Business opportunities Affordable solutions for Huddle Spaces


Last month we looked at iFPD solutions for meeting rooms: customers have the option of duplicating their meeting room solutions in their huddle spac- es, if space and budgets allow. If they don’t, other more com- pact and affordable solutions are available.


Futuresource Consulting un- veiled a report in May that showed businesses using meet- ing rooms at a higher frequency than in the past. Despite the proven advantages to remote work, it appears that compa- nies still have a need to mix with local employees and allow those meetings to find a way to the outside world on remote employees’ mobile devices. The average weekly meeting room use, Futuresource found in its survey of respondents from France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., has risen by 50 percent since 2014. Re- spondents also indicated that 20 percent of its whole sample, intended to add new meeting spaces to their offices within the next few years.


Compact solutions


AV News has seen some im- pressive iFPD solutions for collaborative meeting rooms, some of which, including Mic-


Jamboard is also an option for Huddle Spaces, but its 55” display, and (currently) limited mounting options, restrict


its


adoption in anything other than meeting rooms.


Conway Lee, President of Marketing partner BenQ, ex- plains: “Jamboard is the physi- cal realisation of combining all the best features from G Suite, backed by the support of BenQ Corporation. The cutting-edge solution redefines meetings and team collaboration, creat- ing a more team-oriented work- ing environment.” Jamboard is a 4K UHD touch-enabled display that makes it easier for teams to engage and share ideas. Ideal for the Huddle Space or for collaborating with a remote team, via the integrat- ed videoconferencing features, Jamboard is said to transform meetings into “engaging and effective experiences”. “Jamboard puts Google apps and a whole host of interactive capabilities at users' fingertips


municate with colleagues via Hangouts, and it's all saved in the cloud. Users can sketch out plans in real time with team- mates from across the globe via other Jamboards or the mobile and tablet apps.”


Jamboard comes in three co-


seen new Cast Content Shar- ing software complementing ViewBoard 2.1 Annotation Software. The new application enables 1080p content to be streamed from a user’s device directly onto a ViewBoard, ei- ther wirelessly or over a cable


presenting and resource shar- ing, albeit with a heavy reli- ance on G Suite. But, it is still a large lump in a small space. Luckily, there are other options, with some of them requiring a degree of hardware or software integration by the reseller.


Yamaha’s CS-700 is a space-saving collaboration solution that fits under the display like a soundbar.


lours - Carmine Red, Graphite Grey and Cobalt Blue - but, being designed to be mobile, the product is designed with a rather ungainly, non-height adjustable £1000 trolley. The good news for end-users is that the end-user price for the Jamboard itself is just under £4000.


But getting Jamboard to set- tle in the market is likely to be tougher than Google antic- ipates. Rivals in this compact


network. Recently, BenQ has a new range, starting at 55”, 4K UHD resolution of IFPs. These feature built-in EZWrite 4.0 annotation software and the ability to share and collaborate with the InstaQShare wireless solution.


Integrated systems


Competition is keeping Huddle Space technology affordable. Even Jamboard’s price might


In recent months, AV News has looked at a number of these. Some require the addi- tion of a display (which can be as small as 32”); some need a camera for video calling; a small form factor PC, software or a subscription collaboration service for sharing with remote participants.


Even so, these


integrated solutions can be in- credibly cost-effective, particu- larly when bought in multiples. Let’s start with the Logi- tech products, which we are known to favour having pre- sented Logitech Group Kit with an AV News Award in 2017. Since then, this product has been joined by the sub-£1000 MeetUp designed for small conference rooms and huddle rooms. With 4K optics and a super-wide 120-degree field of view, MeetUp makes every seat at the table clearly visible. With integrated audio optimised for Huddle Space acoustics, en- suring everyone can be heard as well as seen. Wall-mounted, for space-saving, and compatible with a variety of whiteboarding and shared presentation soft- ware, MeetUp offers a highly competitive and effective hud- dle space solution.


Sound purchase Logitech’s MeetUp: surprisingly good quality from a super-compact wall-mounted Huddle Space solution.


rosoft Surface Hub and NEC’s Infinity Board, are available in smaller screen sizes more suit- ed to Huddle Spaces. Google’s


during a ‘jam’ session. They can draw, annotate, import and scribble on images and Google Docs, search the web, com-


iFPD space are currently being launched on an almost weekly basis. Enhancements to View- Sonic’s ViewBoard range have


come as a surprise to some, since it performs most of the key huddle space functions – video calling, whiteboarding,


Yamaha has announced the formation of a specialist divi- sion to handle its UC products. These now range from huddle space solutions, up to Skype for Business- powered meeting room models. The Yamaha CS- 700 video sound collaboration system is specifically designed as an all-in-one unit for huddle rooms. It mounts under the dis- play and very much looks like a soundbar.


The CS-700 combines ul- tra-wideband audio with high-quality video to fulfil vid- eo, audio, and collaboration requirements


in one simple,


wall-mounted system address- ing all communication and col- laboration requirements of the huddle room. Audio, video and screen sharing is accomplished through one USB cable.


The


integrated remote management capability enables remote IT departments


to monitor and


manage their huddle room in- stallations.


Due to the small size of Hud- dle Spaces, participants sit close to displays and camer- as, in the past requiring pan-


Google Jamboard: The Huddle Space technology of choice for millennials and others who choose to communicate with Emojis? P8 AV News November 2017 Continued on P10


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