Special report Collaboration solutions for business


Over the last month, AV News has arranged to visit vendors and dis- tributors of business collabora- tion solutions. By getting hands- on with as many products as possible we have prepared this report, to help resellers match solutions to specific user groups.


During our tour of collaboration solutions, we reached a con- sensus early on, that even rival vendors were able to support. This is, if your customer is ful- ly subscribed to the Microsoft ecosystem, has stacks of Office 385 subscriptions and the bud- get, advise them to buy the Mi- crosoft Surface Hub. Likewise, if the customer is an avowed Google supporter and GSuite user, point them towards Jam- board. It is important to un- derstand that sales of software licences are the motivating fac- tor behind the hardware initia- tives of the software giants. In these circumstances, there is little point in swimming against the tide – customers will always be drawing dispar- aging comparisons of the “it’s all right but it’s not a Hub” variety. But, if your customer is not willing to commit 100% to a single platform, wants a more open solution or doesn’t have a large budget, don’t de- spair, there is plenty of choice, some of which offers a pretty similar solution at a lower cost, and some of which provides a different solution which might


Of the business solutions that we tried that from vendors who made their bones in educa- tion, Clevertouch, Genee and CTouch all have business solu- tions ready to ship now or due imminently. Avocor is another brand whose involvement with education was relatively brief and now has a solution that is clearly differentiated through a partnership with Nureva. Other vendors, including Sharp, Logitech, Crestron and Kramer, have no particular as- sociation with the mass educa- tion market. but are active in higher education. We felt that some of these solutions were probably at home in the huddle space arena than board rooms or larger meeting rooms. Either way, AV News has dis- covered that collaboration solu- tions vary widely in the extent to which they can be customised. Some products range are sup- plied without a display or cam- era, offering plenty of scope for the systems integrator to tailor a solution completely suited to the customers’ business pro- cess, organisation, software, security provision, budget con-


certaining the customers’ in- tended uses of the solutions. In evaluating each solution, we felt that the user interface choice of collaborative activity must be immediately apparent – e.g. “I want to present”, “I want to start a video call”. Here, Microsoft Hub sets an initial


standard, offering the


user a simple choice of white- boarding, video calling of file


ranging from 65” to 84”, the Avocor F series comes with Av- ocor Intelligent Touch using In- Glass technology, delivering an extremely precise, smooth and accurate writing experience with no more waiting for the ink to catch up with the pen. One of the unique features of the Avocor F series is that it is a completely open solution and therefore platform agnostic,


has created expectations in the nation’s boardrooms. There is no doubt that the writing ex- perience, coupled with its soft- ware features and ease-of-use are a CEO’s dream. Add to this the premium Mi- crosoft branding and the price tag is the only real barrier to adoption. We heard several tails of Hubs being installed in the showcase areas of compa-


Sharp’s BIG PAD: PCAP option at Full HD. [PN80TC3]


sharing when walking up to the panel. Others have different approaches, and some rely on third party software. For ex- ample, Avocor has joined the Quicklaunch Solution Partner Program (QSPP) as an Interac- tive Display OEM. QSPP pro- vides a framework for deliver- ing multiplatform collaboration experiences across customer environments.


Microsoft Hub is undeniable impressive. If your customer is a Microsoft house, and has the budget, make sure they see it and give it due consideration.


well be more suited to your cus- tomer’s application.


The experience


We have discovered, and it should really be obvious, that what really counts is the user experience. Pick the right solu- tion, or one that can be cus- tomised to be the right solu- tion, and the rewards will come in the form of user adoption. Pick the wrong one, one that is too inflexible to customise or one which defies intuition to use, and you will be supplying an expensive coffee cup stand with no chance of a roll out or reorder. We have now moved beyond the point where the business community is expected to use technology developed for edu- cation. Even though the brands might be the same, their busi- ness solutions are differenti- ated by the adoption of PCAP, 4K and an increased number of touch points in the hardware, and new business oriented software.


P10 AV News October 2017


siderations; and ROI policy. User interface


The Quicklaunch application is a meeting room interface that provides multi-platform integration to transform a PC into an easy-to-use one click meeting space. Users can cre- ate one-touch meeting rooms based on the platform of their choice using either Exchange or Google Calendar. It provides the simplicity and security of a meeting room appliance with


meaning that it works seam- lessly with Quicklaunch to en- able users to create their per- fect collaborative environment, designed to meet their specific needs and requirements. Ian Goodhind, VP Products at Avo- cor explains. “Customers really want the ability to walk into a room and just hit join. The in- clusion of Avocor displays will complement the Quicklaunch by providing world class touch and whiteboard experiences. The Avocor Applications are now natively supported within Quicklaunch.”


While Quicklaunch is really helpful in creating a simple, custom user interface it im- poses an additional licence fee to be absorbed into the overall solution cost. Other vendors are known to be developing propri-


nies while something else was chosen for other areas. To capitalise on the gener- al popularity of the tablet-like touch experience, several oth- er vendors have elected to use PCAP technology in their business collaboration iFPDs. Clevertouch was the first with its PCAP product introduced almost 12 months ago at the Sahara showcase event last year, as an extension to the company’s Pro range. Dis- missed by some rivals as “that Android thing”, the truth is that Clevertouch is arguably one of the most open solutions on the market with both Android and PC modules.


Clevertouch has optional Mobile Device Management (MDM).


Deployment of collaboration solutions in open office and meeting spaces will inevita- bly invite use by novice users. Most of the vendors interviewed stressed the importance of as-


the power and flexibility of the PC.


Quicklaunch is available as an optional extra for Avocor’s flagship product range, the F Series. Shipping in 3 sizes


etary alternatives. Touch experience


The adoption of fully bonded PCAP glass in Microsoft Hub


Clevertouch also has a legion of experience in touchscreens. Shaun Marklew, Sales and Marketing Director, at Clever- touch parent Sahara explains that touch has evolved through various generations of IR, cul- minating in the development of IR in-glass (such as Flat-Frog) where the touch mechanism is in the top of the glass layer. In projected capacitive tech- nology, the touch layer is under the glass substrate and is less likely to terminal damage by physical distress or liquid in- gress. Marklew explains that, in true bonded capacitive, the layers are fully bonded so there is no air gap and anti-glare can be added. One of the much-dis- cussed features of capacitive technology is its ability to sense the pressure applied to each touch, and to use that data to trigger responses in software. For example, the harder you press the thicker the line can be. Marklew says that corpo-


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