1 White Paper: Best Practices For Transforming Your Conference Rooms Into Collaborative Workspaces (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

Top Considerations When Transforming Conference Rooms Into Collaborative Workspaces

www.avispl.com (+01).866.559.8197

An AVI-SPL White Paper

2 White Paper: Best Practices For Transforming Your Conference Rooms Into Collaborative Workspaces (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

Executive SummaryThe goal behind a digital workplace transformation is to create a more consumer-like environment that encourages employee collaboration, productivity, and engagement. This white paper identifies the most important aspects for you to consider when defining your new collaborative conferencing and presentation systems. You will learn the benefits of implementing enterprise-level conferencing and collaboration solutions, as well as considerations when choosing an integrated UC solutions provider.

A partnership with a global Crestron solutions provider like AVI-SPL gives enterprise-level IT executives and project managers a single vendor that can implement repeatable, reliable systems across multiple rooms, buildings, campuses, or countries. Their experience will help you to standardize your collaboration rooms, user interfaces and control systems. AVI-SPL will help guide you through the deployment of the platform, and assist with the training, adoption, and support.

Key Takeaways• Newer, cloud-based collaboration systems are easy to standardize and,

therefore, scale• Enterprise-class management devices provide centralized conference room

support and monitoring• Experienced collaboration solution providers can minimize security risks

associated with networks and consumer devices needs, but implementing technology that connects each meeting space and delivers real-time evidence into room usage and preferences is even more valuable to the process

Table of Contents

2 Executive Summary

3 Choosing Technology that Supports How Your Employees Want to Work

4 What You Need To Consider Before Choosing And Deploying New Collaboration Room Technologies

7 How A Collaboration Solutions Provider Can Help You Do Your Job More Efficiently

7 How Enterprises Are Using Crestron to Transform Today’s Collaboration Spaces

8 Conclusion: Get Started Safely Transforming Your Meeting Spaces Into Digital Workplaces

10 About AVI-SPL

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Choosing Technology that Supports How Your Employees Want to WorkIT managers and support staff understand the need to embrace the digital workplace trend, which inspires collaboration and productivity through effective meeting rooms and huddle spaces. Employees and executives want to present and share their ideas from their own devices—smartphones, wireless tablets, and more. If you work in IT, you may already be embracing the BYOD trend, and you may have already decided which type of conferencing, streaming, content sharing devices and technology will support the goals of your corporate employees. They want to:

• Work from anywhere, at any time, with anyone, using different platforms • Share content instantly and collaborate with others using video displays• Use text messaging to get tech support on a product through a website• Use videoconferencing to connect remote contributors on a more personalized level• View, record, and stream live video and audio to the internet or over your LAN

You know how to connect and manage your IT network, but how prepared are you for the transition of digital audio, video and collaboration tools in your meeting spaces? Do you know the potential security landmines in implementing the technology needed to transform your offices into digital collaboration workplaces?

This white paper identifies the most important aspects for you to consider when defining your new collaborative conferencing and presentation systems. You will learn the benefits of implementing enterprise-level conferencing and collaboration solutions, as well as considerations when choosing an integrated UC solutions provider.

You will also learn how professional integrators like AVI-SPL can help you build your technology roadmap using the best solutions based on your needs, and their insight. They know the security risks—as well as the subtleties—of audio quality and streaming media QoS (Quality of Service). Knowledge gained from their experience will help you to standardize your collaboration rooms, user interfaces and monitoring systems. AVI-SPL will help guide you through the deployment of the platform, and assist with the training, adoption, and support, ensuring a positive experience for your enterprise.

The trend toward online collaboration will grow considerably over the next few years. It is the responsibility of IT to ensure the inherent risks with technology in a digital workplace are properly assessed and understood.

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What You Need To Consider Before Choosing And Deploying New Collaboration Room TechnologiesHalf of workers now report using live video or webcasting in more than one-fourth of conference calls, according to Wainhouse Research.1 This trend toward online collaboration will grow considerably over the next few years. It is the responsibility of the IT department to ensure that the inherent risks associated with the technology in a digital workplace is properly assessed and understood. Video conferencing, security, interoperability, and user adoption are only the beginning. Here are some key aspects you should consider in defining your new systems:

Consider Security

Despite the inherent risk of consumer devices in the enterprise, the winds of change are blowing into the corporate conference room, carrying the same mobile phones and tablets that are used at home. Sometimes a single USB port on a device can mean the difference between getting a solution approved or rejected by the IT security team. Your security plan has to be tight, while allowing personal devices access to communications networks and platforms. How can you keep your networks safe while being open to consumer level devices?

Companies that have had the most success with integrating consumer-level BYOD devices into their enterprise have used measures like two-factor authentication and mobile device management (MDM) programs that will delete key data on a mobile device that has been lost or stolen. By adopting an information-centric security approach that requires minimal control of the endpoints, the IT department is automatically building in scalability.

Consider Interoperability

With so many meeting room technologies, delivery models, and end points, interoperability is key. Many enterprises will invest in conferencing and collaboration solutions that are a mix of on-premise, hybrid, and cloud-based solutions that may include mobile endpoints, traditional video codecs (H.323), browsers, desktop applications, and more. IT must ensure that users can access the meetings in the way they expect, when they want, quickly and efficiently.

Today’s corporate employees want to share content wirelessly from any laptop, smartphone, or tablet. They need to present video or presentations on multiple displays without carrying around a special adapter cable just to connect to meeting room systems. Meeting rooms and collaboration spaces should have all the formats needed for end users to “plug in” or share content wirelessly from a tablet or mobile device without delaying the meeting.

Meeting rooms and collaboration spaces should have all the formats needed for end users to “plug in” or share content wirelessly from a tablet or mobile device without delaying the meeting.

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According to Craig Mathais of Techtarget, the “bring your own phenomenon should extend well beyond tools and devices…. Information, applications and connectivity are the keys that open the door to this era of bring your own everything (BYOx).”2 In short, you should offer as much connectivity and interoperability as possible.

Consider The User Experience

To say that AV touch panels and control systems have a bad reputation in the corporate world would be an understatement. Meetings are often delayed because the presentation or conferencing system that was installed would not work properly, causing frustration and a lack of faith in the technology from the end user base.

In each room, there needs to be a single, simple user interface. Simplicity ensures that users adopt quickly and that meetings will not be delayed. It’s also important for enterprises to standardize the user experience as much as possible between all spaces. Although different rooms may have different collaboration capabilities, the user experience should be nearly identical. To speed up adoption rates, the goal is to create familiarity in the graphical user interface (GUI) with minimal change when a given conferencing space is upgraded in functionality.

Today’s consumers have become comfortable with using their mobile devices to control their entertainment systems, as well as HVAC, lighting, security systems, and more. Similarly, they expect that meeting controls are like their mobile apps. If button panels or touch panels are used, the design should be as intuitive easy to use as a mobile phone. Ideally, the controls can be replicated on the user’s mobile device, allowing users to feel more comfortable.

In more successful rollouts, the main display in each of the collaboration rooms will greet the employees with instructions of how to use the system. Users can instantly connect approved wireless devices like phones and tablets using an IP address. Table box connections should always be kept simple and yet still complete, including extra power outlets, and “all flavors” of display cables, long enough to reach the ends of the conference tables.

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Consider Centralized AV Monitoring and Asset Management

If you ask the average facilities manager or IT department what percentage of scheduled meetings actually took place, how often their conference rooms are used, or how long before they need to order new projector bulbs, you will probably get a puzzled look in response, because they don’t know how to measure that data. However, when IT departments have the proper technology and reporting tools, they can help the company run more efficiently.

Once a centralized monitoring system is in place, IT departments can automate events, such as end-of-day shutdown of displays, saving on energy bills and staffing. Automatic email scheduling can be used to send reports to a group of recipients on a recurring basis or to alert support staff of a problem. CIOs and IT departments can generate custom-built reports that support executive decisions. Typical room usage and statistics may include:

• Who organized the meetings and who was scheduled to attend them• When a meeting was scheduled to start and end vs. the actual time it took place• How often meetings were extended, ended early, or simply did not happen• Technology available in the rooms used most often vs. those used far less

Consider Creating a Collaboration Technology Roadmap

Technology roadmaps act like a business plan for your IT network and any collaboration tools that will be connected to it. In recent years, these roadmaps have encouraged a shift to the “cloud,” replacing local file servers with online services that have larger storage and faster computing power. The cloud also makes managing these systems easier for the IT department. Many companies have moved their networks and their IT support into a cloud-based model, outsourcing their support staff.

A similar shift to the cloud-based model can be applied to enterprise collaboration systems. In the past, scaling the conferencing and communication capabilities of a meeting room could be very complex; adding or removing devices was time-consuming and oftentimes frustrating. Legacy AV systems were not designed to scale up or down easily. Even when larger audiovisual distribution networks were installed, they were often designed for a limited number of rooms in a single location, not multiple locations with hundreds or even thousands of rooms worldwide.

The best way to incorporate unified collaboration into your Technology Roadmap is to work with an experienced technology services provider like AVI-SPL. They can demonstrate newer cloud-based collaboration systems that are easy to standardize and, therefore, scale. The decision makers within an enterprise do not like to be caught off guard with requests for gear, applications, and services if they don’t see how it will help them grow. AVI-SPL can show you the return on your investment, based on the AV

Decision makers do not like to be caught off guard with requests for gear, applications, and services if they don’t see how it will help them grow. Your roadmap should always include an annual budget, and some simple metrics.

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technology roadmap you build together. The roadmap should always include an annual budget, and some simple metrics, so the roadmap can be adjusted as needed.

Best Practices For Scalability In Your Collaboration-Enabled Meeting Spaces• Utilize a global solution provider that can support multiple locations• Integrate all rooms on a standard platform intended for enterprises• Design to easily repeat a system again, without any customization• Have ability to scale the needs of a given meeting space up or down• Centralize support using enterprise-class monitoring and management• Know the current status of all AV and conferencing devices in all rooms

at any given time• Respond to alerts in real time to ease user stress and improve uptime• Monitor the usage of all meeting spaces to anticipate future upgrade needs

How A Collaboration Solutions Provider Can Help You Do Your Job More EfficientlyExperienced collaboration solution providers like AVI-SPL understand security issues that are associated with networks and consumer devices. By working with UC experts, you will reduce the overall risk involved because they know the individual risk of each component. They routinely create hybrid solutions of new and existing AV and UC gear while striving for meeting rooms that are easily replicated and/or upgraded. They also know the limitations of devices, including resolution, interoperability, bandwidth, and distance limits for the cabling.

An experienced, Crestron-certified programmer knows how to design and program control interfaces that get used, based on standards and consumer trends. They can also help IT managers implement centralized asset management and monitoring solutions, offering full enterprise visibility, real-time alerts, reporting, and remote troubleshooting capabilities. AVI-SPL certified design engineers and programmers have advanced training, specifically on Crestron devices. Partnering with an expert integration firm like AVI-SPL ensures the best outcome in your initial rollout of new digital workspaces, as well as future expansions to your new collaboration solutions.

How Enterprises Are Using Crestron to Transform Today’s Collaboration SpacesA simple way to ensure interoperability of different mobile and meeting room devices is to build your systems using the same platform across all rooms. Crestron .AV Framework™ helps eliminate the silos between rooms and users, providing a secure,

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robust, platform for all AV devices to be “on the same page” and for users to interact “on the same level.” Crestron has created a Digital Media™ 3.0 standard to meet core requirements and ensure standard implementation across every room in the enterprise, with minimum turnover time.

Crestron Fusion™ enables enterprise-level AV asset monitoring and management, both on premises and in the cloud. The software includes 3D visualization tools, room scheduling, and real-time alerts. Crestron Fusion empowers employees, enabling them to easily view room availability and book spaces on the spot. Fusion can be integrated with Microsoft® Exchange, Office 365®, IBM® Notes®, R25®, and Google® Calendar. The Crestron Fusion API can be used to integrate with many other scheduling solutions. Crestron Fusion stores scheduling and other information in an SQL Server® database. Users can schedule rooms from readily accessible touch screens conveniently wall-mounted outside each room, in the Crestron RoomView add-in for Outlook®, or using their corporate calendar.

Conclusion: Get Started Safely Transforming Your Meeting Spaces Into Digital WorkplacesThe goal behind a digital workplace transformation is to create a more consumer-like environment that encourages employee collaboration, productivity, and engagement. By standardizing on Crestron hardware and software solutions across the global enterprise, successful companies have reached this goal. They’ve also saved millions of dollars in programming charges, AV equipment costs, construction, maintenance, network, and support.

With Crestron Certified Designs, all of your devices and rooms can be managed on a Crestron network, giving complete visibility of all digital assets, and better support for all end users. A partnership with a global Crestron solutions provider like AVI-SPL gives enterprise-level IT executives and project managers a single vendor that can implement repeatable, reliable systems across multiple rooms, buildings, campuses, or countries. The result is more consistent performance, and more positive user experience, as every room works the same way. Employees become more productive because they can use the conferencing systems to focus on collaboration.

Want to learn more about the Crestron .AV Framework and/or speak with an expert about your transforming digital workplace? Contact AVI-SPL at 866-708-5034 or sales@avispl.com for a needs assessment or Crestron Fusion product line demo in your office.

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Learn MoreTo request a consultation or to find out more about how Crestron’s .AV Framework can help transform and standardize your company’s collaboration technology contact AVI-SPL at 866-708-5034, email sales@avispl.com, or visit www.avispl.com.

Further Reading

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About AVI-SPLAVI-SPL is the world’s leading collaboration and video communications partner. AVI-SPL designs, builds, and supports the systems and environments that enable communication and collaboration. With highly trained and certified system engineers throughout 34 offices across North America and an international network of solution providers in 30 countries, we’ve built the infrastructure and partnerships to help any business realize and meet its communication goals.

Corporate Headquarters:AVI-SPL6301 Benjamin Road, Suite 101Tampa, FL 33634

About CrestronFor 40 years Crestron has been the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced control and automation systems, innovating technology to simplify and enhance modern lifestyles and businesses. Offering integrated solutions to control audio, video, computer, and environmental systems, Crestron streamlines technology, improving the quality of life in commercial buildings, universities, hotels, hospitals and homes. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Australia.

Resources:1. https://hbr.org/2015/01/4-ways-to-make-conference-calls-less-terrible2. http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/opinion/Bring-your-own-IT-evolves-

from-BYOD