Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, Barco India
Meetings are where strategies are defined, actions planned, and agreements reached, with people willing to collaborate. It assumes a different hue when it is done on a wireless platform. Virtual collaboration is revolutionising the domain and changing the paradigm of meetings.
Collaboration and group work are crucial elements that enhance productivity and meetings are the way people join forces and enable bright outcomes. However, with the workplace undergoing a fundamental transformation and the development of the gig economy, most organisations have seen a surge in remote employees. Further, with the ongoing lockdown across the globe, more and more people are now working from home. This has ushered in the requirement for seamless collaboration solutions that ensure virtual meetings are as effective as face-to-face interactions.
it is now crucial that organisations facilitate remote work options. The millennials prove to be natural collaborators, having grown up with online sharing technologies like Google docs, online gaming, social media, cloud-based apps and more. A recent survey by Barco ClickShare, in collaboration with Savanta, on the “Future of Meetings” showed that 60% of the meetings conducted in India today have remote attendees and this number is bound to increase.
My Tools for My Meetings
Research corroborates the fact that the millennial and Gen-Z population, which constitutes over 60% of the global workforce, have a high requirement for business technology matching their lifestyle needs. Even in regular circumstances, they want more flexible, remote work environments and prefer using their own devices and tools to collaborate seamlessly from anywhere they want. And this can only be managed through the application of intuitive, wireless collaboration technology. While Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has been a vital component of the Digital Workplace strategy of many organisations, 2020 is the year of Bring Your Own Meeting.
Being able to choose the devices they are most familiar and most competent with has given individuals the confidence they need to save time and do more. A natural extension of BYOD, Bring Your Own Meeting allows people to use the conferencing platform they are most effective with and is the next strategic step for personal empowerment and collaboration. It is also a cost-effective measure as there is no need for expensive meeting room software licenses or proprietary hardware and software to integrate a specific conferencing solution.
Collaboration in the Co-Working Industry
A domain that stands to gain significantly from wireless collaboration is the co-working space. While most people are now engaged in remote working, these spaces will once again be in demand, once we move past the pandemic situation. A boon for freelancers and start-ups, co-working spaces offer all the benefits of an established office without the investment required for setting one up.
Technology is crucial to facilitating communication and collaboration in co-working spaces and most of the organisations offering the service ensure access to smart video conferencing and networking equipment, cybersecurity measures and uninterrupted connectivity. The one innovation that can augment the experience is the availability of a solution that works seamlessly with all devices, Unified Communication technologies and AV peripheral brands supplied by the co-working space and that is where a triple-agnostic BYOM product steps in to enhance collaboration.
Video Conferencing and Healthcare
Telemedicine is a practice that has disrupted the healthcare space given its benefits like the possibility of reaching out to more patients, saving time and effort and the scope of remotely overseeing emergency procedures. Reports suggest that the global telemedicine market might grow at a compounded annual rate of over 19% between 2017-2023, crossing the $130 billion mark by 2025. This figure is likely to rise further, considering the acute need for telemedicine during the healthcare crisis the world is currently facing.
A major factor enabling the segment is wireless video conferencing as it allows healthcare practitioners to provide medical aid in an effective and personalised manner in a virtual environment. The BYOM technology is set to boost the scope of telemedicine and teleradiology as practitioners can connect wirelessly to collaborate, discuss and devise innovative healthcare solutions. Such a possibility would sharply improve the population’s access to quality healthcare, especially in regions that do not have enough medical practitioners.
Virtual Collaboration – The Need of the Hour
With constant conversation around sustainability and lowering our carbon footprint, wireless virtual collaboration can limit the need for work-related travel, thus reducing pollution and wastage of resources. Additionally, seamless virtual conferences enable efficient collaboration in times of unfavourable situations like the ongoing pandemic, natural disasters or geopolitical strife, helping maintain engagement when in-person meetings are not possible.
The global economy is on a roller coaster ride, and the upheavals have put pressure on firms to cut corners and improve the balance sheet. As a result, more and more industries and firms have begun to adopt online meetings. The technologies used for online meetings, no doubt, are still in the process of evolution. Over the years, the transformation seen in core features, voice, video, and screen sharing, have demonstrated the cost efficiency and flexibility of conducting meetings beyond the four walls of a conference room. It was a challenge, to begin with, but firms have transformed it into a big opportunity. Affordability and the combined convenience for client accessibility mean assured satisfaction.