The workplace and work culture in India is changing. With global working population taking advantage of flexible working practices, flexible workplaces are on the rise in the country and success in this landscape is all about providing the right environment that allows individuals and teams to work together productively to deliver great results. Technology has drastically transformed the way we live, learn and work.
Communications company, Poly (the result of Plantronics’ acquisition of Polycom last year) is now equipped with combined experience to bring products like Polycom Studio, which delivers business-class audio and video capabilities in an easy-to-use USB video bar to the Indian market.
“We see a huge opportunity as one company to explore new and innovative ways to incorporate AI, machine learning, and advanced technologies into future designs to bring cutting edge products to the market that will help people connect as if they’re face-to-face, even when they’re not,” says Pierre-Jean Chalon, Senior Vice President, APAC Sales, Poly.
Collaboration technologies
Companies that want to attract and retain top talent need to understand the employees’ convenience and accommodate the shift in attitudes generated due to flexible working practices with technology.
“With high-speed broadband networks and increased 4G penetration in India, people now have the freedom to work when and how they want. Regardless of their location, today’s multi-generational workforce wants the ability to work and collaborate in a very human way that gets the job done and employers need to provide flexible working policies to attract and retain their best talent. Collaboration technologies allow employees to work from anywhere and on any device. By implementing collaboration tools such as video, audio conferencing, and content sharing technologies, employers can bridge the divide that organisations face in terms of communication, expectations and presence with remote employees,” says Chalon.
Cues for CIO to effectively manage modern workspaces
CIOs play a critical role in creating modern workplaces and making sure that they offer the best employee experience in terms of technology usage within workspace.
“It is important for CIOs to work closely with company leaders and human resources to build an energised and collaborative workforce,” states Chalon. He points out that CIOs can build the modern workplace by creating technology enabled huddle rooms. “Today professionals increasingly depend on technology to achieve high levels of productivity. They expect to connect instantly, work smarter, produce outcomes and drive results quicker. Technology-enabled huddle rooms satisfy this need for real-time, productive collaboration and are now, more than ever, an important component in an organisation’s digital transformation journey. Huddle rooms are ideal for today’s workspaces for teams who want to be mobile, connected and highly collaborative. CIOs should work on creating strategically placed small meeting spaces that are designed to empower people to meet quickly and easily. A huddle room must be equipped with powerful video, audio and content sharing collaboration tools, so employees can get the most out of their meetings,” he adds.
He also mentions that CIOs should provide technology choice within workplace. Employees expect to be able to use their personal phones, tablets, even some wearables, and experience the same performance in the workplace as they do at home. They want a single platform to run both their work and personal lives. Smooth integration of these devices with enterprise applications is a must, and it must happen without compromising data security or network function. The latest cloud collaboration systems operate across devices and platforms, giving IT leaders the ability to connect employees while retaining control of company systems. CIOs can navigate these changes if they have the right collaboration tools at their fingertips.
Plantronics and Polycom coming together
Now the company boasts of combining the audio expertise of Plantronics and Polycom’s video and conferencing capabilities. “We now offer the broadest range of smart endpoints that work across unified communications platforms, combined with robust management and analytics software and services – whether it is headphones, deskphones, video and audio-conferencing solutions — to help businesses address critical communication issues in the modern workplace,” claims Chalon.
“When we integrated Plantronics and Polycom last year, we knew that it would not be an easy task, but the benefits for our customers and partners would be amazing. Combining our two companies showed us that our collective capability, creativity, strength and ingenuity allows us to not only create great communications experiences but to drive meaningful human connection – even when the end users are not face-to-face,” he adds.
Go-to-market strategy
“With advancements in AI, machine learning and new technologies, we see a future where Poly makes the connection, then quietly steps out of the way to become the one thing you don’t notice in the meeting,” says Chalon.
The company focuses on four distinct areas of innovation- making workspaces work for everyone; building greater interoperability with and across leading business ecosystems; designing solutions that are mobile-first for the modern workforce; and advancing cloud services that help IT pros and users get more out of their devices.
“The combined knowledge and expertise now available at Poly will allow us to not only disrupt and reimagine our presence within existing markets but break into new market categories. And we’ll be able to go to market faster, in a more cost-effective manner based on the manufacturing efficiencies created with the integration of the two companies,” explains Chalon.
