Several options are available for high-quality audio and video experiences when working from home. My advice is not to just buy the cheapest device available and possibly have a poor experience as a result. First, let’s look at use cases; then, we can dive into the device types themselves. 

There are several questions to ask before considering a new device. Are you on video calls several times per day or a few times a month? Alternatively, are video calls a rare occurrence that you need to be ready for just in case? Do you have a dedicated home office or are you mobile, taking calls in other parts of your house, on the road or at a coffee shop? Are your video calls always on a single device, such as a laptop, or do you use multiple devices as the need arises? 

Understand the Environment 

Once you understand your use case, it’s a good idea to understand the environment where you’ll have calls. Primarily, that refers to the lighting and typical noises you may be faced with. Variable lighting conditions — say, through a window — require either a camera that auto-adjusts to the conditions or a method of controlling the light (e.g., blackout drapes). Acute noises, such as that of cars with loud mufflers driving by or barking dogs, can be difficult to control. This should be considered when you choose a device. Lastly, there is the difficulty level of the device as regards its setup and use. For this article, we will classify the solutions as beginner, intermediate or advanced. 

Now, let’s talk about the devices. We can break down the options in the categories of cameras, audio and hybrid devices. Cameras include USB webcams, DSLRs and integrated options, such as those in laptops and tablets. Audio devices include those integrated into laptops and tablets, headsets, earbuds and speakerphones. Audio devices can also be wired or wireless. Hybrid devices, known as USB video bars, include a camera, microphone and speakers, all built into a single device. Although service-based video bars that have an embedded operating system are included in this class, they are not included in this particular discussion. 

Considering Cameras 

USB webcams are a good all-around choice for PC and laptop users. They suit beginners to advanced users, and they’re appropriate for rare to frequent use. They are considered portable, but they work very well when attached to a single computer in a permanent setup. Better USB cameras have management software to update firmware and to adjust settings either for controlled or variable lighting conditions. Many webcams include microphones. 

For those who want the highest quality of video — both for videoconferencing and for recording — many people choose a DSLR camera. With a DSLR, you can control multiple settings, including depth of field, to present the best view possible. However, there are a few cons to using a DSLR camera. Typically, you will need an extra cable to get the video feed to your computer. The cable required may vary by the camera manufacturer. These cameras are also much larger than webcams are, and they aren’t considered ultra-portable. The learning curve associated with using a DSLR makes it best for frequent, expert users. DSLR cameras will likely be much more expensive than webcams are. 

Laptops, tablets and smartphones have integrated cameras that are an excellent choice for beginners or infrequent users. Laptop cameras, while getting better over time, still lag in quality behind webcams. If you’re a frequent video user, a webcam is recommendable. Typically, integrated cameras have limited settings to control the scene or enhance the quality of the image. The main benefit of integrated cameras is their ease of use; a secondary benefit is not needing any extra pieces of equipment. 

Audio Devices 

Laptops, tablets and smartphones also have built-in capabilities for the transmission and broadcast of audio. However, the typical laptop and tablet audio experience can often be lacking, featuring substandard microphones and speakers. Smartphones have exceptional audio for voice calling, but, when video is added to the equation and the phone moves away from the user’s mouth, the quality can be less than ideal. Device-integrated audio rarely has built-in noise cancellation; thus, you’ll need to rely on the meeting service to block unwanted noise from reaching the people you’re talking to. That said, these audio solutions are extremely easy, good for all levels of expertise and the least-expensive ones in this article. However, I wouldn’t recommend using this method if you are anything more than an infrequent user, as the experience for you and the remote participants is typically less than ideal. 

Headsets have been around for a long time, and USB wired versions for use in meetings can be inexpensive. The low price does not necessarily mean low audio quality on your calls. However, lower-end models may have poor music playback, depending on the device. There are as many opinions in the wired versus wireless debate as there are headsets out there. In my opinion, it really comes down to the individual’s use case, device-portability needs and simplicity of use. If you’re going mobile, wired likely won’t cut it. If your headset stays in one place all the time, there may not be a need for wireless. Wired headsets have plug-and-play simplicity and are always ready for use, whereas wireless versions may not be as user friendly. 

In general, wireless headsets are going to be more expensive than their wired counterparts are. They also may be heavier due to having integrated batteries. The sound quality of wired vs. wireless is entirely subjective to the user, and I haven’t found one type to have better quality than the other. Wired headsets are for users of all difficulty levels, for infrequent to regular use, and are best for those working from one device in a permanent setup. Wireless headsets might seem slightly temperamental for infrequent or beginner users, as there can be Bluetooth connectivity issues that stem from a lack of use. Wireless headsets are excellent for mobile users in noisy areas, and they can be swapped easily between devices. 

Wireless earbuds are becoming more common in business communications. Not only do they work well with mobile devices via Bluetooth but, in addition, a few recent models have included a USB Bluetooth dongle that maintains a better connection with a PC or laptop. They might not be the best choice for those on calls all day long due to the potential of ear fatigue and the batteries not making it through the day. However, the pros are numerous: Higher-end earbuds typically have excellent noise cancellation for the wearer; they can serve as your audio device for music listening; and they are the ideal device for multi-device mobile professionals. 

The final audio-only device category in this article involves USB/Bluetooth speakerphones. Speakerphones are an excellent option for people who are on calls all day long, as headsets or earbuds can get uncomfortable after long periods of use. Modern speakerphones are connected to a computer either via USB or Bluetooth. Although primarily designed for conferencing, they can replace dedicated speakers for music listening. They are also typically easy to use. They’re good for beginners through advanced users, and Bluetooth-enabled models are an option for multi-device users. The primary concern is using a speakerphone in a noisy space or an open area. Privacy can be a concern, as can be the imperative not to disturb nearby people. If you are in a loud space, the device might pick up noises and transmit them to the person to whom you are talking. However, many speakerphones have built-in noise suppression, as do many meeting services that can greatly suppress static noises in the room. If two people are in the room for the same video call, a speakerphone is the logical choice over headsets or earbuds. 

Hybrid Devices 

For an excellent hybrid device with microphones, speakers and video, a USB-based video bar might be right for you. There are many positives with this type of device: the primary benefit being that you’re not forced to juggle between two or three separate devices, each of which is taking up a USB port. Hybrid devices typically include a robust set of audio and video features that are manageable via a software download. Individual pieces of gear might also have software downloads for management, and it can get cumbersome to deal with multiple software downloads for multiple devices. With a USB video bar, it’s all in one place, making device management easy. 

USB video bars are best in a permanent setup connected to a single computer, as they are not exceptionally portable and aren’t mobile-device friendly. This lack of portability due to their size is the primary downside with this type of device. They are also more expensive than other solutions are. However, realize that, by the time you buy a high-end webcam, a high-end microphone and a top-of-the-line speaker, your cost might be close to — if not more than — just buying an all-in-one video bar. 

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on July 31, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience. For more Collaboration Today and Tomorrow content, check out Commercial Integrator’s website archives.

Bryan Hellard is a product evaluator in unified communications, AV and smart home. 

The post Choosing the Best Video and Audio Devices for WFH Setups appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The pandemic brought more urgency to the need for modernization, as it shifted how we think about what technologies are needed to support the way employees engage with their organizations.

One half of the equation is existing UC systems — employee hardware, audioconferencing technology, video capabilities, and collaboration software — that have slowly improved over the last two years as IT teams came to understand how to support employees and encourage collaboration. The other half is how enterprises prepare meeting spaces for the change in workflow that the post-pandemic landscape provides.

The way that employees collaborate has shifted, and the systems they need to ensure effective communications should conform to the new work environment. As enterprises move into the next “phase” of pandemic life, businesses will need to look at their IT and UC systems to determine what they need to modernize for a more successful and sustainable hybrid future.

Let’s explore considerations for enterprises looking to modernize aging systems, the challenges faced when trying to achieve this. and solutions to present a secure and modernized workplace.

Steps for IT Modernizing Aging UC Systems

Organizations seek technologies to solve for communication and collaboration challenges, but the first step should be to consider how the technology will fit within the workspace.

Consider what an office space today is used for and what technologies are needed to create a well-used space. For example, if you are setting up a meeting space for hundreds of employees to gather in-person, consider setting up screens around the room for visibility regardless of seating location. If you are setting up a meeting space for hybrid meetings, consider implementing technologies and designing room layouts that encourage equitable interaction among colleagues.

The methods to achieve equitable and reliable means of collaboration vary across industries depending on the required levels of in-person vs. remote work. It’s critical for IT teams to evaluate the needs of your organization and industry to determine the best path forward for modernization. A boardroom at a hospital may benefit from a more traditional roundtable in a conference room, whereas a higher education facility would likely prefer a U-shape table with a large screen at the front of the room.

Long before you even think of things like furniture, consider how you intend to meet, whom will be in person vs. remote, the content, the number of participants, and even lighting. The first step to modernization is determining “how” your organization works, and then you can dive into the technologies needed to achieve a successful workplace.

Addressing the Challenges of Modernization – Evaluating Space

Every enterprise requires its own version of flexible office space, but the challenges remain similar. The three main challenges when it comes to modernizing systems to create valuable spaces are the element of time, the use of budgets and determining the types of spaces needed.

• Time: Evaluating aging technologies and implementing new ones takes time. This is often time that organizations do not have as they must work quickly to create spaces that work well for employees with differing needs. When implementing new technologies, set realistic expectations from the start. Ensure teams are aware of the time needed to create usable spaces.
• Budgets: While overall budgets are increasing, IT spend is decreasing. While it can be tempting to compromise on technology to ensure the correct number of spaces, modernized technology is the key to effective meeting spaces and engaged employees. Without audio and video, a room is just a room that lacks collaboration tools. This can impact employee retention, recruitment, culture and engagement.
• Evaluating Space: The spaces that once enabled effective collaboration no longer hold the same value. The days of a two-person huddle room are over, as employees have figured out how to meet among themselves remotely. This means that it is more important than ever for organizations to consider what spaces they truly need to succeed (e.g., town halls, exclusively for remote meetings, executive roundtables, sales training seminars, etc.).

The Future of Functional Office Space

The future office space is one that can easily be reconfigured for various needs. With modernized systems, this is a room that can adapt at the push of a button — from one meeting to the next.

Enterprises must take the time to evaluate what technologies are standing in the way of future success and what technologies are needed to move the organization and its employees forward. To help reach these conclusions, ask these questions within the organization:

• What rooms need to get built?
• What is the most effective way for your team to collaborate?
• How many onsite team members do you have? How many remote?
• What is the content to be discussed in the meeting?

These are the questions that should be asked well ahead of any space planning or system design. How your enterprise works needs to be the lead consideration in all aspects of the spaces you are designing — room shape, acoustics, adjacency to other spaces, seating, displays, microphone and loudspeakers.

With these considerations in mind, the process of modernization comes down to the simple selection of secure technologies that meet the needs of the organization.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on April 20, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

Troy Jensen is senior manager of global accounts at Shure.

The post Revolutionize the Future of Work by Modernizing Your Aging Systems appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Because of that shortsightedness, organizations largely sent employees home with the bare minimum: their laptop and the built-in camera, microphone and speaker. As the pandemic drags into a third year and business leaders continue to embrace distributed work, it is now clear that employees need far better tools to work effectively from home, according to new research from Logitech.

The hardware peripherals giant surveyed more than 1,000 IT hardware decision makers in large organizations to understand whether their standards changed over the course of the pandemic, and also interviewed and surveyed 3,000 end users to learn about their struggles.

Despite a massive reliance on videoconferencing, the Logitech survey revealed that many organizations failed to equip workers with video and audio-optimizing tools. According to the data, fewer than 40% of end users said their organizations provided external webcams, headsets or other conferencing accessories. Just 37% say their organization provided a headset or webcam.

With little change in the strategy of IT leaders to outfit home offices with necessary equipment, end users are taking it upon themselves to source the technology they need in a video-first hybrid environment, the research finds. As a result, users are struggling with inefficiencies.

According to Logitech, 89% of end users say they struggle with video issues, and 85% struggle with audio issues. When it comes to lighting, 64% of end users say they struggle with poor or inadequate lighting in their homes during video calls, and 63% say changing daylight and seasonal lighting changes impact their video calls.

The webcam manufacturer also found that built-in cameras in laptops are not getting the job done, as 65% of end users said the angle of their built-in camera is unflattering, 64% feel that they are always looking away from the camera and 63% feel they don’t look their best on camera.

Audio issues also plague remote end users, as 60% say they struggle with poor sound quality through their laptop speakers. Another 66% say background noise from other meeting participants impacts their videoconferencing meetings, and 58% struggle with distracting noises in their own homes, Logitech reports.

Common complaints include laptop speaker angle, poor microphones of meeting participants and consumer-grade headsets and earbuds not getting the job done.

However, it’s not just technology issues impacting videoconferencing meetings and the work lives of remote end users, as Logitech finds that end users also struggle with ergonomics in their home offices. Nearly 60% say they have to sit in an uncomfortable position to be on camera, and 70% report physical discomfort after sitting for long meetings.

All of these issues force users to make adjustments that can disrupt meetings and the flow of work, such as checking to make sure audio equipment is working, eliminating noise distractions, fixing their hair or clothing, adjusting lighting, rearranging backgrounds and finding the right camera angle.

These challenges were reported by employees from across the board, including management or executive leadership (57%), senior employees (19%) and early career workers (22%).

With videoconferencing being leveraged for critical meetings, Logitech recommends organizations and their IT leaders take several steps to equip remote end users with the necessary tools.

IT leaders should:

• Raise awareness among leadership of the challenges end users are having when joining virtual meetings.
• Survey end users in the organization on their collaboration and productivity challenges
• Deploy necessary tools, such as webcams, noise-cancelling earbuds or headsets and collaboration docks. Ensure that selected devices are certified for cloud collaboration platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and others.
• Define organizational requirements and keep hybrid work plans open to modifications.

The post End Users are Underequipped for Remote Videoconferencing appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Now, businesses are looking to improve the systems and solutions available, enhancing efficiency and meaningful digital collaboration for in-office and at-home employees. With hybrid work as the newest workplace standard, businesses that ensure a productive and level working environment will realize the greatest rewards.

So, what is the key to creating a collaborative and fair digital environment that works for all employees? Look toward meeting equity.

What is Meeting Equity?

Meeting equity is about affording everyone — regardless of location — the ability to equally participate in a meeting and contribute to the desired outcome. The consequences of having varying levels of technology can result in a disconnected and disengaged workforce where information is lost in transit. Prior to the pandemic, the concept of meeting equity focused on understanding the diversity of personality types, holding conversation to the meeting objectives, and ensuring meeting flow was not side-tracked or derailed by dominant voices. However, in today’s post-pandemic, hybrid world, the concept has matured.

With the surge of hybrid work, meeting equity has absorbed new, technology-driven elements. And while the variables from meeting equity’s previous understanding remain pertinent, it now pays greater focus to additional factors: such as the ability to see and be seen, hear and be heard, and provide and receive information on an equal basis.

The heads of meetings used to assume a majority of responsibility when it came to meeting equity, encouraging and facilitating factors like a comfortable environment and collaborative behavior. However, now it is also the responsibility of teams at large to sustain this equity by onboarding and enabling current and new technologies to bridge the remote gap. As hybrid work continues to evolve, technology maintains and elevates the ability of all participants — in-person or remote — to equally contribute and learn from meetings. That dynamic is more attainable than ever before.

Technology Enhances Equity

When addressing meeting equity challenges, one solution businesses might consider is to reinforce using asynchronous workflows. The asynchronous model was previously utilized mainly when time zone differences disrupted real-time interactions, but it is now more widely realized as a popular option for efficiency and reaching meeting equity.

An example would be where presenters are able to record themselves with slides, narrate their messages, post the video for others to watch as their schedule permits, and perhaps schedule a Q&A for the next day to engage in discussion. This allows viewing participants to consume and digest the presentation at a time that works best for them, with the least number of distractions, and in a way that fits their personal learning style. In addition, all participants are granted the equal opportunity to pause the video, rewind to re-listen and hold onto the recording for future reference.

To best achieve meeting equity, it is important to determine what specific needs your business and your workforce require to bring it to fruition. How can you advance meeting experiences of remote workers to best resemble those of in-person workers? How can you supply all workers with the ability to equally contribute to the conversation and interchange information?

Also Read: Secure Collaboration in the Hybrid Workplace

This begins with the IT team and identifying what technological upgrades are necessary to create an equal playing field. With these upgrades implemented, it is important to then develop a strategy that produces an environment that encourages collaboration and efficiency — unchanged by the location of workers.

With the future of work standardizing on a hybrid approach, it is crucial to optimize the videoconferencing experience; this is especially true in the business world, where salient decisions, critical deals and employee engagement can be highly swayed by the quality of the experience. For businesses to meet the expectations of today’s hybrid workforce, it will become best practice to shift the outlook on meeting equity from a “nice-to-have” to a “necessity.”

Meeting technology must seek to minimize the occurrence of discussion disruptors that impede the natural flow of conversation which prevent efficiently getting to the objectives of the gathering.

Audio issues lead to “Can you repeat that?” or “Who said that?”. Even worse is when the person who didn’t hear clearly is afraid to speak up during the meeting to clarify. There are also visual issues where the person talking is either not on camera or they are too small to be recognized, or their body language while speaking is uninterpretable. These are critical elements to full human communication, and, in the virtual-meeting space, they continue to raise challenges.

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommercialIntegrator.com.

Martin Bodley is director, emerging business, with Bose Corp.

The post Meeting Equity: How to Accomplish Post-Pandemic Workplace Satisfaction appeared first on My TechDecisions.

As the arbiters of decisions on office technology and room-based communications systems, IT departments and employees have a major role to play in facilitating a return to traditional office work. In order to minimize interruptions in daily operations due to technological shortcomings or lack of worker familiarity, IT staff can take steps to standardize equipment and procedures so every meeting host can ensure collaboration is smooth and the technology is predictable.

With the growing use of bring your own device(BYOD) practices that necessitate highly adaptable and interoperable systems, the pre-COVID technologies found in many meeting rooms may be insufficient or even unusable for some employees. For instance, a conference room that requires presentations to be run from a standalone PC and codec may be unrecognizable to those accustomed to plug-and-play solutions that allow their own laptops or even mobile devices to run a presentation wirelessly or through a simple USB or HDMI cable. Additionally, a business that utilizes both virtual and in-person meetings must account for technologies in both types of work environments to ensure smooth communications.

Some business leaders may underestimate the vital nature of this technological reality. In such organizations, it’s critical for in-house IT managers to have thoughtful discussions with executives to identify the full scope of needs and ensure all returning workers can complete their assigned tasks without requiring significant technology training or assistance from IT.

Luckily, technology manufacturers saw these practices changing and subsequently designed and launched new cameras, microphones and communications tools to suit every type of work arrangement and environment. At ClearOne, the focus has been on delivering tools for both the office and the home that can communicate flawlessly and provide simple use and connection with third-party devices, systems and online platforms to make the transitions between home and office as seamless as possible.

The last thing workers want is to have one set of rules and procedures for communication at home, another for their personal workspace at the office, and yet another for conference rooms. It’s also possible that a company’s different meeting rooms in the same building or across multiple locations may require unique setup or operations, which can cause interruptions or delays and waste valuable time for both meeting attendees and IT staff.

Companies that provide workers with laptops or other equipment to conduct remote work can enhance cross-location productivity by maintaining consistency between home and office technologies. Manufacturers know this and have developed tailored AV solutions for every size business to provide improved home and office communications with simplified setup and enhanced audio and video quality.

For instance, affordable tabletop or PC-mounted cameras and speakerphones can significantly raise the quality of one-on-one virtual meetings for home offices and individual in-office workspaces. They do so without introducing added complexity, and if they are from the same manufacturer as a company’s conference room systems, user expectations and operations can be consistent and stress-free. Class-leading options like ClearOne’s CHAT 150 USB speakerphones and UNITE 4K cameras check all these boxes by offering plug-and-play connectivity with a user’s computing platform of choice and working equally well in a wide range of office and home environments.

As a company’s workplace technology experts, IT practitioners have a responsibility to suggest and procure technologies that can improve workflow and respond to changing needs and expectations. Through education about the latest collaboration tools and solutions, IT staff can bring valuable recommendations to company executives that simplify daily processes for employees and minimize the need for real-time IT assistance by users. In today’s world where efficiency and collaboration are the cornerstones of global business operations, IT serves a vital role in helping maintain consistency and reliability, regardless of worker location.

The post IT Support Of Collaboration Technology Is Crucial For Employees’ Success During ‘The Great Return’ appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Poly says it opened the marketplace in response to hybrid work, transitions to the cloud, divergence from standards and a return to office, which has led to a crowded marketplace of unified communication offerings, which in turn has made managing these separate, yet critical systems incredibly complex.

The platform centralizes Poly APIs into a single location while providing visibility into all the available developer assets across Poly’s products.

Enabling Developers

“The Poly API Marketplace makes it easy to find everything, catalog and access tools, and with the continual expansion of new developer experiences from the teams at RapidAPI, the Poly API Marketplace will only get better over time. Empowering a positive and collaborative developer experience is primarily why we picked RapidAPI to partner with on this initiative,” explains Robert Manassero, director of product management at Poly.

RapidAPI is the world’s largest API hub with more than four million developers that discover test and connect more than 40,000 APIs.

Rory Ferguson, senior product manager at Poly, adds, “The marketplace brings us closer to the developer community allowing them to innovate and customize our products in ways we hadn’t thought about.”

Creating a Community of Developers

According to Poly, another important goal with the marketplace was to build a community, complete with a “playground,” where developers can meet, share ideas, test those ideas, tear them down and rebuild them to continually improve. “We want to facilitate, encourage and support our developer community in every way possible to ensure our mutual success as we build new collaboration experiences together,” says Ferguson.

Poly API Marketplace Origins 

The API Marketplace originated from the company’s private videoconferencing software, Poly Clariti, and its cloud-based device management and insights platform, Poly Lens, where there has been a growing need to share and leverage existing APIs within the Poly ecosystem.

“With the introduction of Poly API Marketplace, we are empowering organizations with the tools they need to create a single pane of glass centered around their entire unified communications infrastructure. This means simplified management, monitoring and reporting—all of which make life easier for IT teams and service providers. With this, IT professionals will be able to customize the end user experience, improve response times, enable faster onboarding and build custom dashboards for return-on-investment calculations,” says Ferguson.

Poly’s hope is for customers with private video infrastructure to look towards the marketplace to further grow custom applications in their specialized environments, as the capabilities for video and voice collaboration continues to evolve.

To learn more about Poly API Marketplace or join the community visit developer.poly.com.

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommercialIntegrator.com.

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Big tech players add zero-trust security into new data center solutions

Nvidia, Dell and VMware are partnering to install artificial intelligence and zero-trust security on data center servers, ZDNet reports. Nvidia and VMware announced this at the VMware Explore 2022 conference in San Francisco this week, saying the new data center platform is designed for artificial intelligence and data science. The package combines Dell’s PowerEdge servers with Nvidia BlueField-2 DPUs, GPUs and AI enterprise software optimized for VMware’s new vSphere 8 enterprise workload platform, which was also announced this week.

Learn more about this offering here.

TikTok vulnerability

Microsoft says it has discovered a high-severity security bug in the TikTok Android app that could allow attackers to compromise user accounts with a single click. Successful exploitation required several issues to be chained together and there was no evidence of in-the-wild exploitation, but attackers could have leveraged the vulnerability to hijack an account without a user’s awareness if the user simply clicked a specially crafted link.

A successful attack could allow attackers to access and modify a user’s profile and sensitive information, including publishing private videos, sending message and uploading videos, Microsoft says, adding that the vulnerability allowed the app’s deeplink verification to be bypassed. Attackers could force the app to load an arbitrary URL to the app’s WebView, allowing the URL to then access the WebView’s attached JavaScript bridges and grant functionality to attackers.

Read Microsoft’s blog here.

Work-from-home solutions to be highlighted at CEDIA Expo

Following up on an initial announcement of their partnership this spring, CEDIA Expo has officially announced the second annual IMCCA Work from Home Showcase at CEDIA Expo 2022. Through a collaboration with a tradeshow, the Interactive Multimedia & Collaborative Communications Alliance (IMCCA) will bring insights, subject matter experts, and interactive demonstrations to CEDIA Expo 2022, being held Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

During CEDIA Expo 2022, IMCCA will showcase work-from-home (WFH) setups in mock home office demos. The interactive demonstrations at sponsors’ exhibits and in the IMCCA Work from Home Showcase, will focus on the emerging home office market segments, including lighting fixtures and lighting control, sound control solutions, video, and audio technology, collaboration software, and hardware and home office furniture.

Learn more from our sister publication, Commercial Integrator, here.

HP unveils new hybrid work solutions

HP has announced new devices and solutions designed to help organizations continue their adoption of hybrid work policies, including a new HP Dragonfly Folio G3 laptop/tablet combination, the 34-inch All-in-One Desktop PC with support for dual video streams and camera switching, the HP Z32k G3 4K USB-C Display, a new 4K streaming webcam and enhancements to HP Proactive Insights for better IT management of HP devices.

Read the news release here.

The post This Week in IT: Zero Trust, TikTok Bug, Remote/Hybrid Work Solutions appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The key to a successful return to office is reliant on an organization’s hybrid work strategy. The “Journey to Hybrid Working” report highlights that getting employees back to the office in a hybrid model is being impacted by a reluctance to return.

Employees became used to making autonomous decisions in lockdown and many now resent and resist being mandated back to the office. They need a powerful reason to go into the office — travel to a central workplace can be expensive compared to staying at home so there is a requirement to “earn the commute” and make it worth their while. Too many companies are overlooking this aspect in issuing back-to-work policies, says Poly.

Poly’s research shows that office-based workers that spend more than half of their time in the office has dropped substantially (down 25%). The cost-of-living and inflation has some employees questioning the value of going to the office, causing them to potentially choose between travelling to work or spending their time and money elsewhere.

Nearly seven out of 10 office workers now accept that 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. has been replaced by anytime working and four out of 10 are prone to ‘noise rage’ if colleagues are too loud.

Employers need to look more closely at the composition and interactions of their workforce, and at their life stages. Demographics are important. Younger cohorts wishing to meet peers in the workplace, as well as build a professional network, are more likely to be open to return to work than older colleagues already with a family and well-established networks who have got comfortable in their home office.

Participants in a roundtable suggested more “espresso offices” — a smaller, but a lot more powerful space for collaboration and “half the office space but twice the experience.” Some also suggested enhancing the experience and build company culture by design than simply reducing the office footprint.

One roundtable participant compared the office experience to that of a prestigious festival explaining that they “sell themselves on the total experience and on the heritage of the amazing acts playing there.” In a similar way, “the office needs to host great experiences every single day.”

The problem, however, is that many organizations remain weak at identifying key aspects of their culture and communicating their values through the environment. Unlocking ‘cultural content’ within a company and using that as the basis for storytelling around return to the office is an important challenge ahead, says Poly.

While some firms are struggling with this task, other organizations are rising to the challenge.

The post Employers Should Aim to Magnetize, Not Mandate, a Return to the Office appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Mindbody emerged from the simple idea that small business owners deserve the time to focus on what matters most: their customers. With this mission in mind, Mindbody was driven to find a digital adoption platform that enabled users to focus on running their businesses, not learning the ins and outs of a new application.

Mindbody selected WalkMe as its digital adoption platform to help new customers simply and efficiently onboard onto its products and set up software unique to their business. Specifically, Mindbody turned to WalkMe to deploy the latter’s digital adoption onboarding practices across all four of its main products: CRM, point of sale, appointment and class booking software.

In 2019, Mindbody completed numerous acquisitions, including ClassPass and FitMetrix, and in doing so, discovered a need to improve communication across tech stacks in order to bring its teams together. The company was in a transition period not only in merging teams, but also transitioning from Salesforce Classic to Salesforce Lightning.

To minimize disruption, Mindbody implemented a WalkMe system inside of Salesforce, where WalkMe would provide Mindbody-specific help content. This gave Mindbody team members access to a central repository of resources, articles and training materials – and Mindbody was able to reach its threshold goal: help users resolve any issues with self-help guidance 80% of the time.

Download: Pro Tips for Conducting End User Training

On the customer-facing side, after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Mindbody experienced firsthand the shift from in-person classes to a remote model in the health, beauty and wellness industries. It was imperative for Mindbody to make adjustments on the fly within the software, so that their customers’ businesses could more easily navigate their applications and continue to bring in revenue.

Using WalkMe tools, Mindbody was able to show users immediately how to adjust and which features to use to pivot to a new remote and/or hybrid model.

Mindbody accelerated its time to market with WalkMe, improving processes for training and onboarding for its external customers and internal team members. Issues or updates that previously took weeks to solve or develop now take mere hours. For instance, if the Mindbody team wants to change the wording on a help page, or point customers to a different page as part of a new onboarding process, they simply and rapidly make updates and get live to production without heavy development efforts.

After selecting WalkMe, Mindbody saw an immediate return on investment. Additionally, Mindbody derives value from WalkMe Insights, WalkMe’s all-in-one analytics platform, providing core analytics for all WalkMe items and user behavior in products.

WalkMe Insights gave Mindbody granular data to tailor its knowledge resources to its users across platforms. With these behavioral analytics, Mindbody could track which steps in the onboarding process were simple for users to complete, identify pain points, and make enhancements accordingly, which in turn greatly enhanced user experience, both in the realm of employee productivity (for internal-facing applications) and customer loyalty (for customer-facing systems).

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According to cve.mitre.org, there were 321 router vulnerabilities in 2021, the highest in over a decade. However, the increase in router vulnerabilities started the year before, when flaws jumped from 130 in 2019 to 206 in 2020, representing a growth of 58%.

Citing data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Atlas VPN says 2020 was actually the worst year for router flaws, with a total of 603 vulnerabilities, representing a 191% increase over 2019.

However, 2021 was not much better, as vulnerabilities remained alarmingly high.

Out of the vulnerabilities identified last year, 87 of them were marked as critical. Of these vital flaws, 29.9% remained unpatched and without updates of any kind from the vendors.  According to Atlas VPN, 26% of the critical router flaws were acknowledged by the vendors but not fixed as of June 8, 2022.

These vulnerabilities are the doors that allow hackers to intrude a household or corporate network, which makes it easier for them to circumvent password security measures, execute third-party programs, skip authentication, send remote orders to the router or even deactivate it.

How to Protect your Home Wi-Fi Network From Router Security Flaws

To safeguard against router hacks at home, AtlasVPN recommends these cybersecurity best practices:

• Make your wireless network password unique and strong. Don’t use the wireless routers default password. Hackers may easily guess this default password, especially if they know the router manufacturer.
• Change the Default SSID. Change your WiFi network’s default name, usually known as the SSID. Leaving the default can show your router’s manufacturer and model.. You may also instruct your router to stop broadcasting the SSID entirely. To connect to WiFi using a new device, you must manually enter the network name rather than picking it from a list of nearby possibilities.
• Keep your router’s software up to date. Router firmware can have flaws that can lead to serious vulnerabilities if not immediately addressed by their makers’ firmware upgrades. It is vital to install the most recent software for your router and download the most recent security updates as soon as possible.
• Enable network encryption. Almost every wireless router has encryption. Most routers, however, have it turned off by default. Enabling the encryption setting on your wireless router might help safeguard your network.

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