Corporate AV


The future of meeting technology


Meetings are the lifeblood of any organisation - and making meetings more efficient is now a major concern for organisations. By focusing on access to people and resources, some argue that today’s solutions still have a way to go to replicate the advantages of face-to-face. AV News shows how technology can supple- ment face-to-face and ‘virtual meetings, making both more effective.


Technology support for meet- ings has improved access and presence both locally and re- mote


locations. It has also


improved decision support by improving the availability of information and rich media resources to meeting partici- pants. But given the obvious advantages, the adoption of meeting room technology is far from universal.


Why is this? In researching this there is a clear dichotomy between proponents of ‘live’ (or face-to-face) and ‘virtu- al’ meetings employing video and digital media content, as though they are mutually ex- clusive options. Defendants of the ‘live’ meeting include the 84% of business executives, interviewed by Forbes Insights, who said that they prefer face- to-face meetings over virtual meetings and who attributed a number of unique values to the traditional meeting format.. The consensus of opinion in the Forbes report was that face-to-face meetings facilitate building stronger, more mean- ingful relationships (85%); offer the opportunity to ‘read’ anoth- er person (77%) and achieve greater social interaction (75%). The question that the study did not ask was: “In circumstances where individuals with specialist knowledge relevant to the meet- ing content are not available in person, would you rather com- municate with them using digital media – or not have their contri- bution to them at all?”


Defensive approach


And it’s not just the grey-haired and grey-suited that are mount- ing a defence for the “live” meeting. There are plenty of pur- veyors of meeting room technol- ogy that feel compelled to adopt a defensive position. How many times have you heard it said:


“Of course, no one in the video conferencing business is predict- ing the end of live meeting,” or “Face-to-face meetings provide a vastly richer, more targeted, and more focused learning experi- ence than any virtual meeting.” The emphasis, even from the supply side of the industry, is on what meeting room and collab- orative solutions can’t do rather than what they can do. There is a clear implication that the quality of technology-assisted meetings has not yet reached the level of development required for wide- spread use.


In fact, as technology forecast-


er and business strategist Daniel Burrus points out:“Those who believe video will end face-to- face meetings are using ‘either/ or’ thinking, which often occurs when dazzling new technologies first appear… Companies that make visual communications work will have the new and the old coexisting by allowing each to do what it does best. It’s not either/or anymore. ‘Both/and’ thinking is the new paradigm.”


Key components


Over the last three or four years we have seen rapid developments in meeting room and network col- laboration technology. We have seen the migration of education technology into commercial ap- plications, and the expansion of video communications technolo- gies into voice and data. Today, any discussion of the future of meetings technology is not com- plete without reference to mobile applications, cloud computing and technologies that enhance the virtual meeting experience. Developments are well under-


way. According to Microsoft’s internal studies, it takes on aver- age of 8 to 12 minutes to begin a meeting using display technology in a conventional meeting space. Natalie Harris Briggs, group mar-


keting director at Steljes, says: “The technology already exists that can help some of these problems. Room management systems enable users to instantly see if a room is vacant or not or when it has been booked.” “They enable users to either book a meeting by physically using the touch sensitive screen located outside of their chosen meeting room or through their Microsoft Outlook calendar. Some room management sys- tems also report room equipment faults such as broken lights, projector


malfunction etc. via


the room management solution which can then be sent automat- ically to facilities management for resolution.”


The perception that meeting room technology is the cause of delays and problems is born out of the lack of interoperability be- tween source devices. The rise of the BYOD culture has seen ad- dressed the AV industry address this issue with solutions includ- ing Barco ClickShare, Christie Brio and Vision’s Techconnect


Daniel Burrus: “Those who believe video will end face-to-face meetings are using ‘either/or’ thinking, which often occurs when dazzling new technologies first appear… Companies that make visual commu- nications work will have the new and the old coexisting by allowing each to do what it does best. It’s not either/or anymore. ‘Both/and’ thinking is the new paradigm.”


While there is still a sizeable body of support for the tradition- al meeting format, meeting and presentation support using mo- bile technology has been widely embraced. A research study on the future of meetings found that two-thirds of respondents (64%) believed that in the future, “All presentations, videos, etc... (will be) downloaded to my mobile” Some commentators are con- cerned about inequality among


collaborative decision process is increasingly reliant upon com- bining data from multiple loca- tions and sources in real time. Cascade collaboration solutions enable users to present, share, reposition, resize, annotate and edit all types of content through on-screen touch, PCs or mobile devices.”


Multiple, simultaneous live inputs can be displayed and in- teracted with on screen includ- ing video, telepresence and web apps. Configurable workspaces allow teams to share the use of a Cascade system with other groups, save their work between sessions and pick up where they left


off when they next meet. Proprietary environments, like Microsoft Lync, can be used in conjunction with Cascade, which provides the pixel canvas on which Lync appears as an app. At the recent InfoComm event,


Prysm’s cascade 190 – a pixel canvas for decision support.


Select. The challenge for the industry now is to communicate these improvements to the busi- ness community at large.


Mobile communications


The Smart Room System offers access to people and resources vital for improved decision making. It is designed to improve and support traditional meetings rather than replace them. Natalie Harris Briggs:” Developments are well underway. According to Microsoft’s internal studies, it takes on average of 8 to 12 minutes to begin a meeting using display technology in a conventional meeting space. “


participants in certain categories of meeting – not everybody has an iPhone or iPad to hand The use of third-party app loaded devices at meetings, rather than participants’ personal mobile de- vices, provides the opportunity to present a level playing field for attendees who do not have a par- ticular device.


Even so, the future use of mo- bile apps for meetings requires education. “With “hundreds, if not thousands, of mobile phone applications” emerging for the meetings sector the resources the sector requires has to move beyond lists, or mere fragments of news about the latest, or even the “best” apps out there.” Re- source-wise, sometimes it is not a matter of not being able to af- ford the software, since it may be free, but that the individuals are not even aware that it exists. A possible solution to the ad hoc adoption of apps in a meet- ing context is offered by Prysm's Cascade series. This is an all-in- one display solution that sup- ports telepresence, content shar- ing, video and data from personal devices, networks and the cloud. The company explains: “Today’s


P10 AV News August 2014


Prysm announced two new Cas- cade models - a 65-inch and an 85-inch - which will join t he existing 117 and 190-inch models. Prysm says that the new models will enable enterprises to extend their Cascade networks into smaller conference rooms, with exactly the same use case for all installations.


In a boardroom environment, Cascade can be used as a deci- sion support solution, with users able to manipulate content with the unit’s touch interface or from their seats using a mobile device with appropriate apps. Configu- rable workspaces allow teams to share the use of a Cascade sys- tem with other groups, save their work between sessions and pick up where they left off when they next meet. Mirroring of work- spaces between Cascade dis- plays allows geographically dis- tributed teams to simultaneously


New horizons in meeting technology


(Source: Maritz Research) • Technology


mediated


meetings will grow in numbers:


• The cost-benefits (ROI) of adopting new meetings technologies will become a major focus.


•


The costs associated with adopting new technology will decline.


• The use of mobile devic- es and meetings specific applications designed for them will increase - how- ever the use of non-per- sonal electronic devices for participant interaction will have to continue to ensure a level playing field for all meeting par- ticipants.


• Use of technology to enhance the sensory ex- perience of face-to-face meetings will increase.


•


Advances in virtual envi- ronment meetings tech- nology will seek to narrow the “sensory” experi- ence gap between virtual meetings and face-to- face meetings.


•


The main technology tool for presentations at meet-


ings will no longer be PowerPoint/ slideshows.


• Web-based delivery of meeting content and cloud computing for meeting management will become widespread.


• Meetings will utilize technology based on the unique characteristics of participants – learning styles, age groups, and technological usage pref- erences of participants will inform the decision to use technology for a specific meeting.


• • •


Meetings technology ed- ucation becomes a prior- ity for all members of the sector.


Specialisation of educa- tional offers and meeting organisation practices will come to maturity.


The maturing of the prac- tice of meeting design will ensure meetings technology is used effec- tively to engage partic- ipants, deliver content, and realize business ob- jectives in the goals of meetings.


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