on. But for now, let’s take a look at four businesses and how they use video/collaboration solutions.

When all is said and done--when you’ve sorted through the seemingly infinite array of fancy features offered by the myriad video conferencing and collaboration solutions out there--what you want and need will boil down to something very simple: you will want a video conferencing and collaboration solution that offers flexibility and affordability without skimping on quality. And at this point, what that means is that you will want to consider an AV-over-IP solution. So let’s take a quick look at why this is the way to go in 2017.

Keeping tabs on tech trends can feel like trudging through shifting sand: with every step you take, the landscape seems to transform completely, radically altering your perceptions of the world on a seemingly second-by-second basis. It’s helpful, then, to have an aerial view of the terrain. A recent survey conducted by Nemertes Research offers just such a snapshot of the state of the video conferencing world in 2017.

We have not and will stop banging the drum for digital transformation. The irreversible business revolution spurned by digital innovation is an undeniable fact. A recent survey conducted by Gartner found that 50% of CEOs expect their industries to be substantially or even unrecognizably transformed by digital technology. The people in charge see the writing on the wall. We have reached a tipping point.

Plenty of solutions hold out the promise of an all-in-one conferencing and collaboration experience, but there is perhaps nothing on the market quite as intuitive and streamlined as the recently unveiled Cisco Spark Board, a touch-based collaboration solution that combines all of the tools you need in one sleek device.

The modern workplace would be unimaginable without email. It’s a convenient and simple way to communicate basic information to co-workers, employees and customers, but there are limits to email’s effectiveness. Have you ever tried to conduct a brainstorming session via email? Or taken action items into the realm of text-based communication? Such conversations become a morass of competing voices, and as a result, meaning is lost in a volley of words.

When you think about “immersive solutions,” you probably imagine a huge multi-screen array that combines high def video and surround sound audio to produce a convincing facsmile of a “real life” meeting. Such immersive telepresence solutions are crucial for conferences and meetings attended by top-level execs and board members--it’s the video equivalent of that well-appointed upper floor office where big decisions are made and blockbuster deals are brokered.

Company-wide meetings are among the most challenging gatherings to wrangle. Unlike smaller conferences and meetings, a town hall-style meeting--wherein the name of the game is speechifying instead of conversing--is shot through with pitfalls for organizers and speakers. It is just exceedingly difficult to hold the attention of a large group of people whose main role is listening. But there are a few things you can do to ensure such occasions don't leave people feeling tired and bored and unappreciated.

It can be overwhelming to even begin to think about purchasing a video conferencing and collaboration solution. No matter how up-to-speed your IT department and generous your budget, you will find yourself lost and flailing in a tornado of jargon and sales pitches if you don't know which questions to ask of both yourself and the person intent on selling you a video conferencing solution. Use the following five questions to light your way through the process.

In a recent survey of 132 organizations, Nemertes Research found that a healthy 65% of companies have introduced desktop video conferencing solutions into the workplace. However, only 5% of the organizations surveyed currently offer desktop video to more than half of their employees. Perhaps the prevalence of mobile solutions is to blame for the somewhat sluggish adoption of desktop solutions. Why invest in desktop technology that is easily accessible on a phone or tablet? This reasoning makes intuitive sense, but it’s flawed. According to Nemertes, the organizations that offered desktop video to more than half of their employees reported higher success rates. So we’d be remiss to ignore the power of a quality desktop video conferencing and collaboration solution.

Everything’s in the cloud now, right? You take a picture and how do you back it up? In the cloud. You buy an album on iTunes and how does your phone store it? In the cloud. You write a novel on Google Docs and where does your masterpiece live? In the cloud. In short, you’re in the cloud whether you know it or not. So don’t be afraid of it. In fact, embrace it. Because the cloud is making video conferencing easier and more powerful than ever. How? We thought you’d never ask.

It doesn’t matter how comfortable you think you are in a public speaking role. You might be the most charming and disarming networker of all time. That is great. But it does not mean you can waltz your way into a video conference without first considering the unique challenges posed by video conferencing solutions. They are not difficult to avoid if you know they are there. So keep an eye on these four potential pitfalls.

Nothing stops a video conference dead in its tracks like a failed presentation. You can prepare all you want--memorize the material, practice your speech, get your documents in order--but once the content sharing portion of the meeting goes haywire, recovery is exceedingly difficult. As you wrestle with a tangle of wires or a failed connection or a faulty dongle, your colleagues drift from the matter at hand, their minds turning to lunch or the weekend or, worse, your trusted co-workers start to wonder about just how qualified you are. This is bad news.

A recent survey spearheaded by Spiceworks found that the vast majority of companies (92% of them, in fact) have deployed or are considering deploying multiple collaboration solutions. This makes sense. Employees should have various communication and collaboration options at their disposal. Sometimes a quick chat message will be sufficient, while at other times a phone call is the only thing that will work. You want your employees to have access to any and all means of communication as often as possible. But juggling multiple solutions with divergent infrastructures and separate subscription plans can get confusing and expensive.

When you see the words “video conference,” you probably think of a virtual meeting that shares a certain formality with its in-person counterpart. A meeting is scheduled. The meeting’s date and time are entered into a calendar. At the designated date and time, you click on a link and enter the virtual room for the scheduled conference. In short, the video conferencing protocol pretty much matches the rigmarole we are all familiar with from the days of meeting in actual rooms.

In an effort to size up the state of Unified Communications in the business world, analyst firm IHS Markit recently conducted a survey of 207 medium and large U.S. organizations about their UC strategies. It should come as no surprise to you that video conferencing currently plays a huge role in how business handle UC. A whopping 86% of surveyed businesses reported that video conferencing will be part of their Unified Communications plan by February 2018.

Companies are experiencing an epidemic of wasted space. According to research conducted by Herman Miller, only 3 or 4 out of 12 conference room chairs are occupied at a given time. And it’s not only larger conference rooms that have become ghost towns. With more and more people seeking alternative working arrangements, traditional work spaces are dormant far too often. 77% of the time, private offices are unoccupied, while work stations are unoccupied 66% of the time.

No matter how immersive your video conferencing solution, there will always be a little something missing from a meeting mediated by screens and speakers. You can’t smell your colleagues through a speaker, for instance. And you might not pick up on your interlocutor’s fidgety left foot, a sure sign of nerves or over-caffeination. You might not see that your boss missed a bottom button while getting dressed. These are tiny things, seemingly inconsequential, but they all add up to create a vulnerable vibe that in turn engenders an intimacy that is crucial for building empathy and trust. Meeting face to face simply has a humanizing effect on all involved.

You are a modern day worker who enjoys being mobile so you can work from different locations and believe in flexible working as it allows you to be productive. Yet every time you manage to secure yourself a meeting room often it feels like you have walked into a blank space which can definitely do better with a little more hint of technology.