Workplace leaders are no longer asking whether hybrid work is here to stay. They are asking how to remove friction between people, places, platforms, and meeting experiences.
At InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas, UC Today’s Marcus Law spoke with Keith Yandell, EVP of Innovation at FORTÉ. The interview took place inside the Smart Workplace Experience on the show floor.
Inside the Smart Workplace Experience
The installation was created through a collaboration between AVIXA and FORTÉ. It shows what a modern enterprise workplace can feel like when technology is built around user experience.
Yandell explained that AVIXA and FORTÉ wanted to focus on the experience layer. That meant looking at the workplace through different personas. These included the IT manager, the business line leader, and the knowledge worker.
Each group has different priorities and pain points. Those challenges become clear when people move between Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex, Google, mobile devices, laptops, and meeting rooms.
Why Workplace Friction Matters
The Smart Workplace Experience mirrors a typical Class A office environment. It includes an entryway, lobby experience, experience center, cafe, wayfinding, personal workspace, intelligent meeting room, monitoring and management, and a broadcast experience.
Yandell noted that corporate communications teams are also under more pressure. As a result, broadcast capabilities are now part of the wider workplace ecosystem.
AI was another major theme in the discussion. According to Yandell, visitors want proof that AI can improve daily work and productivity. The experience aims to show those benefits through practical scenarios, rather than abstract ideas.
The conversation also reflects a wider InfoComm trend. As we reported in our InfoComm 2026 takeaways, AV is moving beyond rooms and devices. Enterprise collaboration is now being shaped by interoperability, AV and IT convergence, meeting equity, and practical AI.
Yandell also highlighted the partner ecosystem behind the activation. He credited Q-SYS, Crestron, Logitech, Shure, Legrand, and Sony for helping bring the environment together.
For enterprise collaboration, IT, and workplace leaders, the interview offers a useful look at smart workplace design. It shows how the focus is shifting from technology deployment to experience orchestration. Watch the full UC Today interview to see how the Smart Workplace Experience presents the next phase of intelligent workplace design.
More Content from InfoComm 2026
For more insights from the show floor, explore UC Today’s wider InfoComm 2026 coverage:
