The collaboration room of the future – it’s something everyone wants, but not everyone knows how to properly implement. Ultimately, there are several approaches to creating future-ready collaboration spaces, and the experience should be tailored to your organization’s needs and desires. At AGT, we’ve come up with our own approach that works well for us and our clients. Let’s take a look!
Step 1: Embrace leading technology.
In today’s always-evolving landscape, your collaboration room needs cutting edge equipment that delivers future-proof results. While the industry is moving away from analog connectivity options and going digital, you should find a balance that fits your needs. New, intuitive scheduling, room automation and interactive display solutions – such as the Surface Hub and Oblong’s Mezzanine – are making their way into the collaboration and A/V space, and embracing them is an imperative step toward creating the collaboration room of the future.
Step 2: Make sure your spaces are user-friendly.
Nothing says “outdated” like A/V systems and technologies that are difficult to use and take forever to get up and running. At the end of the day, getting people to leverage your future-ready collaboration rooms comes down to usability. Having consistent equipment and interfaces that are designed with simplicity in mind will ultimately drive usage. Creating this experience is often dependent upon the level of programming completed during the install, so make sure you’re working with an A/V integrator who knows their stuff. The good news? Most industry-leading A/V manufacturers make products that are extremely user-friendly and mesh well with others, so finding tools that fit your needs is easier than ever.
Step 3: Maximize your energy savings.
Meeting and conference spaces should have automated processes in place to not only ensure you are getting the most out of your money by conserving energy, but to also make your collaboration spaces more intuitive and easy to use. Make sure you aren’t wasting money on unused displays or lights left on after a meeting is over. Something as simple as using detection tools to turn power on and off in your collaboration spaces will help you conserve and save money, ultimately bringing you one step closer to the collaboration room of the future.
Step 4: Manage your rooms to ensure functionality.
The last component of your soon-to-be collaboration room of the future is the management of your space. Rooms with constant technology glitches and interruptions don’t say “futuristic,” so it’s important to always keep your A/V assets and systems healthy. Incorporating monitoring and reporting services, as well as the ability to manage and schedule rooms, will ensure your rooms run smoothly at all times. This could be as simple as installing scheduling panels outside your room that integrate with Microsoft Outlook or leveraging a managed services provider such as AGT to take the stress off of you by letting them monitor your environment.
The collaboration room of the future is achievable – you just have to know where to start. Contact us today to learn more about achieving the state-of-the-art meeting spaces you desire.
