Collaboration on Multiple UC Platforms

In this episode, guest host John Bailey welcomes Barcos's David Fitzgerald to talk about how Barco ClickShare enables your teams to collaborate using video. ClickShare allows teams to use the different unified communications platforms they prefer, which can boost team collaboration. John and David also chat about our technology partners and device compatibility.

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SPEAKER_00 0:09

Welcome to the collaboration space. Pull up a chair in our virtual conference room as we share ideas on how you can create an engaging and productive digital workplace. Join AVI SPL hosts Nancy Lucier and Anthony Salvedgie, along with expert guests, as we chat about fostering collaboration in the office and online through video conferencing. Hey everyone, in this edition of the Collaboration Space Podcast, we're welcoming our guest host, John Bailey. Take it away, John.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

All right, and welcome back to the collaboration space. I'm John Bailey with AVI SPL. And today's guest is David Fitzgerald of Barco. And for this episode, we'll be talking about Barco's ClickShare solution. So hi, David. It's great to see you again. You know, 2021, it's finally underway, and we're getting back to work and back into the office. And so many of our customers say they're now supporting multiple UCC platforms for collaboration. And we know that can present a number of challenges for end users. So let's talk about how ClickShare really enables workers who are routinely collaborating on two or more platforms.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Hey, thanks, John, and good to see you again, too. Yeah, ClickShare is perfectly suited for this uh this new environment that we're all faced with, with the hybrid work environment that everybody will be returning to throughout the year. People have millions of people, almost a billion people, it's estimated, have been off working at home and will be making their way back in waves throughout the year. And as they come back, they're going to want to use the platforms that they've been using while they've been on this in this very difficult situation. These users have got a PhD now in video conferencing. They've used all the different platforms, they've used Teams, they've used Zoom, they've used WebEx, Logmin, and PECSIP, you know, you name it. They've had to be on different calls because they may have a standard, but their customers are using some different standards. So, you know, if you look at your calendar throughout the day, you probably go from you know from one platform to the next. I know I'm on three or four different platforms every day. So I think that many users are going to have that same experience. They're also going to be very specific. I think that some of the research that we show shows that people really prefer to use their own device. And I think bringing your own device into the room, being able to connect to the room, and that's what ClickShare Conference does. I'm using it now. I just plug the button in. I'm not using my camera for my laptop or my PC. I have a meeting room set up here, and I have the screen, the camera, the speaker, and the mic all connected.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Yeah, that's great. And we know the customer experience and end user experience is so important to really adoption, right, of these platforms. You know, one of the industry trends we've seen accelerating over the past few years is stronger partnering across the supplier ecosystem. So today it's really not uncommon to find manufacturers collaborating very closely together in the design of their products to ensure they not only work well together, but also provide that seamless user experience. So, what is the approach there at Barco and who are you working closely with? I think you you mentioned Logitech, Poly, and NEC were just a few.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yeah, we're working with the big the biggest and best brands in the industry, the ones that you mentioned there, plus companies on the display side, you know, on the display side and on the camera, speaker, and mic side, on the USB peripheral side. We're working with all the top manufacturers. We've got an integration or compatibility or certification with most of them. We cover more than 90% of the market. So we're able to ensure the customers have a tested solution before they adopt it or before they have to launch with it. And we think that that lowers the risk for both of us. Of course, uh, we won the uh the A B New Collaboration Innovation of the Year this year, and I think that was part from A B News, and I think that was that certainly made it easy for people to take uh to take notice, right? We did get some attention there. So I think that the uh the ability to be able to play with just about any device on the market really uh is a benefit for both of our sets of customers.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Thanks, David. Speaking of partnering, I know you and I have been working together for more than a couple of years. And likewise, we know Barco and AVI SPL have a really long track record of success working together to deliver customer-centric solutions all around the world. How do you see the benefits for customers and customer experience when we work together?

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Making sure that we're in concert is very important to customers because it really does, as I mentioned, lower the risk. We've done the homework, we've made sure that we keep up with the different devices that are in the market. You know, we've done a survey of what's been deployed, and we try to stay close to the companies that are in our alliance program to understand what they have coming down the pike, which is a very uh important element of this. We want to be ready when our alliance partners announce a new product. Do we have compatibility and certification with the products so that we can ensure a good customer experience together? As you mentioned, we have a long history working together, so it's very important for us to make sure we're giving you that certainty that this is a proven solution. We've sort of beaten the bushes to make sure that we have everything singing and dancing nicely before we put it in front of a customer. In addition, we also are supporting the efforts at uh ADISPL around Symfony and making sure that we've got the drivers and the compatibility in that ecosystem because that's another another big element for both of us, right? If we can make sure that your customers feel comfortable and are getting uh you know have the diagnostic and the monitoring that goes along with Symphony so that uh we can address customer issues more efficiently.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

All right, yeah, so important. So, well, I think that's a wrap for today. So thank you, David, and thank you to the entire Barco team and for our audience. Thank you for joining us, and we hope to see you next time here in the collaboration space.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Thank you for listening to our latest episode. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We'll see you next time in the collaboration space. Until we meet again, you can connect with us online. Our Twitter handle is at AVISPL Info, and you'll also find us on LinkedIn and AVISPL.com.