IT staff are continually being pulled in different directions, especially in large enterprises with complex deployments of collaboration hardware spread across time zones and geographies. On top of that, end user expectations for meeting equality are higher than ever with IT expected to accommodate and support different workstyles across many different workplaces. To further complicate matters, many customers end up stuck with multiple support contracts, with different expiry dates and some product purchases slipping through the net and not being covered at all.

We recently spent time talking with global enterprise customer IT Directors to better understand these pain points and worked with them to refine Poly+ to meet their unique needs. For large organizations, tracking and supporting numerous communication devices across multiple locations for high-scale deployments quickly becomes an arduous task.

Poly+ Enterprise

That is why we are proud to introduce Poly+ Enterprise – a turbo-charged version of our award-winning Poly+ support service. Poly+ Enterprise has been designed specifically with the large enterprise in mind and provides:

• Unlimited global priority 24/7 technical support with dedicated support number and unique PIN code – enabling rapid access to an assigned support team with ecosystem cloud partner support skills to accelerate case resolution.
• No need to track serial numbers – enterprise customers are assigned a single Master ID for their entire Poly estate.
• Advance hardware replacement – devices are replaced with pre-paid next business-day shipping to any hybrid working location, ensuring business continuity.
• Coverage for your entire Poly deployment – including automatic coverage as new devices are added along the way.
• Designated Poly Customer Success Manager – focused on making sure that all Poly service program activities are optimized for you.
• Enterprise integration and IT tools for maximum success – taking the strain off your IT team by providing a proactive position on monitoring and device management.
• Simple pricing per device category and an annual true-up process – enables blanket coverage for all devices across the enterprise and effortless forecasting and budgeting for annual planning.

These professional-grade benefits will remove the burden of day-to-day tracking and budgeting, providing the peace of mind and simplicity that end users crave. If a user requires support for their Unified Collaboration solution at two in the morning, no problem! Help is available 24/7. This hassle-free support service lets you focus on your priorities, optimizing your overall time management.

Contact your Poly representative for more information about Poly+ Enterprise and turbo-charge your support service today.

Many organizations want to invest in telecommunication technology, but lack adequate funding to do so, which makes grant acquisition essential. The USDA Rural Utilities Service – Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant (RUS-DLT) is a major contributor in this area. The grant exists to support and improve telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas via telecommunications, computer networks and related advanced technologies used by students, teachers, medical professionals and rural residents.

Remoteness and low population density can greatly influence a community’s access to education and medical services. By linking teachers and medical services providers to students and patients in other areas, residents tap into the benefits of modern telecommunications for education and healthcare—two key areas for economic and community development.

The RUS-DLT is an annual grant that awards anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million dollars to eligible applicants. While the funding deadline will likely be set for spring of 2022, organizations need to start preparing now. There will be between 40 and 60 grants awarded, paid out over three years, requiring 15 percent cost matching. This funding presents a meaningful opportunity to improve a community’s access to educational and medical services, but the information gathering and application process is detail intensive and time consuming. Therefore, it is critical to prepare all applications before the official deadline is announced, especially considering the required turnaround is typically 60 days or less.

Using the Funds for Audio and Visual Equipment

In addition to instructional programming and technical assistance, the RUS-DLT grant funds can be used to purchase the audio and video equipment professionals need to deliver outstanding telemedicine and distance learning experiences. With professional-grade equipment supporting them, medical professionals and educators can focus all their efforts on delivering a best-in-class experience, no matter their location. Modern telecommunications offers so much potential to shatter the limitations of traditional community services. Ensuring organizations have the appropriate equipment to make most of this potential is a critical step forward.

Who can Apply?

Eligible applicants include most entities that provide education or health care through telecommunications, including most State and local governmental entities, federally recognized tribes, non-profits, for-profit businesses and a consortium of eligible entities. All grant applications are vetted and accepted through a competitive process.

Preparing for the RUS-DLT Grant and How Poly can Help                                                                                                                                       

If an eligible organization wants to take advantage of the RUS-DLT Grant, they need to start preparing their application now. They must quickly evaluate their needs, ensure their project aligns with the scope of the funding, gather information for their proposal and keep their eyes peeled for the deadline announcement. There are plenty of online resources to help organizations prepare for grant application, but it’s not always the hands-on and detail-oriented help you need to navigate the process. Poly’s Grant Assistance Program (PGAP) team offers a wide array of free services to guide you through the grant process—from grant identification and application to post-award administrative support:

Get Qualified Early

A critical part of preparing for the RUS-DLT Grant is making sure your organization qualifies to apply for the funds. Our consultation experts specialize in this and are happy to ensure that the RUS-DLT grant is the right fit for your organization. If it’s not, the expert will guide your organization toward other funding opportunities that are a better fit.

Post-Award Support

Although preparing for grant application is the most pressing issue right now, many organizations soon realize that they would benefit from some assistance during the reimbursement, audit and post-award paperwork process. Fortunately, PGAP consultants are well-prepared for this. They are happy to support your organization, ensuring you’re in compliance and that your project continues to move forward.

Connect with Poly’s Grant Assistance Team

For more information or support on how to construct that justification, or on grant funding in general, please feel free to contact the Poly Grant Assistance Program (PGAP) at grants@poly.com.

Want to learn how a PGAP partnership helped another organization expand their telemedicine and distance learning capacity? Click here.

Firefighters and first responders are pillars in our communities whose actions save lives. Ensuring that these emergency response workers have the funding and equipment they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently is critical, but not always easy to attain.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) from FEMA helps firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, training and other resources for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. The AFG Program represents part of a comprehensive set of measures authorized by Congress to enhance operations, foster interoperability and strengthen community preparedness.

This year, there is $414 million in AFG funding available to eligible applicants, including fire departments, non-affiliated emergency medical services organizations and State Fire Training Academies who meet the extended Jan. 21 deadline. Nearly 2500 grants will be awarded with max grant award amounts at $1 – $4.6 million, depending on service area, to be paid out over 24 months. The funding requires up to 15 percent cost sharing based on the jurisdiction population.

Using the Funding for Voice and Video Infrastructure

In addition to facility/vehicle enhancements and supporting training, wellness and fitness programs for these emergency response organizations, AFG funds can also be utilized to purchase equipment for collaboration and communication. Having professional-grade voice and video solutions in place is critical to crack the code for delivering exceptional service at a time when budgets are tight and demands on city resources have never been greater. Effectively utilizing video conferencing can play a significant role in enhancing interdepartmental communications, improving training and reducing travel, which leads to less fuel consumption and vehicle wear and tear.

Which Organizations are Eligible?

To be eligible, applicants must be located in the U.S., or are a fire department in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization.

There are opportunities for regional applications where a fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS (NAEMS) organization can act as a host and apply for funding on behalf of itself and any number of other eligible organizations!

How Poly Can Help – Taking Action to Access the AFG

Should an eligible organization wish to access these funds, they need to take action. They must evaluate their needs, ensure their project aligns with the funding priorities and prepare their proposal. There are materials to help guide applicants through the grant process, but constructing detailed, comprehensive justification for funding can be challenge. Poly’s Grant Assistance Program (PGAP) team offers a wide array of free services to guide you through the grant process—from grant identification and application to post-award administrative support:

PRE-QUALIFICATION

Our expert consultants specialize in taking you through a pre-qualification process, helping ensure the “grant of interest” is a good fit for your organization. If we find you’re not likely to be competitive for a specific grant, such as the AFG, we’ll help you find another funding source that’s a better fit.

GRANT WRITING SUPPORT

The PGAP network of consultants and grant-writing experts across the country specialize in meeting your specific needs. Where allowed by the agency, services can include writing assistance, editing support, budget development and budget narrative recommendations to support your technology solutions.

POST-AWARD SUPPORT

Perhaps the most intimidating part of the grant process occurs after you’ve received an award. Many organizations find the process of reimbursement, audit and other required paperwork a bit daunting. The PGAP consultants are happy to provide support, ensuring you’re in compliance and helping move your project forward in a timely manner.

Get in Touch with Poly’s Grant Assistance Team

For more information or support on how to construct that justification, or on grant funding in general, please feel free to contact the Poly Grants Assistance Program (PGAP) at grants@poly.com.

Today’s hybrid work environment has created its own issues and challenges but new innovations in artificial intelligence are providing solutions. If workers feel disconnected or left out of a conversation it can lead to consequences in lowered productivity and employee buy-in. Alternatively, poor audio and video quality can hurt the professional image of individuals and your entire brand. Static, unchanged views of the entire room in an hour-long virtual meeting can disorient even the most attentive meeting participants. Both remote employees on the far end and the in-room participants lose their focus and become less engaged and productive.

Poly has partnered with Microsoft on advancing A.I technology that delivers an equitable experience for in-person, remote, and hybrid employees. This A.I. addresses issues with having workers in-office, remote, and on-the-go such as giving everyone in the room equal face time and voice. The way workers connect is changing every day and the future of work lies in A.I. Poly and Microsoft are proud to work together to continue introducing intelligent hardware and software features that will help all participants feel engaged, connected, and empowered on every call.

Poly Solutions and Microsoft Teams Rooms

Poly has pushed the envelope with our ground-breaking capabilities such as speaker tracking and AcousticFence technologies. We have been at the forefront of solving hybrid working problems with A.I solutions. Poly continues to work with Microsoft Teams to deliver seamless meeting experiences, using our innovations in camera and audio technology alongside Microsoft Teams Rooms. This includes intelligent features like Group Framing and industry-first technology like Conversation Mode and Presenter Tracking which provide effortless video conferencing.

Today, Microsoft announced the next wave in Teams Rooms innovations with a new category of intelligent cameras. There are three unique technologies that power this new category of intelligent cameras:

• A.I.-powered active speaker tracking, enabling in-room cameras to use audio, facial movements, and gestures to detect who in the room is speaking, zooming in for a closer perspective. Poly has offered speaker tracking capabilities for many years and is proud to partner with Microsoft to bring it to Teams and Teams Rooms.
• Multiple video streams that allow in-room participants to be placed in their own video pane.
• People recognition, which will identify and display the profile name of enrolled users within their video pane.

When intelligent cameras are paired with Dynamic view in Teams, you can deliver more equitable meeting experiences where everyone feels seen and represented. As people join the meeting, Teams will automatically adjust various elements of the meeting, so remote participants can see the room and content with ease.

Advancing Meeting Equality

These Poly features paired with Microsoft Teams new capabilities advance meeting equity for everyone in the “room.” The combination of meeting A.I. innovation and professional-grade equipment sets every employee up for success.

Pairing Microsoft Teams with the right audio and video solutions—for both group and personal workspaces—ultimately determines how your employees experience and show up in virtual meetings. Professional-grade headsets, speakerphones, and external video cameras are the equalizers that elevate the virtual meeting experience for everyone in a Microsoft Teams meeting—no matter where they work.

Check out our professional-grade equipment, support, and services to create meeting equality, at Poly.com.

Earlier this year, we introduced our latest personas research findings and talked about some of the macro trends we’ve seen over nearly a decade of workstyle research.

I have spent the last several months sharing this research with our customers, many of whom are currently planning or implementing a return to office strategy for their workforce. The pandemic drove major shifts to the way people worked and although there is almost universal agreement that the way people work will be fundamentally changed, there is little agreement to what extent and how to plan for this new way of working. Poly uses our workstyle persona research to help provide a framework for companies to use to inform some of this planning.

Today, I want to explain why we have separate personas, and how understanding the key differences of each persona can help you improve your technology spending plans for the months and years ahead, ultimately saving time, money and increasing overall employee productivity.

For IT equipment rollouts, progressive organizations often realize they need to map out employee workflows or needs to inform some of the decisions that will need to be made. A lot of companies I have spoken to will focus on gaining a qualitative understanding regarding the needs of a department or job role. Yet our quantitative research has uncovered that in many organizations, there are people who work in the same department, in the same role, sometimes even with the same job title, yet these employees may have different behavioral workstyles that affect how and when they use technology. And the magic of our personas research is that it reveals the lesser understood or quantitatively researched behavioral attributes that are the key to planning for a workforce in transition.

In our research we deployed a survey to 5,000 knowledge workers across eight countries. We took those responses and applied a segmentation-based nine key dimensions or attributes (e.g., work location, communication intensity, mobility, technology savviness, etc.). That segmentation profiling uncovered six collaborative personas that make up 92%* of a typical enterprise.  This data set was captured during the pandemic and published in January of 2021.

CONNECTED EXECUTIVE: Connected executives are tech-savvy business drivers who go wherever needed to make decisions and solve problems. They use more video on daily basis than any other persona. Since they are so versatile in where and how they work, their pain points include diversions, interruptions, and unpredictable background noise. They use more communication tools than any other persona, so they must stay connected across all devices. In a typical enterprise 12% of employees would fall into this category.

ROAD WARRIOR: Always on the move, road warriors work outside of the office more than 50% of the time. Due to their constantly changing environment, their pain points include noise on calls and unreliable connections. They also travel light, so they want solutions that are highly portable and easy to use. Road warriors report the highest smartphone use across all personas. In a typical enterprise 5% of employees would fall into this category.

FLEX WORKER: The flex worker splits time between the corporate office, a home office and travel. They are always innovating and adapting their communications channels. Due to frequent remote and on-the-go work, pain points include difficulty collaborating with colleagues and missing important information in the office. In motion even in the office, they spend 24% of their time moving from space to space. The flex worker needs to be “always-on” and communicate across several devices. In a typical enterprise 20% of employees would fall into this category.

REMOTE COLLABORATOR: Working from a home office or a remote center, the remote worker has fewer opportunities for in-person meetings and more challenges to successful and productive collaboration. Remote workers are most likely to have a dedicated office space at home and depend on multiple devices, unified communications and technologies to bridge the gaps between them and their colleagues, co-workers and clients. In a typical enterprise 15% of employees would fall into this category.

OFFICE COLLABORATOR: The office collaborator has an office-based work style, is highly collaborative and open to new technology. The majority of those in this persona group rate video calls as a preferred communication channel. As many of office collaborators work in open office spaces and spend most of the day at their desk, their pain points include background noise and constant disruptions. They want to seamlessly manage their communication across devices. The largest of all persona groups, in a typical enterprise 27% of employees would fall into this category.

OFFICE COMMUNICATOR: As a more traditional work style, the office communicator is most comfortable with familiar systems and devices (like a desk phone) and feels most productive working in the office vs. home or other locations. Though they are regularly in meetings, they are rarely the leader of calls and report the lowest adoption of video compared to other personas. Due to the high percentage of time they spend communicating, their pain points include being diverted by interruptions, background noise and lack of privacy on calls. In a typical enterprise 13% of employees would fall into this category.

*The remaining 8% are employees in very independent roles that operate with limited communication / collaboration needs.

Learn more facts about each of the personas: visit the Workstyles page.

While it’s not feasible for most companies to create a tech-spending strategy for every single individual employee, you can use these six personas as scalable/defendable framework to plan for most of your enterprise employees

Using this workstyle approach, you can avoid problematic “one size fits all” strategies. When it comes to technology rollouts, research shows that if you treat an Office Communicator as though they have the same behavioral attributes as a Connected Executive, you’re likely overserving/overspending, giving the Office Communicator more than they need.

In our next post, we’ll take a closer look at how COVID-19 affected personas in ways we hadn’t expected.

As you compile your return-to-office plans, learn how to serve your employee population by behavioral workstyle. With customers planning their return to office after the pandemic, things are not settled by any means. There continue to be challenges and changes by geography to take into account. If you take into consideration that there will likely be an increase in flexible workstyles in the future, that bodes well for companies looking to roll out new technologies.

You’ll see a higher adoption of technology, better return on tech investments as well as increased productivity for the people who are matched with the right devices.

Contact us to request a personas research consultation.

Poly and Microsoft go way back. The combination of Poly and Microsoft is indispensable to any organization committed to delivering the richest and most complete collaboration experience for their team members. This long-standing partnership has driven major innovation over the past year as the era of hybrid working has unfolded, requiring a new generation of premium audio and video products so you can have your best Teams meeting—anywhere, anytime, every time.

We’re honored to be recognized as a finalist in the Microsoft 2021 Partner of the Year awards among a global field of top partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Poly is the only Partner in our category that can check all of the boxes for our Customers to help accelerate their journey to Teams from hardware to software, implementation services to support.

Our Teams certified headsets, video and audioconferencing products, desk phones, analytics software and services are beautifully designed and engineered to connect people with incredible clarity. They’re pro-grade, easy to use and work seamlessly with Microsoft Teams. Let’s take a look at the full portfolio…

VIDEO: Poly room solutions for Microsoft Teams, including G-series Teams Rooms on Windows and Poly Studio X30 and Poly Studio X50 Teams Rooms on Android, deliver the familiar Teams interface, combined with powerful Poly audio and video technologies. From the conference room to the home office, Poly makes hybrid working a seamless experience. Poly Studio P Series personal video conferencing devices make the most of video calls from wherever work happens. High-performance cameras compensate for lighting imbalances. Premium audio eliminates distractions. Standalone certified Teams Rooms camera options are also available for the conference room such as the new Poly Studio E70.

VIDEO INTEROPERABILITY: Poly RealConnect enables video interoperability with Microsoft Teams without adding complexity. With RealConnect, it’s easy to connect your H.323/SIP videoconferencing systems to Microsoft Teams (or Skype for Business) meetings. Keep the workflow you’re used to, just add video interoperability so anyone can join the meeting from their personal clients, Microsoft Teams Rooms systems, as well as from video conferencing systems. It’s that simple.

HEADSETS: Poly headsets are beautifully designed tech that let you hear and be heard with incredible clarity, while tuning out distractions. Delivering crazy good audio for your most important conversations. Poly’s Microsoft Teams-certified headsets meet Microsoft’s audio requirements and include a dedicated Teams button to instantly invoke Microsoft Teams to the foreground for streamlined communications. Poly headsets certified for Skype for Business are recertified for Microsoft Teams, providing similar user experience. The Voyager family of Bluetooth® wireless headsets provides seamless, multi-device connectivity for today’s workforce. The Savi family provides a selection of DECT™ wireless headsets that offer best-in-class sound quality and multidevice connectivity, long-range and hands-free mobility and hours of talk time for ultimate efficiency. The Blackwire family gives you a broad selection of corded UC devices that deliver outstanding audio quality and reliability, ease of use and price points to meet any budget.

DESKTOP: In the office, at home or on the go, Poly delivers the broadest set of voice devices for Microsoft Teams. The Poly CCX Series delivers exceptional audio quality and the option to choose a headset or handset (CCX 500/600).

CONFERENCE PHONES: Customers looking for conference and speakerphones for their Microsoft Teams communications turn to Poly when they want high-quality audio and innovative features that transform the conversation. Poly Trio C60, the latest and most powerful Trio conference phone to date, sets the new conferencing standard for Microsoft Teams calls with familiar interface and one touch-to-join calendar integration. Also certified for use with Microsoft Teams Rooms as USB audio device. Poly Sync Family USB/Bluetooth® smart speakerphones provides premium sound, easy connections, and flawless meetings. Poly Sync 20 for personal spaces and Poly Sync 40 and Poly Sync 60 for conference rooms.

SOFTWARE: Poly Lens provides workspace insights and management software through quick device onboarding, inventory management, and intelligent news feed. Get a clear picture of your Microsoft collaboration environments, with a spotlight on how your spaces and devices are being used. Device management puts you in control across your entire organization while the cloud-based architecture gives you security, flexibility, and agility.

SERVICES: Putting all the pieces together for a seamless transition to Microsoft Teams can be a complex endeavor. Only Poly offers a comprehensive line of support services that are certified for Microsoft Teams. For IT managers, this means that they can count on Poly’s global Professional Services team to provide support when it comes time to plan, deploy, operate, and support your Microsoft solution environment — including headsets — all through a single call.

In order to realize the full power of Microsoft Teams, users need the right devices. After 15 years (and counting) of partnering with Microsoft in the collaboration space, Poly has created a one-stop shop for both personal and group collaboration needs. It’s not just about offering the most, or the best, unified communications and collaboration products that power Microsoft Teams experiences (which we also do!). It’s about giving customers a complete end-to-end Teams solution set…. And this partnership is just getting warmed up!

Here are a few easy ways to get started working with Poly to kickstart your Teams journey with clarity and confidence:

• Request a free 20-minute consult and talk to one of our Microsoft Teams experts.
• Visit our website to learn more about Poly Cloud Accelerator Workshops for Microsoft Teams and our complete portfolio of Professional Services for Microsoft Teams.
• Contact TeamMicrosoft@poly.com to accelerate your Poly Microsoft Teams Journey today.

At long last, companies are preparing to go back to the office. This time around, life will be different due to the countless lessons learned over the past year about how work actually gets done. As it turns out, the number of hours sitting in the office doesn’t directly correlate to productivity. Video meetings can be just as fruitful as being huddled around the conference table when companies utilize professional-grade collaboration technology to ensuring equitable meetings.

That said, the role of the physical office will remain central to many organizations, and video collaboration will be the conduit that connects them to their remote or hybrid workforce and business partners. In these offices, video conferencing equipment may have been shut down or offline for a year due to the pandemic. Poly systems are robust and reliable; but if they are out of service for too long, there is a chance that they’ll need a bit of oil to get the wheels turning smoothly once more. With so much change afoot, the last thing you want to do is deal with the frustration of systems and software not operating as intended, which makes a Poly support contract for your UC solution more important than ever.

FOUR REASONS A POLY SUPPORT CONTRACT IS THE SMART MOVE

1. Keep your tech up to date and secure – software updates prevent security vulnerabilities and harmful activities like hacking or data breach.

2. Expert support when you need it most – Poly support provides assurance of access to technical experts as required and allows you to take advantage of the latest features through software updates.

3. Peace of mind – Support offers a safety net should you encounter issues with your Poly equipment. For instance, with Poly’s standard support offering, replacement parts will be sent out to you, wherever you are, the next business day..

4. Budgeting clarity – Not only does renewing support allow your team to maximize the user experience, but it also allows IT organizations to effectively plan and budget. By investing in a Poly support agreement upfront, you eliminate the risk of incurring unforeseen costs down the line – so you can stick to your yearly budget and rest assured knowing that Poly will support you.

THE GAME HAS CHANGED

As employees return to the office and companies prepare for this new hybrid working reality, most are laser-focus on optimizing business continuity while providing employees with a streamlined remote collaboration experience that enables them to communicate with clarity and professionalism. This time of reimagination and transition only magnifies the importance of a Poly support agreement as businesses rely on video more than ever before.

A SUPPORT CONTRACT THAT FITS

Poly has a support solution for your “Next Normal”, whether it be a return to the office, hybrid, or work from home. Our team of service professionals works closely with Poly partners and clients to tailor support solutions that align with a company’s short and long-term business objectives and goals.

Start planning your hybrid working model with Poly’s free 20-minute consultation call with one of our UC experts or contact your Poly Partner or Account Manager to learn more Support Contracts for your UC deployment.

Read more about Poly’s Services on the Poly Blog.

Putting all the pieces together for a seamless transition to Microsoft Teams can be a complex endeavor. At Poly, we continue to be in lockstep with Microsoft in helping our combined customers accelerate their journey to Teams. As 2021 kicks off, we’re excited to launch our Poly Cloud Accelerator Workshops for Microsoft Teams as part of Microsoft’s Cloud Accelerator Program.

Poly’s Microsoft Teams focused workshops are designed to help customers:

• Envision and prioritize their journey to Microsoft Teams
• Understand the capabilities and value of Microsoft Teams
• Accelerate digital transformation by aligning business opportunities and challenges with their capabilities
• Enable their employees to be productive and secure with Microsoft 365
• Fully unlock the power of Microsoft Teams as a single hub for teamwork

THREE WORKSHOP OPTIONS

1. Microsoft Teams Calling Workshop

Designed to help our customers experience Microsoft Teams Calling with Phone System capabilities. We showcase the calling capabilities through immersive experiences, use-cases, and deep-dive planning.

Workshop outcome: An evaluation of your current telephony and PBX needs, together with an environmental and workload analysis, attendees are provided direction on how to transition various user profiles into a modern collaboration and communication environment. We provide you with customized, actionable recommendations you can follow to enable and adopt Microsoft Teams for Calling.

2. MICROSOFT TEAMS MEETINGS AND MEETING ROOMS WORKSHOP

Created to improve your meeting room experience and understand how to best leverage voice and video solutions. This workshop also showcases modern immersive experiences, use case design, deep-dive planning, and driving meeting culture transformation.

Workshop outcome: Aligned to Microsoft Teams Meetings and Rooms vision, we help you determine use cases for Microsoft Team Meetings, consider environment, site, network preparedness, and develop a deployment and adoption framework for Microsoft Teams Meetings and Rooms.

3. SECURE WORK FROM ANYWHERE WORKSHOP

Intended to introduce the value of Microsoft 365 to new and existing Poly customers, highlighting scenarios that leverage voice and video solutions enabling their employees to be more productive and secure from any location.

Workshop outcome: Actionable plan to quickly move to a secure work from anywhere environment with prioritized scenarios, an environmental assessment of the current state, and identification of any potential blockers or challenges that need to be considered and addressed.

HOW POLY CAN HELP

Our two-day workshops are remotely delivered by qualified Microsoft experts with decades of combined experience, dozens of Microsoft certifications including MVPs and MSCEs, and broad experience to ensure your successful migration, deployment, and adoption of Microsoft Teams.

Here are a few easy ways to get started…

• Request a free 20-minute consult and talk to one of our experts.
• Visit our website to learn more about Poly Cloud Accelerator Workshops for Microsoft Teams and our complete portfolio of Professional Services for Microsoft Teams.
• Contact TeamMicrosoft@poly.com to accelerate your Poly Microsoft Teams Journey today.

At Poly, we understand the value of providing expert guidance to ensure your experience and migration to Microsoft Teams are successful. All Poly Cloud Accelerator Workshops for Microsoft Teams will help you kickstart your Teams journey with clarity and confidence.

For Poly, the global pandemic has accelerated what we already knew: Employees need to be able to connect reliably and clearly to perform at their best, no matter where they are getting their work done. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Poly Studio P Series, a new line of professional-grade video and audio devices for personal workspaces, empowering your employees to look and sound their best from anywhere. Paired with Poly Lens software, the Poly Studio P Series provides the best experience for remote workers while giving IT centralized management and deep insights to understand device usage and drive adoption.

An IDC poll from October 2020 indicates that organizations are gearing up with new technology to support hybrid workforces and many anticipate work models to be redesigned to support hybrid employees that split time between working in the office and at home.

Managing a large-scale device deployment was already a monumental task when everyone was in the office. Now, managing and tracking devices from all over the world with so many working from remote locations can be a nightmare. We believe it should be easier for IT to manage these remote devices and support employees from afar.

With the introduction of the Poly Studio P Series, we saw the potential to offer a tool to enable employees to customize their personal devices. The Poly Lens Desktop app ensures end-users are up to date with the latest firmware and streamlines device setup with tips for the best possible lighting and camera placement, ergonomics for the optimal workspace setup, as well as simplified troubleshooting. Poly Lens cloud management gives IT departments the powerful tools needed to provision updates, support devices, and understand usage and adoption, across both employees and workspaces, all from a single pane of glass.

For even more support, we will also be introducing Poly+, an exclusive personal device support service with unlimited 24/7/365 access to technical support from Poly experts and next-day hardware replacement. You even get exclusive discounts on some of our highly rated Professional Services offers. For IT, Poly+ also grants app-to-cloud connectivity, allowing people to do more while helping troubleshoot issues.

It’s our business to make work, work, wherever our customers are, and with whatever platform they use. We’re eager for you to get your hands on the Poly Studio P Series, Poly Lens Desktop app, and Poly+. We may not be able to turn your IT team into superhumans, but we do make the cape.

Read more about the new Poly Studio P Series in our blog post here or, get up close and personal with the devices here.

Four Elements to Accelerate Your Success

As companies start to plan how and when they will move back into the office, it will be critical to optimize the functionality of conferencing and meeting spaces for hybrid working to keep in-office employees connected to the remote workforce. Microsoft Teams transforms what were previously unidimensional meeting spaces by providing a rich, collaborative experience through HD video, audio, and content sharing. Crucial to all virtual interactions, Microsoft Teams Room meetings are intuitive to launch and provide for a consistent experience across workspaces.

Images courtesy of Microsoft

FOUR ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER

Below we’ll cover four elements to consider when transforming your meeting space to a Microsoft Teams Room, providing a best practices approach to get it right the first time.

1. Room Design

First, begin the planning process by understanding what you have today while envisioning what you will need in the future. This is where performing a room design assessment will be key. To do this, you’ll need to look at the size and shape of the room. What is the purpose of the room and how is it being used?

Poly offers a variety of room collaboration options for Microsoft Teams that ensure simplicity and high-quality audio and video experiences – from the personal office to large conference rooms. Solutions for such as the Poly Studio X30 and X50 and Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android are perfect for small to medium spaces. While solutions for larger conference rooms such as the Poly G-Series Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows allow for room AV integrations.

2. Network and Bandwidth Planning

Video traffic requires much higher bandwidth to assure the best quality virtual meeting experience. It’s critical to review existing network capabilities so that you can ensure your network is capable of performing at a consistent and optimal level for carrying real-time media traffic. Consideration needs to be given not just on bandwidth availability, but on packet loss and latency within the network as well. Understanding your network and its capabilities is key to being able to deliver successful video calls.

3. Deployment

Resources are limited and the need for the meeting rooms to be up and running quickly is top of mind. Ensuring the correct configuration from account provisioning to device settings and ensuring you have the correct software deployment approach is key to a seamless and trouble-free deployment. This will allow rooms to be deployed quickly and effectively throughout your organization.

4. Adoption

Microsoft Teams Rooms bring new experiences and capabilities to your end-users, and they need to feel comfortable and confident in using them. To encourage user adoption, IT has a key role to play in making it simple for people to use systems by helping them get up to speed and familiar with the technology and ensure they understand its benefits. IT also needs to understand the systems that have been implemented and be knowledgeable to troubleshoot if required.

HOW POLY CAN HELP

At Poly, we understand the value of providing expert guidance to ensure your deployments are successful. Our Room Solutions for Microsoft Teams Assessment and Onboarding Service can help you kickstart your journey from room design, network, bandwidth planning, remote or onsite deployment, and all the way through to day-to-day operations and user adoption. This service has been designed to help you deliver well-performing rooms for your business, enable your IT team, and instill confidence throughout your organization so everyone is comfortable with the solution from day one.

Getting started is easy – visit Poly.com to learn more about Poly Room Solutions for Teams and our Professional Services for Microsoft Teams. Or contact TeamMicrosoft@poly.com or your Poly partner.