CORPORATE & EDUCATION 33
Better-equipped, more intuitive workspaces foster more productive, more efficient and more engaged workforces
producing professional-grade podcasts using high-end equipment – PTZs, as well as Sony’s FX series (from the Cinema Line) and even the BURANO. While these devices “were built with broadcast DNA,” says Patel, “they are now finding a natural home in corporate podcast studios.” Rather than discussing heavy topics via email or company-wide conference calls, businesses are turning to video content to share important updates, internally and externally. In today’s visually driven, entertainment-heavy era, this should come as no surprise – high-quality, bite- size videos are easier to consume. Many organisations host virtual, livestreamed town halls, while others use their own studios to film asynchronous employee training content. In-house studios are a large upfront investment, but they save time and money in the long run, and they keep everything on-premises. This reduces the security risk and the general uncertainty of outsourcing – some of the biggest blockers to adopting new AV tech, according to Hilóczki. SMARTER SPACES When offices closed during Covid, many never reopened. Some companies opted
to rent shared spaces rather than more traditional stand-alone buildings. Others got creative with what real estate they already had, transforming old meeting rooms into multi-purpose spaces that could serve as studios or even host immersive experiences. According to Dover, the audio-visual industry has been experiencing some serious investment in these types of hybrid spaces. “Meeting rooms double as production environments, equipped with intelligent cameras, automated framing and real-time switching to deliver higher- quality meeting experiences and in- house content creation without the help of specialist crews.” The appetite is also growing for what Dover calls immersive collaboration – “solutions that go beyond traditional video calls to genuinely blend physical and virtual presence,” such as Sony’s Spatial Reality Display. As organisations make peace with the reality of remote participation, they are creating better, more experience-driven rooms that lend themselves to driving productivity and employee performance. It’s crucial that these spaces, and the impressive technology within them, are intuitive for both employees and
employers. “A technically capable room that is intimidating, confusing or uncomfortable to use will underperform a much simpler set-up people actually engage with,” argues Dover. “Consumer- grade simplicity is a very substantial competitive advantage.” Hilóczki believes organisations that ‘design around the user journey’ with ‘fast, intuitive connection’ are the most primed for success when it comes to AV implementation. “They create repeatable room templates, validate interoperability and roll out consistent workflows across sites,” he states. This standardisation helps IT support teams too, allowing them to troubleshoot with greater speed and effectiveness. “The payoff for getting it right is measurable,” echoes Dover. “Better- equipped, more intuitive workspaces foster more productive, more efficient and more engaged workforces.” And the results can already be felt around the world. Thanks to Lightware’s switchers, transmitters and AV-over-IP technology, offices in India, Hong Kong and the US (to name just a few) are seeing greater consistency, reduced complexity and improved reliability in their AV operations.
AV is not just about hybrid workflows, but also improving in-person learning and working environments, like teaching (above)
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