Latest Generation: Simple Doesn’t Mean Less

The latest addition to the all-in-one video bar lineup is Yealink’s MeetingBar A40, launched in September 2024. While video bars are known for their convenience, they can sometimes fall short of the stability, security, and management features needed for robust corporate use. Yealink addresses this with the A40, offering:

• Improved stability through its one-cable solution that handles sharing, BYOD and PD charging all from one desk cable.
• Enhanced security with Android 13 and Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) support, protecting against cyber threats and data breaches in Teams environments.
• Simplified IT management through remote monitoring, reducing downtime and ensuring smooth operations.

All-in-One Solutions: Beyond Video Bars

While video bars are effective for small rooms, Yealink offers a broader range of all-in-one solutions, including devices that integrate touch displays with built-in cameras, microphones, speakers, and digital whiteboards. These solutions offer plug-and-play simplicity but also transform workspaces into collaborative hubs. So how do you choose between a video bar and an integrated board?

Modern Style: MeetingBoard Solution

The MeetingBoard is ideal for newly constructed or renovated offices, where no legacy devices need to be reused. With a similar budget to a video bar, it offers more features like digital whiteboarding for enhanced hybrid collaboration. It’s also perfect for open spaces, executive offices, or even lobbies, as its movable floor stand allows for flexibility without requiring wall mounting. The dual-system compatibility (Android and Windows) ensures it fits into any office workflow.

Traditional Style: MeetingBar Series

For meeting rooms with existing TV setups, Yealink’s MeetingBar series offers a sustainable and budget-friendly solution. It easily attaches to any screen and is perfect for small spaces like huddle rooms or phone booths, where quick setup and affordability are key.

Conclusion

Whether you’re upgrading an existing room or setting up a new collaborative space, Yealink’s all-in-one solutions provide the right mix of simplicity, flexibility, and performance. With options like the MeetingBar A40 and MeetingBoard, Yealink covers a wide range of needs to ensure seamless hybrid collaboration.

Learn more about Yealink’s all-in-one solutions in this guide.

The post Simple Videoconferencing Solutions: Video Bars & More appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Automate VX technology, a multi-camera solution, enables high-quality meeting experience with production-style cuts for Microsoft Teams meetings. Inclusive meetings, especially for larger collaboration spaces and boardrooms, pose a unique set of challenges to capture and frame in-room participants in a way that is easy to follow for remote attendees. To drive more equitable experiences, intelligent video technologies are vital to supporting a critical and dynamic collaboration experience.

Crestron Automate VX Main Features

With Automate VX, multiple cameras around the room work together to track active speakers while removing distractions that are typically visible when a camera pans, tilts or zooms. While an active speaker is being captured on the first camera, the second camera moves into position to capture the next speaker before the system switches the camera feed, reducing any disruptive camera movements and enabling participants to focus on their meeting.

“After a few years under our belts of hybrid meeting and learning, our expectations for these experiences have grown, meaning our customers expect more from the technology that supports them. With permanent hybrid and remote workers, meeting room technologies that provide a reliable experience captured by multiple cameras have become critical for collaboration spaces to drive a more personable experience,” says Brad Hintze, EVP of global marketing, Crestron. “Automate VX is the only product on the market that can deliver this level of video quality, production switching, and customization ease.”

Ideal for high-impact spaces, the Automate VX solution can also support up to 12 cameras and ensure remote attendees always have a crisp and clear shot of in-person participants. Those inside of the room no longer have to worry about where to look or any switching controls as the cameras seamlessly leverage voice-activated switching to capture the perfect shot.

Per a statement, Intelligent Video Room Designer Tool means that organizations can implement Automate VX with no code design or configurations, so users have the flexibility to adapt to any room or platform and customize the views of the meeting.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on October 11, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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AVI-SPL, a Microsoft Managed Partner, developed the bundle in partnership with Crestron, Jupiter and Salamander Designs. The outcome, the company says, is an elegant solution that seamlessly transforms the popular Microsoft Teams Front Row setup into a personalized experience for each attendee, in-person and remote. In response to customer requests across the globe, the bundle also responds to increasing mandates for accessible, sustainable solutions, says the company. As a complete solution, it also satisfies market demand for simple, quick, and scalable deployment.

AVI-SPL’s Accessible, Sustainable Microsoft Teams Meeting Room Bundles

The new ADA-compliant and ENERGY STAR-certified bundle for Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms includes the Crestron Flex Conference System with Jabra PanaCast 50 video bar certified for native Microsoft Teams Rooms integrations, Jupiter 21:9 format 5K LCD display, and Salamander Designs credenza and Arc Table. AVI-SPL provides all design renderings, installation, and system integration. The bundle is globally available and able to be easily procured as a single unit.

“Today’s companies are focused on sustainable business practices that create long-term benefits,” says Dale Bottcher, AVI-SPL executive vice president of global sales and marketing. “From elevating employee experience, to honoring inclusivity with accessible and equitable designs, to caring for our planet with products that reduce carbon footprint, we think this Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms bundle sets a new bar for purpose-driven innovation.”

As hybrid work takes hold worldwide, companies are rapidly reconfiguring offices with more video-enabled meeting and gathering spaces. To reenergize these modern workplaces, forward-thinking organizations have renewed their focus on employee experience, meeting equity, and environmental sustainability. Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms are purposefully designed to optimize meeting equity.

In addition, Salamander furniture is built for accessibility. Their facilities are 100% solar-powered and their processes are RoHS and CARB compliant. Jupiter Pana LCD displays are ENERGY STAR certified, reducing energy consumption over comparable large format displays.

As a Microsoft Modern Work Partner with the Advanced Specialization for Microsoft Teams Meetings and Meeting Rooms, part of AVI-SPL’s mission is to design and deploy room designs that enhance human connections in hybrid workspaces on a global scale. AVI-SPL’s collaboration with Crestron, Jupiter, and Salamander Designs helps the company do that, says Bottcher.

“This partnership between Crestron, AVI-SPL, Jupiter Systems, and Salamander Designs provides our mutual end-user clients with a complete Microsoft Teams Room bundle and an exceptional meeting environment. The simplified buying process makes this solution especially easy to procure, enable, and scale,” adds Bob Bavolacco, director of technology partnerships at Crestron.

AVI-SPL at InfoComm 2023

The new AVI-SPL bundle for Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms, designed for quick delivery and installation, is available now. Interested parties can see the new solution at InfoComm 2023 June 14-16 in Orlando, Fla. AVI-SPL (booth #2561) will feature a virtual reality experience of the configured room. Additionally, Crestron (booth #2501), Jupiter Systems (booth # 2231), and Salamander Designs (booth #3613) will each have the complete bundle installed in their booths.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on June 6, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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The announcements come as Microsoft remains laser focused on integrating AI models from OpenAI across its product portfolio and new AI assistant Copilot. Microsoft bills Mesh as essentially a new way for organizations to collaborate that is designed to make virtual meetings more interactive and less dreadful.

To help cut down on meeting fatigue, Microsoft is launching the general availability of Avatars for Teams. In a blog, Microsoft says the new customizable avatars give users a “much-needed camera break” while still showing that they are actively engaged in the meeting.

Avatars for Teams is generally available on the desktop Teams client for PC and Mac and is rolling out to tenants now, Microsoft says.

Microsoft is also introducing immersive spaces for Microsoft Teams, which the company calls a new way for people to connect using the collaboration platform by adding an immersive experience to any Teams meeting. This is designed to give meetings a sense of “natural co-presence and togetherness” regardless of participant location.

“Engage with others in a space that mimics many elements of an in-person interaction – like the ability to walk over to someone you want to catch up with, or to be in a space with multiple concurrent conversations without talking over one another,” Microsoft in a Tech Community blog.

Immersive spaces features spatial audio so users experience sound as they would in an in-person setting, and it can be accessed through a PC or VR headset. It is currently available for Teams Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customers in private preview.

Customers and partners can learn more about Mesh or register interest in the Mesh private preview here.

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We turned to Danny Hayasaka, senior director of marketing and emerging technology with Call One, Inc., and Hello Direct, Inc., who has developed a reputation as a product tester for various devices. Today, he oversees a YouTube channel with 10,700 subscribers and well over five million views. One major reason for its popularity is his fierce independence. “I test solutions across multiple brands,” Hayasaka explains. “No one pays me to talk about these devices.” 

So, when Hayasaka praises Yealink’s MeetingBar A10, it’s because the product truly deserves it. “The goal is to help people and businesses make more informed purchasing decisions,” he explains. Discussing his early interactions with Yealink several years ago, Hayasaka recalls the company’s desire to attain excellence and its appetite for candid feedback. “They really are huge into creating the best product for people,” he attests. Those initial conversations, spurred by Yealink looking to break into the headset space, evolved as video blew up during the pandemic. Hayasaka immediately knew Yealink was a natural fit with the solutions Call One and Hello Direct provide to their customers. “They have so many ideas and solutions that they’ve passed my way,” he marvels. 

The Yealink MeetingBar A10: Price and Performance 

Hayasaka is truly excited about the MeetingBar A10, an all-in-one video bar that includes microphones, speakers, a 4K camera and more. It’s designed for smaller meeting spaces, including dedicated offices, small focus spaces and huddle rooms. Leveraging the Android 11 OS, the MeetingBar A10 is remarkably flexible, running Microsoft Teams and Zoom Rooms natively and permitting BYOD. Hayasaka praises the framing modes, which include manual PTZ, auto-framing and speaker tracking. He compliments the MeetingBar A10’s transitions, saying that, if a speaker being tracked moves from one location to another, it’ll do a fade effect. 

With the rise of soft-codec solutions and the shift to the cloud, it’s now possible to video enable many spaces across corporate campuses. Hayasaka recalls, “It [used to] cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 or more to outfit one of these spaces” with bulky, hardware-centric solutions. But with soft codecs, the cost per room has plummeted. Hayasaka praises the MeetingBar A10’s price point ($899), saying, “It’s actually one of the least-expensive options that’s going to be available.” He adds, “Having all the capabilities, features [and] functionality of the MeetingBar A10 for less than $900 is outstanding.” 

The Yealink MeetingBar A10: Simplicity and Wireless Sharing 

Hayasaka praises the simplicity of the MeetingBar A10. Defining “simple” from an end user’s perspective, he explains, “I don’t need to pay some installer to come in and install every room.” Instead, any team member can do it. After all, Hayasaka says, even the most tech-phobic among us can plug in an HDMI cable or plug in a network cable. And users get a familiar-feeling experience because the MeetingBar A10 is certified on Teams and Zoom. 

The MeetingBar A10 truly stands apart in its wireless sharing capabilities. Consider this typical scenario: Someone walks into a collaboration space with their laptop, and they want to not only share content but also take over the hardware that’s in the space — without having to connect anything. Competitor products, Hayasaka says, require a third-party wireless conferencing solution. By contrast, with the MeetingBar A10’s Device Mode and the WPP30 Wireless Presentation Pod (an inexpensive accessory), Yealink achieves true wireless flexibility. Users simply plug the WPP30 into the video bar, get a message indicating successful pairing and disconnect it. Then, they can plug the WPP30 into any laptop (via USB-C or USB-A) to drive the MeetingBar A10. “Within seconds, now you’re sharing,” Hayasaka enthuses. After that initial pairing with the MeetingBar A10, the WPP30 can stay in the room, ready for whoever wants to connect wirelessly. 

Tech Must Adapt to Us 

Device Mode aligns well with our expectation for technology solutions to adapt to our own workflow and preferences. These days, many companies are making an organizational commitment to Teams or Zoom, but the MeetingBar A10, via Device Mode, offers much greater flexibility. “[People] want that wireless capability and the ability to join whatever meeting platform they want, when they want,” Hayasaka propounds. “I can join whatever meeting I want right from my laptop and utilize the MeetingBar A10 as my audio and video device, wirelessly.” It’s just another way Yealink’s MeetingBar A10 stands apart. 

Watch Hayasaka discuss Yealink’s MeetingBar A10:

To get more information, visit https://www.yealink.com/en/product-detail/microsoft-teams-rooms-meetingbar-a10. 

The post Yealink MeetingBar A10: Revolutionizing and Democratizing Collaboration  appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Proofpoint’s data comes from an analysis of over 450 million malicious sessions detected throughout the second half of 2022 targeting Microsoft 365 cloud tenants. While Microsoft Teams is last on the list, it’s presence on the list alone signifies how attackers are pivoting to target heavily used applications on which many organizations rely to support hybrid work models.

The company says its researchers have discovered several new ways that attackers are using Microsoft Teams for malicious purposes, including using tabs for phishing users and instant malware downloads, and weaponizing meeting invites and messages via malicious links.

These actions essentially allow threat actors to conduct Microsoft 365 credential attacks, deliver malware and maintain persistence in a victim’s cloud environment.

Malicious tabs

According to Proofpoint, researchers have discovered that using undocumented Microsoft Teams API calls, tabs can be reordered and renamed so the original tab can be swapped with a new custom tab. The company says manipulating tabs “could be part of a potent and largely automated attack vector” following an account compromise.

Attackers could also use a native app, “Website,” to pin a chosen website as a tab at the top of a Teams channel or chat. After pinning a “Website” instance as a tab, attackers can manipulate the tab’s name, change it to an existing tab’s name, and reposition it to push the native tab out of view and increase the chances of a user clicking the fraudulent tab, which could bring users to a malicious site.

“This could be extremely attractive for attackers, seeing as, by design, a website tab’s URL is not displayed to users unless they deliberately visit the tab’s ‘Settings’ menu,” Proofpoint researchers write in a blog post.

The website tab could also be used to point to a file that causes Teams to automatically download the file to the user’s device, potentially inserting malicious droppers inside the victim environment.

Meeting invites

Proofpoint also identifies meeting invites as another tool attackers can use, as the Microsoft Teams platform syncs with a user’s calendar to display, create and edit scheduled meetings. When a Teams meeting is created, several links are generated and sent within the meeting’s description that allow users to join the meeting or download the Teams desktop client.

Hackers typically need access to Outlook or Exchange to manipulate the content of a meeting invite, but access to a user’s Teams account allows them to manipulate the invite using Teams API calls to swap default links with malicious ones that bring users to phishing pages or malware-hosting sites, Proofpoint researchers say.

Hyperlinks in messages

If attackers have access to a user’s Microsoft Teams token, they can also use Teams’ API or user interface to weaponize existing links sent in messages by replacing benign links with malicious ones, which wouldn’t change the presented hyperlink, Proofpoint says.

“Given that Teams API allows for the rapid and automatic enumeration and editing of links included in private or group chat messages, a simple script run by attackers could weaponize countless URLs within seconds,” researchers say.

After, a threat actor can utilize social engineering and send new messages to encourage unsuspecting users to click or revisit the weaponized link.

Guidance and recommendations

According to Proofpoint, Microsoft offered the following guidance after Proofpoint researchers disclosed their research: “Microsoft encourages users to observe security best practices in Microsoft Teams and to adopt industry-standard best practices for security and data protection including embracing the Zero Trust Security model and adopting robust strategies to manage security updates, antivirus updates, and authentication. More information on Zero Trust Security is available at https://aka.ms/zerotrust.”

Read the company’s blog for more information, including recommendations on how to prevent these attacks.

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According to the Belmont, Calif.-based firm, RingCentral for Microsoft Teams 2.0 brings the company’s cloud PBX capabilities into Microsoft Teams with a fully native experience without requiring a second application, giving customers the ability to use RingCentral features and third-party integration capabilities entirely within Teams.

RingCentral says the enhanced integration delivers a purpose-built experience with productivity-boosting features such as voicemail transcription, call recording, bi-directional presence sync and unified contact search. It can also be coupled with RingCentral Contact Center.

According to RingCentral, the majority of Microsoft Teams customers have Microsoft E1 or E3 licenses, which don’t include telephony, requiring customers to purchase a calling plan or Teams Phone license at an additional cost. With RingCentral, telephony is included with all licenses, giving customers an integrated, cloud-based phone service for Microsoft Teams that offers call routing, custom call queues, automatic call recording, over 330 pre-built integrations and analytics.

The company adds that it also provides a smart sidecar panel for quick access to key contacts and advanced call features, like monitor, whisper, barge-in, and queue management, all available on desktop and mobile devices.

Mo Katibeh, president and chief operating officer of RingCentral, says in a statement, that while many businesses have standardized on Teams for internal collaboration, customers often seek out third-party solutions for more advanced communications.

“When customer communications are critical, businesses look to RingCentral, given our reputation for 99.999% reliability and our robust and advanced telephony capabilities,” Katibeh says. “We’re excited to deliver this next generation of RingCentral for Microsoft Teams, and empower customers with faster performance, deeper integration, a new mobile experience, and simpler admin tools.”

Key features of the RingCentral for Microsoft Teams 2.0 solution include:

• Bi-directional presence sync provides user availability wherever communication happens.
• New unified contact searching from RingCentral and Microsoft directories.
• Industry-leading, out-of-the-box analytics for every department with no Power BI license or specialized services needed.
• Extensive set of telephony app integrations to connect CRMs and business apps.
• Deep integration with Teams mobile app that allows users to place and receive calls through the RingCentral integration in the Microsoft Teams mobile app.
• A certified contact center solution for Microsoft Teams that allows customers to complement their integrated business telephony with an AI-powered contact center within Microsoft Teams.
• A fully-integrated advanced telephony experience in Teams.
• Over 19 quarters of secure, compliant 99.999% uptime, according to RingCentral.

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In between calls while I’m nose-deep in a Word document, I typically throw on some tunes to put me in the zone. However, my home’s acoustics are a little wonky. Noise from my speakers travels very clearly from my home office down the stairwell to the rest of the house.

I’ve experimented with a few different headset/earbud solutions. My first experiment to equip myself for remote working was a gaming headset that I rarely used. In all honestly, it did the trick for a few weeks during the initial lockdown phase of the pandemic. However, the gaming headset was huge and didn’t have the luxury of Bluetooth. I tried a few different other headsets from audio and collaboration manufacturers, which were significantly better. Despite all that, I wanted something that could transition conveniently from taking work calls at my desk, to quickly leaving the house to walk my dogs while listening to podcasts.

About the Poly Voyager Free 60 Series

Poly has an extensive portfolio of videoconferencing and collaboration devices for a variety of different scenarios, but much of the company’s new releases center around one idea: simplicity and flexibility. The Voyager Free 60 earbuds are no different.

The Voyager Free 60 series are wireless earbuds designed for work, but are equally suited to be taken on walks, bike rides, or the gym. (Poly doesn’t recommend hard workouts with these in your ears, but they seem to hold up just fine.) These earbuds are versatile enough to replace multiple sets of earbuds or headsets that hybrid or remote workers usually have for different scenarios.

The company’s newest earbuds come in three versions:

• Poly Voyager Free 60 with a standard charge chase, support for premium calls and music.
• Poly Voyager Free 60 UC with the same standard charge case but equipped with enterprise-grade audio and music and certifications for Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
• Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC with the same features as the Free 60 UC but with a touchscreen charge case.

Poly Voyager Free 60+ features

For our purposes here, we’ll focus on the Voyager Free 60+. Poly markets these as built for work, but designed for everyday life, and I’d say that is a very accurate assessment.

The Voyager Free 60+ earbuds feature a stem design with six microphones, as well as noise cancelling technologies that makes the user’s voice the focus of work calls. Specifically, they feature the company’s NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence technology that blocks out unwanted noises and focuses only on the user’s voice.

The Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds come with a dongle but can also be connected to another device via Bluetooth, so users can seamlessly transition from a work call from their desktop to music streaming from a mobile device.

The company claims up to five hours of talk time with ANC on, and the charge case provides another 10 hours of talk time. I’d say those claims ring true, as I rarely need to charge the charge case itself. However, it seems to charge quickly.

With the company’s Poly Lens app, users can customize their experience with a range of tools, with the ability to change settings such as wearing sensor, active call audio, auto-answer, auto-pause, noise cancellation and a range of other settings.

For control features on the earbuds themselves, the Voyager Free 60+ UC includes gesture controls for volume, ANC, mute and more. A physical button can pause music or start and answers calls.

However, the charge case itself has a touchscreen with even more functionality, such as call control, media playback control, battery status and other features.

If you’re like me and have a few dozen pairs of airline earbuds because you live in 2023 and don’t own any wired headphones to watch in-flight entertainment, the Voyager Free 60 earbuds have you covered! The earbuds come with an option to plug the charge case into a headphone jack that will stream audio to the earbuds.

Another great feature is transparency mode that allows you to hear your surroundings without having to remove an earbud. If you find talking with earbuds or headphones weird, then this feature can help you to hear your own voice. This really does make a difference. It can be configured to pick up any sounds in your environment or just voices.

Seamless Audio Connectivity

Essentially everything Poly says about these earbuds rings true, and they could compete with other earbuds on the market in terms of sound quality. However, what makes these stand out from others is just how simple and intuitive they are in work scenarios, especially with the charge case.

I’ve had some Bluetooth headsets and earbuds that routinely lose connection and can’t easily transition from my laptop to my mobile device, but the Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds do so seamlessly. This helps me leave the house to run a quick errand with them still in my ears, but also allows me to hop on a work call when I return.

Earbuds can be uncomfortable to wear for more than a few hours. The Voyager Free 60 earbuds have three conical-shaped earbud tip sizes and are comfortable enough to use all day, if you find the right size.

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AVI Systems Velocity Signature

AVI Systems Velocity Signature systems are designed to meet Microsoft Teams Rooms hybrid optimization specifications. The systems feature 21:9-aspect-ratio high-definition displays, a click-to-join touchpanel control system, and options including Surface Hub and whiteboard cameras to simplify collaboration. Velocity Signature systems are available for small, medium and large meeting rooms, and customers can subscribe to the technology on a monthly basis or purchase the technology.

“Hybrid optimized solutions improve remote participant experiences. These designs are ideal for scenarios where the quality of the collaboration experience is paramount,” says Keith Yandell, director of the audiovisual practice at AVI Systems. “We have expanded our popular Velocity meeting room systems to incorporate these hybrid optimized tools. Widescreen displays, for example, are a necessity in these environments. Customers can pay a monthly subscription to get a Velocity Signature System – and easily migrate to these new technologies without huge capital expense.”

Optimizing Rapid Microsoft Teams Room Deployments

Creating a more inclusive experience for everyone in a hybrid meeting led to the development of AVI’s Velocity Signature System for Teams Rooms.

AVI has partnered with industry leader Legrand to combine optimal furniture (work surfaces in a variety of shapes as well as seating options) with the audiovisual technology needed to support hybrid optimization in a meeting space. Velocity Signature features 81-inch and 105-inch widescreen displays as well as a 130-inch projection system for large meeting rooms. In addition, a 50-inch Surface Hub collaboration display, whiteboard camera, scheduling panels and customer care are available as options.

By combining the technology and meeting room furniture needs into a single order, organizations obtain a fully functional meeting room installed by AVI Systems available for use immediately when installation is complete.

Microsoft created its hybrid optimized room designs and AVI Systems has used its own expertise to bundle technology and furniture that meets the needs of small, medium and large rooms. Today, hybrid optimized rooms should be available in roughly 20% of all meeting spaces, but this number will shift based on workplace culture, says the company.

Hybrid optimized Microsoft Teams Rooms are designed to enhance the user experience for both remote and in-office work teams. These systems typically feature intelligent cameras to improve meeting equity, wider displays, collaboration tools like Surface Hub and uniquely shaped tables to enhance face-to-face experiences.

Standard AVI Velocity systems are also available that support both Microsoft Teams and Zoom environments. These systems feature 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch 16:9 displays, Chief Tempo mounting systems and a variety of options.

Magenium, AVI Systems’ Microsoft Consulting Practice Gets a New Look

AVI Systems also announced a new brand identity for its Microsoft Consulting Practice, Magenium. The new brand identity takes effect immediately and will be seen across the magenium.com website and other related properties.

“Our Microsoft consulting practice at Magenium has grown significantly in recent years,” says Jeff Stoebner, CEO at AVI Systems. “As the leader in Microsoft Teams Room deployments, we want to ensure that clients get premiere services from Magenium as well as the technology and support they expect from AVI Systems. This new brand solidified our approach in working together to deliver the services and technologies every modern workplace requires.”

Throughout its 16-year history as a Microsoft consulting firm, Magenium has built and maintained its brand as the business organizations choose when they need to modernize their technology. Magenium has enabled the marketplace to adopt the latest solutions from Microsoft, such as their Modern Workplace suite of applications that include Teams, Viva, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and much more.

“At Magenium, we pride ourselves on being able to deliver the best Microsoft solutions to our customers. By aligning ourselves more closely with our parent company, we believe the market will understand that our reach has evolved to deliver solutions to our customers globally,” says Tom Egan, chief technology officer. “This next evolution of our business is an exciting time for everyone involved, and we can’t wait to share this excitement with our customers.”

This rebranding is the first in the company’s history and reflects both organizations’ desires to bring the brands into harmony and eliminate any confusion in the marketplace.

Magenium Experience Center

In addition to the new brand identity, Magenium will relocate to a new office and Experience Center in the Highland Landmark II building at 3025 Highland Parkway, in Downers Grove. Magenium’s new office will feature the latest in Microsoft Teams Room solutions and incorporates audiovisual technologies from leading manufacturers. The Experience Center serves as a destination where information technology professionals can see and test the latest in Teams Room, audiovisual, and unified collaboration solutions designed for hybrid work. Magenium will occupy the facility this summer.

AVI Vision, Global Program Management Suite Updates

The company also announced it has expanded its program management offering, AVI Vision. AVI Vision gives clients visibility into their unique programs and projects via an enhanced, real-time program management dashboard and suite of program management tools. The enhanced tools serve customers with consistency, efficiency and transparency, says the global AV/UC systems integrator.

“Our enterprise customers – those with multiple locations in the United States and around the world – expect their partners to provide the best, real-time insights into the projects we manage on their behalf,” says Roger Patrick COO at AVI Systems. “AVI Vision delivers a full dashboard into every audiovisual and unified collaboration initiative they have – from all corners of the world. At-a-glance an AVI Vision client can see project status, collaborate efficiently, and access the knowledge of their deliveries that are needed to understand exactly what’s happening in their audiovisual estate.”

AVI Vision will continue to provide clients with thorough, customized information, says AVI Systems. Through Program Management and AVI Vision, dashboards help guide customers toward achieving their goals and objectives with their audiovisual deliveries anywhere in the world.

“As organizations’ needs grow, we’re finding the complexity and demand on their AV teams increases. We’ve seen this create many disparate systems as our customers try to navigate these complexities internally and externally, project-by-project,” says Zach Valigura, director of program management at AVI Systems. “We’ve assembled a single portal managed by our program managers that can be customized to client needs. And it can scale with that client as their program initiatives grow and their need for real-time insights increase.”

These program management dashboards have been tested and effectively used by some of AVI’s largest customers including those who are deploying hundreds of meeting space technology systems simultaneously across multiple locations, regionally, nationally and globally.

Several pricing models are available to meet AVI client program management needs.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on April 19, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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The company’s release of small conference room bundles adds to Biamp’s existing conference room bundles that include solutions for both medium and large conferencing spaces.

According to Biamp, the bundles provide options for other unified communication-controlled rooms leveraging Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams, as well as bring-your-own-meeting (BYOM) scenarios in which users can manage meetings on their own devices.

Biamp’s new BYOM meeting room solution for small rooms starts with the Devio SCR family of devices for PCs running Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex and other conferencing platforms. The Devio SCR devices support a single USB connection to a host computer for audio and video media using DisplayLink USB graphics technology the company says.

The company’s BYOM bundles include a range of options, such as pairing the Devio SCR-10 with a Vidi 250 camera as an entry-level solution, along with Parlé table mics, Parlé ceiling mics, or pendent mics featuring Parlé Beamtracking technology to intelligently track and mix conversations from around the room.

These systems can also be paired with the Vidi family of 4K conferencing cameras, the company says.

In addition, Biamp says the  Parlé VBC 2500a and Parlé ABC 2500a all-in-one conferencing bars will be compatible with assistive listening systems beginning this month. The bars feature a new dedicated 3.5-militeter output connector with a mono balanced line level output for users requiring hearing assistance.

Included in the room kits is the Biamp Launch software that analyzes and tunes the acoustic performance of the room, including ALS. The Parle bars can be controlled via a BYOM device or through a dedicated UC host device, the company says.

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