Future Work Environments: The Board Room

The future of work is here!  The promises of ‘digital transformation’ are within our grasp: remote workforce, diversity, adaptability, efficiency - all within the digital environment. But before we get to realize these promises, IT organizations in particular, must work through numerous problems: sophisticated technology, complexity and lack of interoperability, and integration headaches. 

Part of building the future work environment, therefore, is creating a state-of-the-art conference room system with effective audio-visual capability.  That doesn’t mean you have to invest in complex and expensive technologies.  You just need to create a space that facilitates effective interaction and collaboration.  Virtual collaboration must be simple, seamless, and intuitive for both on-site and remote users.  Poorly implemented technology is doomed to collect the proverbial dust and sit in the corner without generating a return on capital.

Whether you’re collaborating with your employees, collaborating with your students, your customers or with your suppliers, one constant remains steady. Collaboration will always be a key factor in doing sustained successful business. One way to increase your team’s ability to collaborate is with interactive white boards.

The Ideal Solution

Firstly, it should be a completely integrated hardware solution that provides a simple out-of-the-box conference room solution, preferable from one supplier .  Cameras, microphones, speakers,  interactive  displays, computers and other peripherals should be pre-configured such that deployment, training and support across your organization is easy and consistent. All of the hardware devices and peripherals should also be seamlessly integrated with the software without the need for any user configuration. Microsoft 365 provides a very compelling cloud-based offering which can include MS Teams as your collaborative HUB. They are also offering a 6-months free with new subscriptions at the moment.

Next, the software should operate on a standard operating system that would allow the IT department to configure the image, load policies and ensure security of the device. The device should also leverage existing network and user authentication infrastructures, connect to your Active Directory, and allow users to gain access to network resources. Accessing your data should never be complicated – use your existing enterprise network resources or cloud service provider. Your data, your way.

Finally, the device should dramatically improve the workflow of your remote teams and not just be a glorified video conferencing appliance.  The device should integrate all your requirements into one  simple user interface that is intuitive and easy to learn.  It also should leverage your existing conference room equipment such that projectors, secondary displays, conference phone systems,  wired  and  wireless screen projection technologies and other hardware devices can be managed and accessed as well.

RICOH I.F.P.D and Reactiv Suite Software

You now can exchange ideas in real time throughout your business for more engaging meetings and brainstorming sessions using Ricoh Interactive whiteboards – also known as Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs). There’s the right fit for your business’ size with panels ranging from 86” to 32” and options for business specific or Windows® controllers. With the pivot to smaller group sizes to accommodate social distancing, the concept of ‘Huddle Rooms’ is gaining much more traction and the 32” & 55” IFPD’s provide very affordable options.

The Ricoh device can also come with optional Reactiv Suite Software. This powerful suite of software applications is revolutionizing the way professionals express their ideas, while allowing passive audiences to become active participants and interact as a team. This transforms everyday meetings resulting in greater engagement and productivity.

Having the ability to share and convey ideas freely increases the speed that new initiatives can begin with everyone on board (excuse the pun). Saving time saves companies money. With the IFPD’s you can:

Join a Video Conference From Anywhere Give onsite and mobile employees the power to share ideas quickly and easily with collaborative sessions with multi-touch annotations, video conferencing and real-time information sharing. Compatible with Skype for Business, Ricoh UCS and Office 365.

Collaborate With Anyone, Anywhere With Ricoh IFPDs, you can connect up to eight Ricoh Interactive Whiteboards. Each whiteboard offers interactive controls to participants in multiple locations simultaneously.

Protect and Preserve Your Presentation Keep presentations private via log-in pin-code authorization. To secure your presentation, data is erased the moment you shut off the interactive whiteboard. Or, simply name and password protect the document at the whiteboard, and then print or email it directly from the board to participants.

Receive Feedback and Share It With Others Chances are, you’re sharing your presentation with an audience because you value their feedback. The comments and changes they provide can enhance what you’ve presented — and foster a true collaborative meeting. But now that the meeting is over, how do you get your modified document to attendees quickly? With the Ricoh Interactive Whiteboard, it’s easy. Within minutes you can turn your revised presentation into a PDF file.

 

Interested in learning more about how IFPD’s can accelerate your business? Call (905) 641-4442 or visit us at www.JBM.ca to speak with an Interactive White Board specialist today.