Over the past decade companies have tried, with varying degrees of success, to design multifunctioning spaces. 

AV teams have created cabling works of art with switching, matrixes, and control systems to create ease of use for the end user increasingly agile demands. However, the issue with these technical systems is that they need to be closely looked after by on-site specialist AV teams and, in too many cases, the end user can easily disrupt the entire system by switching off the wrong button or innocently unplugging cables in simply trying to change they way the room works to better suit their needs.

Today’s enterprise users are looking for the ease of walk-up-and-use solutions that they are used to from their smart phones or tablets. 

Recent advances in touchscreen technology means that this expectation has been realised and can be surpassed. Manufacturers such as Clevertouch, have built solutions around the end users’ requirements for an all-in-one Enterprise Ecosystem for end users, which also ticks the boxes for the AV teams who want to remote manage them. The added key elements are the massive improvement in infrastructure with fibre, 4G - and soon 5G - which will have a massive impact on the remote/home working as it will provide speeds that could only normally be achieved at head office, with major investment. The days of bad audio and even worse video connection are numbered as demand grows exponentially, with reportedly 3 billion minutes of Skype calls every day during 2018, and over 54% of meetings involving remote participants, suggesting a decreasing need for fixed hardware in fixed physical spaces.

The idea of an Enterprise Ecosystem that can be used in any environment and then built on to suite of existing businesses requirements and demand, is exactly the direction the industry needs to go in. In fact, we’re seeing 25% of interactive screens sold with a mobile stand to enable organisations freedom and flexibility. Of course, this type of ecosystem can be achieved with a catalogue of different brands and products, and by adding to existing hardware, but that creates its own set of challenges. Who takes the blame is something in not working? Is it the control, the screen, the network? The list goes on. In order to futureproof their working environment, companies are looking to incorporate more agile solutions. 

The Pro Series from Clevertouch meets these evolving needs and has benefitted from feedback from new and existing customers, to maintain its position as the go-to solution at the forefront of the IFP  (Interactive Flat Panel) market since its launch just over three years ago. So, what does the latest and greatest meeting solution need? I stress meeting solution rather than meeting room or board room, as the work place develops into more usable spaces for tasks, rather than individuals. 

Decision makers are demanding a walk-up-and-use solution which:

•    Feels familiar and intuitive – simply speaking, a massive version of your desk top, laptop or tablet.
•    Maintains a secure environment, and provides an area where visitors can work without worrying about our corporate security and connectivity, favouring the cloud over reliance on external hard drives.
•    Operates a high definition 4k monitor that can display content from any brand of device and run all day, every day, in a bright light workspace, without the worry of it failing or the warranty not covering it.
•    Utilises a touch and inking experience that’s as good as any personal device, like a surface stylus or apple pencil, on a screen that can cover 30 plus people.
•    Exploits audio that makes my UC (Unified Communications) calls sound great - and my videos even better.
•    Permits users to wirelessly present with any device, on any platform - and have up to four devices showing at once - using free apps, plug and play USB dongles, Windows 10 Miracast or other mirror cast apps, with all of these passing picture, audio and touch without frustrating delays.
•    Employs the ability to book the device – not just the meeting room – with real time information with availability that can be viewed remotely at any time with Outlook, Google calendar and others, but also employs a link to room booking screens outside of the traditional structured meeting spaces, where visiting company logos can be downloaded remotely, to impress potential clients.
•    Allows users to get out of the room with video, voice, desktop share and multiway inking, allowing collaboration between the home user, remote worker and other people outside the business, without the need for software or files to be installed.
•    Meets the increasing need for a solution that updates itself, can be fully managed remotely, with five years onsite de and re-install warranty and UK based support staff who can be contacted anytime between 8am and 11pm, due to our multi-site multi country business.

This long list of requirements just shows what today’s modern workplaces demand and I am very pleased to say it is possible, and takes the form of the Clevertouch’s Pro Series E CAP. 

Still think it sounds too goods to be true? Come and see the Enterprise Ecosystem solutions in our London, Leeds and Edinburgh experience centres, or find out more at UC Expo at Excel on the 15th and 16th May, stand C120.