Enterprises and small businesses used to be in a race to see who can get the latest, greatest, highest-resolution AV equipment on the market. Even as few as a ten years ago, the options available for business applications of AV components were pretty limited, as were the variety and number of devices on the market to deliver it. Now, devices are becoming more flexible in their usability, and employees are bringing more of their own devices from home into the workplace. It means that businesses have to shift away from an equipment-centric notion of how to improve and grow a company’s AV capabilities, and think more about how employees interact with AV, improving that experience with software and management services. Here are just a few benefits of managed AV network services:
Flexible and Scalable
Having a managed AV network opens up a new world of possibilities when it comes to both internal equipment upgrades and seamlessly integrating employee devices into your AV network. If your business uses remote workers or has offices across the country or even the globe, videoconferencing can be key. Giving employees the ability to videoconference on their own devices can help your business—especially as you grow. Taking advantage of an AV management service is like taking out a little insurance policy on all those devices years into the future by ensuring that your employees can easily connect to your video conferences and have a reliable help desk to call in case something goes wrong.
Security That Keeps Pace
With high-profile security breaches at credit reporting firms, ecommerce retailers, and anywhere data changes hands, you want to know that your network is being monitored not just for clarity but for security as well. Security can also be metered out by permissions, so that anyone logging onto your network only has access to the data you want them to have. Each device that connect to your servers could be a potentially vulnerable point of entry, but managed AV helps keep every bit and byte from going where it’s not supposed to. With available call recording to the cloud, you can rest assured that your information is stored securely and accessible to the team members that need it, no matter how much you grow.
It Might Save You a Lot of Money
If time is money, managed AV will probably save you some money in the long run. If you consider how much precious time is lost waiting for people to figure out how to connect to a conference, the time and money wasted on travel, producing ineffective training videos, or time spent finding and patching a security breach, it may be a huge savings. With managed AV, you have someone there ready to help when needed. When problems are solved, your team members can get to the collaboration quickly, business moves faster, employees are more efficient, and there is a positive impact on the bottom line.
You Can Make the Shift in Steps
Moving to a managed AV network doesn’t have to happen all in one fell swoop. A big part of the process is an audit that will help determine what the full scope — now and in the future — of your AV needs are and begin the process of switching over to a managed, cloud-based network starting with your most basic or essential components. If your business has a heavy phone- and chat-based customer service department with lots of representatives, you may want to switch those components first. Whatever will impact your bottom line the most with the minimal amount of interruption will be tackled first.
Start Now, Not Later
AV and video conferencing tools aren’t going to go away, and in fact might replace in-person meetings altogether. It’s not a trend or a fad, and while devices and technology will evolve, the need to collaborate will always be an essential part of getting business done. What matters is that that every digital interaction as visually and auditorily rich and true-to-life as being in a room togethers, and as easy to access as a cubemate. Managed AV is how you get there, and how you stay ahead of every cresting wave of change.
This article was first published on New Era Technology.
New Era Technology works with customers as a trusted technology adviser. We help customers work faster, smarter and more securely in a rapidly changing digital world. More than 4,500 customers worldwide rely on collaboration, cloud, data networking, security, and managed service solutions from New Era to accelerate time to market, speed innovation, increase productivity, and create better learning experiences.