It’s the way we all now meet and collaborate, but just how do enterprises ensure they are planning correctly for the next iteration of videoconferencing?
From multiple camera sets-ups to reconfigured meeting rooms; light-touch control systems to all-important device certification – there are plenty of bases to cover in order to maximize return on investment.
Here, Jose Rincon, Head of Product Management and Customer Success at leading video conferencing solution provider AVer Europe, reveals the top 10 trends that enterprises and their Managed Service Provider partners should have front of mind as this most ubiquitous of technologies continues to shape how the world works…
Collaboration
It began as a way of continuing to stage meetings during the pandemic, but now we do pretty much everything over video. Collaboration – teamworking, planning, managing projects – it’s all now possible without the need to travel and meet in person. The key to a better participant experience is to have a separate whiteboard camera. This enables everyone to brainstorm together and for everyone to see the organiser populating the whiteboard with ideas and comments. The AVer whiteboard camera is extra clever because it makes the image of the presenter transparent when using Microsoft Teams, so that everything written on the whiteboard is laid over their body and everyone reads it by kind of seeing through them. It’s a really cool feature which enhances participants’ engagement. ‘Visualizer’ cameras are also becoming more in demand. They enable you to show physical objects or documents that are not in digital form. For example, an architect showing a model of a building or a fashion designer showing an item of clothing. It’s more effective collaboration made easy.
Multiple Cameras
The back-end technology makes multiple meeting cameras an easy thing to deploy but, to date, controlling them has been complicated for users who are not technologists. Adding a matrix box to a set-up gives meeting organisers the ability to easily select particular cameras and switch between them whenever they want. The matrix is a small box which connects cameras to a laptop via USB or HDMI cable. It provides the ability to choose different meeting screen layouts, combining different cameras at different times. Imagine a virtual classroom with a teacher who wants several pupils to be on several separate cameras, plus another pupil to be showing something via a visualizer camera, plus everyone in the session to see the whole room on a wide angle. In the past, that was very complex and an expert from the IT department needed to be in the room. With a matrix box it is very simple.
Integration
Of course, cameras need to integrate with microphones, and they both must integrate with a laptop. But what about integrating the lighting in the room? Or the blinds at the windows? Or the Do Not Disturb sign on the wall outside? Users are now asking for the start of a meeting to automatically trigger other actions that will enhance the experience. When they start a meeting, they want the lighting to change or the curtains to close. It is even possible for sensors to assess the air quality inside a meeting room and activate the air conditioning in response to the number of people physically present. Then there is speaker volume, camera latency, background settings, on-screen logos or imagery – it can all be integrated so that it is all synchronized whenever the meeting starts.
Control
As videoconferencing functionality gets smarter, controlling it all must get simpler. Many organizations are investing in a control system which provides an easy-to-use and intuitive interface. It can be a touch-screen or a small console that gives the ability to turn on, choose cameras, select preferences, and activate specific hardware and software functionality with just a few clicks. The same controller can be integrated with an organization’s meeting room booking system – a complete one-device solution which can help make staging and running meetings smoother and more efficient.
Meeting Equity
When there are lots of people in a meeting, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with who is speaking. It is best practice to invest in ‘speaker tracking’ technology which automatically focuses on participants who are talking. Image composition is also very important. The AVer solution cleverly crops the faces of all participants and arranges them in a grid or other chosen layout so that everyone is of the same proportion on screen. It makes things very easy on the eye and, when a participant is talking, they are automatically given prominence.
