Smart, simple, secure – when tech ticks all those boxes, businesses and their customers benefit.
It’s a statement that is perhaps most relevant when it comes to arguably the single-most impactful technological advancement of the past few years: cloud-powered communication.
We meet and collaborate virtually every day; remote video conferencing initially a pandemic work-around, and now a natural and routine part of working life. The tools that enable us to do so are therefore critical, so continued innovation is rightly high on vendor priority lists.
For businesses of all sizes – as well as their IT service providers – keeping pace with positive iteration can be the key to ensuring workforces are delivering maximum productivity whilst simultaneously enjoying the best possible user experience.
Get that mix right and any investment is returned in spades.
“Video conferencing is now an essential capability for businesses, and the quality of the virtual meeting experience has become a potent influence over levels of productivity, efficiency, and job satisfaction – continuing to ensure those metrics remain high is as important as it gets,” says Josh Blalock, Chief Video Evangelist at global audio and video solutions provider Jabra, whose multi-award-winning, all-in-one PanaCast 50 Video Bar System has just been updated to support precisely that goal.
“Innovation has always been a huge focus for Jabra – we believe it is how we bring added value.”
As a result of the recent firmware update, the PanaCast 50 VBS features new intelligent AI functionality, flexible deployment options and enhanced security.
Its Intelligent Meeting Space feature enables users to create virtual meeting space boundaries; meaning distractions outside of glass-walled rooms can be excluded, keeping focus on the participants in the room. Also, there is a new ability to run in permanent BYOD mode, meaning users can manage meetings from a PC and meet different needs for different rooms.
“Many organizations are now having video conferencing spaces in open-plan offices,” says Blalock. “Jabra’s Intelligent Meeting Space can now leverage AI to create those spaces by setting parameters outside of which the camera does not pick-up and focus on anyone. It also means the camera does not mistakenly focus on people who happen to walk past outside of glass-walled meeting rooms.”
“The PanaCast 50 Video Bar System was built for inclusion, so we’ve gone all-in to make sure our video keeps everyone in the frame and no one falls off the end of the screen. The audio is world-leading too; four speakers adapt to whatever space they are in to flood the room with premium high-definition sound. That means even those sat all the way at the back will still know exactly what’s going on. And remote participants will hear things perfectly too.”
Significantly, the Jabra PanaCast 50 VBS has been updated to support the Android-based Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP), with the newly announced PanaCast 40 VBS shipping on MDEP mid-2025. That means user organizations can strengthen their security posture by knowing that the device OS is built and updated by Microsoft, a company that most organizations already know and trust when it comes to operating systems.
“Users won’t notice any change, but that kind of first-to-market, back-end innovation reflects our commitment to always being at the cutting edge, not just with our own developments but alongside our partners too,” says Blalock.
“It’s about ensuring that our customers and their users enjoy the best possible conferencing experience. Not just now but into the future too.”
To learn more about how Jabra can help your and your customers’ businesses communicate smarter, click here.
