I was fortunate enough to get myself a ticket to IP EXPO in London this year, the biggest enterprise IT event in Europe. During my time there, I learned a lot about some of the upcoming technology and innovations in the industry, and I also had an exclusive chance to sit down with Andy Nolan, Vice President, UK, Ireland and Northern Europe at Lifesize.
Lifesize is the company that has been leading the way for video collaboration technology over the last decade, delivering high-quality solutions designed to facilitate the new UC environment. The brand produces an integrated cloud-based conferencing experience, which works seamlessly with a range of collaboration environments.
What Has Lifesize Been Up to Lately?
Known for creating easy-to-use, adoption-friendly solutions for video, audio and web conferencing, Lifesize recently introduced a redesigned app for their customers, which I was keen to learn more about. Andy Nolan told me that the app will completely revamp the user experience:
“For Lifesize, the focus isn’t really on the new app itself, but the problems that we’re solving with that app. We created this opportunity for people who are new to video. After all, in the average company, perhaps five to 10% of employees have used video conferencing before. What we’re trying to do is address the 90% that are familiar with things like Skype for Business, but don’t necessarily use video every day.”
“The new app was created by Lifesize in response to the fact that a surprising percentage of modern businesses simply don’t adopt the technology available to them. “We’re trying to help customers make the most of the collaboration products and services available to them, by improving adoption rates.”
What Does the New App Do?
The previous Lifesize app was fantastic, making it simpler for people to call people and facilitate collaboration, however, and whenever they wanted. However, it was designed more for the average video user, than the everyday business person. As Andy said: “It wasn’t as simple as just downloading an app and using it.” Nolan went on to explain:
“It’s not as though the previous app was difficult in that way, but we wanted to place ourselves right in the shoes of a new user, and make it as simple as possible for companies to really dive into using video. Therefore, we did intensive UI and UX research, development and customer beta testings over months, and the results have been incredible.”
“The new app makes it easier for people to access video for the first time. The trial use numbers have shot up since we started using the new app, and people that aren’t traditionally video users, like CEOs for instance, are starting to use it in their everyday work.”
The driving force behind the latest technology from Lifesize then, is the fact that they’re making the effort to learn what their customers need to improve adoption.
“While we’re using best practices, we’re also tailoring what we do to every kind of customer. We’re making adoption feel natural, and baked into the everyday business process. Whether you’re using Teams, Skype for Business – whatever, you can access it easily through Lifesize.”
How Is Lifesize Responding to the Microsoft Ignite Update?
After Andy mentioned the Microsoft collaboration solutions, I was keen to learn more about how Lifesize was dealing with the latest announcement about integrating Skype for Business with Teams. Obviously, while Skype for Business might not be disappearing anytime soon, there is a distinct move to Teams underway, and I was interested to know how Lifesize would be responding to this change.
“We have been working with the Microsoft ecosystem for a while now, and we have very deep integration with the product.”
“From a user perspective, you can make and receive calls through Skype for Business from the Lifesize cloud platform, and we’re going to be making it even more streamlined than that. We want to make the whole experience feel seamless, regardless of what product you use, so you can get the professional meeting experience that we pride ourselves on as a brand.”
According to Andy, it’s all about delivering the best possible experience for customers. “We want people to know that if they walk into a meeting room with Lifesize, it’s going to work perfectly every time. If you’re a Skype for Business or Teams user, you can move through either channel to access Lifesize, and enjoy the benefits of the Microsoft system too.”
