MEETING & CONFERENCE FACILITIES
GO WITH THE FLOW At Oblong, we see that the increasing pace and complexity
of business demands the absolute best communication, workplace collaboration, and data visualisation that technology can offer. Because work is changing, collaboration tools need to change too, and we strive to deliver immersive solutions that future-proof the workplace and adapt to its evolving requirements. We know through our work with a wide range of global organisations that meetings are fluid and often move through stages.
These dynamics can change depending on the industry or function of the people in the meeting, but broadly, meetings can transition from presentations to brainstorming sessions to developing content. These different functions of the meeting require different technology solutions, which can be time consuming to switch between and often the issue of compatibility with different operating systems renders it almost impossible for people to share content. Facilities managers should consider whether the AV technology they currently provide in small meeting rooms allows staff to move seamlessly from presenting their work, to brainstorming and then working on it together.
The seamlessness of the experience is key here. It is essential to productivity that the cognitive process of a meeting is not interrupted by people needing to switch cables or email a document to someone else or convert a file format so that it can be shown on screen. Each interruption sets back the collaborative and creative process and reduces the productivity of the meeting. The “It Just Works” factor is also a major source of frustration for staff trying to conduct productive meetings. Staff want to sit down in the meeting room and start using the technology immediately, they don’t want to spend 15 minutes at the beginning of every meeting trying to set up a video conference call or sharing their work with colleagues. This disruption is accentuated when the participants are spread around different locations and connecting remotely to the meeting.
The environment where a remote member of staff is working from may well be outside the control of a facilities manager, but facilities managers can ensure that collaboration system that that remote worker accesses
www.tomorrowsfm.com
“COMPANIES ARE LOSING UP TO 15 MINUTES AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH MEETING TRYING TO GET TECHNOLOGY TO WORK.”
when they connect with their colleagues enables them to join the meeting as if they were in the building.
In its research Cascade Insights recognised a number of technical limitations that workers connecting from different locations experience. Remote participants may be using a different device to those in the room, so it is crucial that the platform through which the team are collaborating supports all forms of device, whether that’s Windows, Mac, Android etc. Cascade Insights also identified the challenges of sharing content with remote participants during a meeting as a major source of frustration. Companies often impose restrictions on the tools and software that staff can use, which means that if an external participant has produced work in a programme that a company doesn’t support, they can’t share it in the meeting. Facilities managers can circumvent this issue by specifying meeting room technology that allows each participant to contribute their own data and content to a digital meeting space that each participant in the meeting can then view on screens in the meeting room, or on a laptop or mobile device if working remotely.
We have recently launched Mezzanine Teamwork, an AV solution designed for medium-sized meeting spaces that offers a shared digital workspace where users can contribute any form of content or data: images, video, raw data or a presentation. This can then be viewed by anyone with a login to the workspace, which is accessible from tablets, web browsers or the Mezzanine app. In the meeting room itself, Mezzanine Teamwork takes the form of two screens where the shared digital workspace is displayed in high definition, allowing everyone in the room the opportunity to be immersed in the same content on a large digital canvas. This flexibility and capability to involve remote workers in meetings as if they were in the room, in the same data and content, is a hugely exciting development for the future of meeting room technology and the workplace.
www.oblong.com TOMORROW’S FM | 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68