Over the last few years, the workplace has undergone a fundamental shift, transforming where professionals work and what they expect from workspaces. As many businesses prepare their return-to-office plan, they are redesigning collaboration spaces to better meet the needs of a post-pandemic workforce. Meeting rooms, especially, no longer follow a one-size-fits-all formula. These collaboration spaces must provide a flexible yet consistent experience for every user no matter how or where they join meetings. To meet this demand, businesses will find ways to provide equitable access to premium video and audio and integrated systems that power meaningful, collaborative experiences.

A Climate of Transformation

Recent data on industry trends showcase the workspace transformation. According to Frost & Sullivan, “Three-quarters of organizations expect more than one-quarter of their employees to be working remotely part-time or full-time in 2025.

This indicates just how important it will be to ensure remote workers don’t feel a difference between in-person or remote presence during important meetings, especially now in the return-to-office era. Further findings from Frost & Sullivan predict that by 2025, the conferencing devices market will grow about five times higher due to the
need to better enable remote workers and the increase of small to medium-sized conference rooms.

So how do you support your organization?

Defining the “Just Right” Room Size

In a recent Poly research report, findings indicated that 77 percent of organizations plan to rethink or redesign the office space for new ways of working, including options for more quiet and open-plan areas, collaboration spaces and places to socialize. Most new rooms will be small conference rooms, as team sizes may have diminished, or individuals are only onsite certain days of the week. To encourage productivity, businesses will offer employees a space complete with advanced technology that helps minimize distractions and supports effective collaboration.

Finding the Perfect Mix

Start with room size; The key to finding the perfect technology fit will be heavily influenced by the size of the collaboration space and the number of people within it. Small to medium size rooms, for example, function and are used differently than large conference rooms. Focus Rooms are small spaces designed for individual work or attending virtual meetings. Small to Medium Rooms allow a group of three to five people to gather and collaborate comfortably. When designed and outfitted with the necessary solutions, both room types provide teams with a quiet place to work and leverage advanced technology that helps foster wider communication.

Defining Working Styles

Once space size is considered, it’s critical to define your teams’ workstyles, as individuals and as groups. Identifying your team’s workstyles can be crucial to your success when providing equitable, collaborative room setups and inclusive technology. Because everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for another, which can influence your business’s needs. When teams can consistently communicate effectively, the output is higher – and so is revenue.

Finding equitable solutions that combine innovative technology with the appropriate workspace can foster transformation. When every employee has access to the same tools and can engage and participate equally, you create opportunities for meaningful connections, higher productivity and compelling collaboration.

The Poly Difference

Poly’s products and services foster meeting equality by offering a wide array of solutions for any room size, including pre-configured Studio Kits for specific areas. Poly also delivers Microsoft Teams Certified solutions for both voice and video products. Other options include:

• Poly Director AI for cutting-edge video, including automatic camera technology that zooms in on speakers and frames them as they move about the room.
• Microsoft’s Front Row video gallery of attendees appears at the bottom of the screen, so those joining remotely are at eye level with those in the room.
• Poly MeetingAI incorporates advanced artificial intelligence-driven technologies into ready-made room kits for Microsoft Teams users.
• Poly Lens is an all-in-one app that lets you monitor and troubleshoot your devices from a single reference point.
• Poly+ offers comprehensive device support through the Ecosystem Cloud Partner Support program with 24×7 global technical customer access for urgent needs.

The new Poly Studio R30 USB video bar recently announced at ISE in Barcelona, is an example of a solution purpose-built for small meeting rooms. It shares many of the same Poly Meeting AI functionalities and features found on other Poly video bars but is optimized for small room performance at a small room price. With the introduction of the R30, comes a new room kit specialized for small rooms, the Poly Studio Small Room Kit for Microsoft Teams Rooms, expanding Poly’s line up of Teams Rooms Kits on Windows to include a kit for every room size.

The Path to Progress

Finding equitable solutions that combine innovative technology with the appropriate workspace can advance transformation. When every employee has access to the same tools and can engage and participate equally, you create opportunities for consistent communication, higher productivity and purposeful interactions.

Visit Poly.com to learn more.

The Poly team is relentless in our pursuit to deliver beautifully designed and engineered audio and video products that let you be seen and heard with incredible clarity, wherever work is getting done. Over the past two years, our product design and engineering teams have worked incredibly hard to refresh our entire product line from headsets to conference room solutions to gear meant to outfit personal workspaces. It’s always a great honor for this effort to be recognized by our industry colleagues and that is no exception in learning that two of our new products – the Poly Sync Speakerphones, and the Poly Voyager Focus 2 headset have been awarded the 2022 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Award, presented by TMC.

The Poly Sync USB and Bluetooth Speakerphones

The Poly Sync family is comprised of three USB/Bluetooth® smart devices – the Poly Sync 20, the personal-sized speakerphone and portable speaker, perfect for the hybrid worker; the Poly Sync 40, for flexible/huddle spaces, and the Poly Sync 60 for small to medium conference rooms. Designed with today’s working environments in mind, the Poly Sync family offers unparalleled audio, high-quality speakerphone and music experiences, long-lasting battery life and fast charging, Bluetooth or USB connectivity, and durability.

We made them dust and water-resistant – making it easy to wipe down devices to keep them clean and germ-free. Additionally, the entire Poly Sync Family is Zoom and Microsoft certified so you can count on a flawless meeting experience with incredible audio every time.

The Voyager Focus 2

The Voyager Focus 2 is the latest iteration of one of Poly’s most beloved and best-selling headsets of all time, the Voyager Focus. This latest addition to the Voyager Focus series adds hybrid active noise-canceling technology along with our best microphone noise-canceling to date with Poly’s signature Acoustic Fence for an unparalleled wireless audio experience. The new Voyager Focus 2 delivers an unparalleled wireless audio experience that keeps you in the zone regardless of what noise might be happening in the background.

The Voyager Focus 2 works across all your devices and is available as a UC version or as an office version to connect to your desk phone and PC with a connectivity base. The Voyager Focus 2 also has a universal charge stand option to ensure you never run out of battery life. The UC version connects to your mobile via Bluetooth and to your computer via the BT700 Bluetooth USB adapter. This all-new adapter is 50 percent smaller than its predecessor and boasts an improved wireless range of up to 50m/164 ft.

The Voyager Focus 2 offers unparalleled features with world-class audio so there’s no doubt this will be the product of the year for many years to come.

Commitment to Innovation

Poly was born from the merger of two pioneering Silicon Valley companies in the collaboration and video conferencing industry. Innovation is in our DNA and will always be a top priority in our roadmap as we work to deliver collaboration solutions that meet our customers’ evolving needs. From office headsets to immersive video collaboration, we are reimagining what’s possible with solutions for every workspace and style. We’re not satisfied until no one can remember whether you were on the screen or in the room.

To learn more about Poly’s award-winning lineup, visit http://www.Poly.com

Liberate your USB port

As laptop designs become sleeker the number of USB ports is reducing, forcing users to often plug and unplug USB devices which is frustrating.  Poly and Intel are coming to their rescue by removing the need for the USB Bluetooth headset adapter on supported laptops and hence freeing up a valuable USB port.

20 years ago, the first Bluetooth headsets unchained mobile phone users from wires with hands-free wireless communications. Bluetooth quickly became ubiquitous in mobile phones and smartphones and is now known for its “just works” simplicity.

The same was never true when using a Bluetooth headset directly with a computer. Users would have to jump through hoops ensuring they had the correct drivers, firmware, software, etc. before discovering that the audio quality was inadequate. Poly solved these problems with its own USB Bluetooth adapter.

Thanks to Poly and Intel® the end is now in sight for the USB Bluetooth Adapter with supported laptops.

The Next Evolution

Poly has collaborated with Intel to optimize the Poly headset to meet the Intel® Engineered for Evo™ accessories program requirements for Bluetooth headsets.  This ensures simple, reliable, and optimized performance that helps to maximize user experiences, all using the native Bluetooth and without the need for a USB Bluetooth adapter. The first Poly Bluetooth headsets to support Intel® Engineered for Evo™ accessories program will be the Voyager Focus 2 and Voyager 4300 Series (through a firmware update). Look for the Intel® Evo™ platform brand on select premium 11th and 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processor-based laptops from a variety of manufactures.

Looking to The Future

For those who spend most of their time on conference/collaboration calls, it is important to be able to answer/end and mute/unmute the call directly from the headset. Although this is not currently supported when using native Bluetooth, Poly is working hard with major UC phone and conferencing software providers to add this feature for native Bluetooth-connected headsets without the need for the USB adapter. This feature will enter preview mode in Microsoft Teams in early 2022*

Using a headset directly with Intel® Evo™ supported laptops is ideal for users who are unable to connect a USB adapter and just want a great audio experience. Intel® Evo™ laptops lay the foundation for early adopters to benefit from using their Bluetooth headset without the need of a separate Bluetooth USB adapter, freeing up their scarce USB ports for other things. As more UC phone and conference software providers add remote call control support for native Bluetooth headsets and users refresh their computers with new Intel® Evo™ laptops and Windows 11, more users will experience the benefits of a direct Bluetooth connection with the full call control support too.

To see the entire lineup of Poly Bluetooth headsets, visit poly.com

Learn more about Intel® Evo™, visit intel.com

Poly and Zoom Take Hybrid Collaboration to Greater Heights with Thoughtful Innovations

With the New Year quickly approaching, it’s safe to say we’re all looking forward to a fresh start. Whether it’s getting back to the gym, reading new books, or starting a new hobby outside of work, everyone is ready to do their best. Likewise, this new era of hybrid work has encouraged companies to prioritize human connection and invest in collaboration solutions that ensure everyone can meet as equals, no matter the distance.

Poly works in partnership with Zoom to deliver innovations that bridge the connection gap between remote and hybrid participants. We recently released some exciting updates that further elevate the meeting experience in meeting rooms and personal workspaces:

Microsoft Guest Join

Back in September, we were super excited to announce the Poly Studio X70, an all-in-one video bar-certified for Zoom services, at Zoomtopia. This feature-rich video bar is truly built for Zoom Rooms, as it’s finely tuned to deliver crystal clear video and audio for large-sized conference rooms. Participants in the conference room can seamlessly join Zoom meetings and look their best. But it gets better.

Zoom Rooms customers will be able to join Microsoft Teams meetings from Poly’s appliances natively without the need for any additional services or licensing. With Poly Studio X70 and G7500 with Poly Studio E70 camera, Zoom Rooms subscribers are empowered to meet how they want with the tap of a button and never compromise the high-quality Poly audio and video experience.

Zoom Rooms Smart Gallery

Poly and Zoom have collaborated to deliver Zoom Smart Gallery that gives remote participants a “seat” at the table. Poly Director AI technology allows remote participants to remain focused on the active speakers in the room and contribute to the conversation with confidence. Zoom Smart Gallery is currently supported on Studio X30 and Studio X50, which are perfect solutions for huddle and medium-sized rooms. Keep a lookout for software updates in the New Year as Poly and Zoom continue to refine and expand the Smart Gallery experience on more Poly solutions including Studio X70 and Studio E70.

Workspace Reservation

 The rapid growth of Zoom Phone has proven that phone capabilities remain a critical communication tool for hybrid workforces. Earlier this year, we worked with Zoom to launch appliances for Zoom Phone with the Poly CCX 600 and 700. Zoom Phone users can enjoy a video-first experience with a familiar user interface that is intuitive and packed with cool features like Zoom Whiteboard. The latest CCX innovation that embraces the “on-the-go” workstyle is workspace reservation, which allows users to temporarily sign into a provisioned desk phone in shared spaces. It’s that simple.

Certified Personal Devices

This year we’ve all quickly learned the importance of having a web camera that has shutter privacy paired with a headset that lets you know you’re muted on Zoom team calls. Thankfully, Poly has a nice spread of headsets, web cameras, and speakerphones certified across Zoom’s Personal Workspace categories. Poly’s headsets certified by Zoom, such as the Voyager Focus 2 and Voyager 4300 series, are also equipped with Poly’s Acoustic Fence technology so you can speak with confidence knowing that background noise is blocked out. Pair a Poly headset with the Poly Studio P5 webcam and a cool Zoom virtual background, and you’re ready to show off. Of course, if you prefer a speakerphone versus a headset for your personal workspace, the portable Poly Sync 20 helps keep echo and noise out so you remain focused during your Zoom meetings!

This is Only the Beginning

This year organizations across all industries are learning that the key to adapting to this new way of work is to provide employees with the perfect blend of in-office, home, and on-the-go working environments. Poly has invested decades in research to understand the unique challenges that come with delivering a collaborative and engaging connection for participants in-and-outside of the office. Our close collaboration with Zoom has allowed us to power human connections for years to come.

Check out this video that shows a day in the life with Poly and Zoom:

To learn more about Poly solutions for Zoom, visit poly.com/zoom

Dialpad has been making waves recently as a leading cloud communications platform supporting voice, video, messaging, meetings, and contact centers in one beautifully designed app. Dialpad’s offering stands out with a platform that delivers AI across every employee and customer experience, with innovative features such as real-time transcriptions, live agent coaching, and sentiment analysis. Today we’re excited to build on our partnership with the introduction of a new native Dialpad Meetings app experience available on the Poly Studio X30 and Studio X50.

This next level of integration will provide Dialpad Meetings and Poly users with a simpler setup, production quality performance, and easy content sharing through professional-quality room endpoints that are easy to deploy and manage.

Dialpad Meetings features with Poly Devices

With the new native experience, you can expect the same great Dialpad Meetings experience running on Poly devices in an easier-to-navigate application.  What can users expect with this new integration?  Here’s a summary:

• Simplified control and content sharing: because the Dialpad application is built into the Poly Studio X hardware, meeting participants can easily join meetings with one touch and control the experience using the Poly TC8 Additionally, participants can share content wirelessly to the Poly Studio X endpoint from devices or browsers running the Dialpad Meetings application. 
• Poly Meeting AI: Poly Studio X endpoints are packed with video and audio innovations aimed at providing a better meeting experience such as automatic camera framing, advanced microphone design, NoiseBlock AI, and Acoustic Fence.  Command the conversation with Poly’s professional-grade video and audio that puts everyone in the meeting on equal footing and gives everyone the opportunity to shine.
• Easy deployment: as an all-in-one solution, Poly Studio X video bars make setup a breeze.  Simply unbox, connect, and log in to your Dialpad Meetings account and within a few minutes, your meeting room can be set up and running.

Built for the hybrid workplace, Dialpad offers complete video and audio collaboration solutions that bridge the gap between teams no matter where they work from. Poly and Dialpad are working together to set our joint customers up for success as we collectively enter this next phase of hybrid work. No matter how or where you work, Poly and Dialpad have solutions to meet your collaboration needs and ensure that every meeting participant has an equal opportunity to shine no matter how they join the conversation.

To learn more, go to Poly.com/dialpad

There’s still a lot of work to be done to define the best working model for hybrid teams in the call center, which we addressed in a previous blog “Hybrid Workforce or Hybrid Employees?” Today we’re investigating whether hybrid work delivers the best of both worlds or if it’s a compromise that misses the mark and leaves remote employees wanting. Is there a better solution or improvements we can make around how our teams are structured?  

Employee experience plays a key role in building and running successful call centers in the era of hybrid working. As many agents have been working from home effectively, it begs the question…. what is the office’s role in today’s modern call center? Is it a social meeting place? A learning and collaboration hub? Do we focus on ‘half the space, twice the experience’ to make employees want to come in, rather than forcing them?  

Those are frequently asked questions surrounding our new normal, and many organizations are currently ramping up, struggling to adjust to their employees’ new needs. That’s where Poly comes in! On Dec. 8, we are hosting a webinar with guests from Telus International and CCNG to explore hybrid working in call centers. The discussions will help you formulate a strategy to implement hybrid working and plan for what lies ahead. 

How are Service Levels Changing? 

The long-term rise of digital interactions has been accelerated through the pandemic, and the inability to accurately plan caused havoc for many organizations. However, the time for hiding behind a badge on a website that says you’re incredibly busy is long gone. How have your service levels changed? Are you using new or different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? What are your customers’ expectations of service levels now? Poly is here to help you move through these questions and find suitable solutions. 

Is the Great Resignation Making It Worse? 

Attrition was already a major issue in call centers in recent years, but now, with over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year,1 it might get worse. Or could this be an opportunity for service delivery organizations? Has attrition increased or decreased in recent months for you, and does offering hybrid or remote work options help recruitment and retention? Join Poly and Call Center experts Mike Ringman, David Hadobas, and George Wilson who will share their insights into how the modern call center is transforming and the impact it will have on your business and employees. In this 45-minute session you will:  

• Learn how customer service representatives can be successful while business is unusual   
• Learn about the technologies that will help your workforce when hybrid working  

• Help improve your attrition rate and keep your employees happy. 

Where Do We Go from Here? 

We will conclude the discussion with practical insights designed to help you create instant solutions for employees’ safe return to the workplace and to foster improved collaboration between teams.  

Join us on Dec. 8 for an interactive panel discussion (no slides!) and a chance to win some great Poly Swag. 

Register today! 

Focus room popularity was on the rise in pre-covid times before video conferencing became the universal norm. However, we are now faced with the same problems that focus rooms stood to solve pre-pandemic, but the implementation of hybrid working has added a new layer of complexity to this solution; and doubled, if not tripled its importance. To understand the nuances of the focus room solution today, it is important to first look at the evolution of workspace optimization.  

According to Wainhouse Research, “small rooms account for the largest percentage of conference rooms in the workplace and will see the highest increase in unit count over the foreseeable future. We expect ultra-small rooms for one or two people (also known as focus rooms, touchdown rooms, or telephone booth rooms) to account for most of this growth as they are an ideal workplace solution for the growing acceptance of hybrid work.” 

Evolution of the Workspace 

TRADITIONAL CUBICLES 

The traditional corporate cubicle was designed in the 1960s as a solution to the original open workspace plan that was commonplace in the early 1900s. Some characteristics of this office style were: 

• Employees had a decent amount of privacy within their cubicles 
• Much quieter than an open workspace 
• A bit isolating after poor implementation by many companies; cubicles became associated with sunlight-less days and being stuck in a sea of grey 
• No real need for designated focus rooms since personal cubicles served as a space for focus and privacy 

OPEN WORKSPACE 

The original open workspace concept predates the era of cubicles, but in recent years, it has made a highly contested return. Pre-pandemic, “hip” tech companies seemed to be moving to open workspaces in mass as a way to disrupt the perceived “stuffiness” of closed workspaces. Characteristics of open workspaces in the late 2010s were:  

• Modern, “hip” design elements that bring the space to life 
• Noisy, busy, often difficult to focus
• More conducive to collaboration and impromptu team communication 

So, hip or not, it has become clear focus rooms became a crucial part of open workspace success. Companies that can provide an adequate amount of focus spaces are able to reap the benefits of both workspace styles.  

Hybrid Work & Focus Rooms 

The reality is that there is no “right” way to work. Some are most successful working without the office altogether, some from the open office, some from a private workspace, and some feel that they can optimize their productivity with the option to do all. This has led to the birth of “hybrid work”. While the definition of “hybrid-work” varies from organization to organization, there are some common characteristics. 

•  Companies have a mixture of full-time remote, part-time remote, and full-time onsite employees left up to the discretion of the individual employee 

• Companies are expecting fewer people in the office at once, and therefore downsizing space and moving away from individual cubicles/closed offices (if they had not already)  

• Open workspace will remain the norm, but many offices are implementing hoteling style open workspaces, where employees reserve desks ad hoc for days that they are going in the office 

Taking this into consideration, the need for a focus room has never been greater. Focus rooms provide a space for employees to take private video calls, and as we all know, the amount of video calls in our workdays has risen significantly.  

Focus Rooms Play a Role in Meeting Equality 

Successful, long-term implementation of hybrid work also requires that companies strive to achieve meeting equality. Unequal experiences of remote and in-office employees played a huge role in why many companies (and employees too) felt that they could not fully commit to remote work pre-pandemic until they didn’t have a choice. It seems that if we are not able to give equal experiences to remote and in-office employees under hybrid work models, we will continue to see the same friction with remote work that we saw pre-pandemic.  

Poly is focused on building solutions to help hybrid companies achieve meeting equality, which is why we have created plug-and-play focus room devices like the Studio P15, with advanced AI that places the focus on the speaker so that everyone, including remote meeting attendees, has a clear view of what is going on.  

With the quickly changing workspace landscape, all signs point to the need for personal workspace rooms. It is the focus room’s time to shine. 

Today, we’d like to say thank you. Thank you to all those who have served and continue to serve our country. We honor your patriotism, dedication and willingness to sacrifice.

We know that Veterans bring valuable skills, experience and qualifications to our business. Last year, some amazing people right here at Poly shared their personal stories and we continue to appreciate the leadership and strong work ethic they bring each day. A special thanks goes out to the Veterans in our internal Employee Resource Group (ERG) who support one another and our organization, helping shape a more inclusive culture.

This year, our Veterans ERG shared some of their favorite organizations that focus on supporting Veterans, explaining why each is important to them on a personal level. We would like to help shine a light on these organizations and the amazing work they do. To support the causes and our Veterans, please consider donating to one of the following:

Lift for a Vet

Selected by Chris Buchanan, Technical Program Manager and U.S. Veteran:

Founded by the The International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC), Lift for Vet buys and installs elevators, home lifts, stair lifts and wheelchair lifts for disabled U.S. military service Veterans. These installations play a significant role in helping Veterans return to their homes and reclaim their independence. The purchase, installation and maintenance of all lifts are free thanks to the Lift for Vet organization, which relies on donations to fund
its efforts.

Chris B. said, “This organization is important to me as well as my family, who have been personally involved for decades. My older brother is the person who goes to people’s homes and installs the stair lift, and it makes a big difference in Veterans’ day-to-day lives.”

K9 Veterans Organizations

Selected by Chris Drew, Systems Engineer and U.S. Veteran:

K9s for Warriors is determined to end veteran suicide by providing highly trained service dogs for military veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma. Since most of the dogs come from high-kill rescue shelters, this innovative program allows the K9/Warrior team to build an unwavering bond that facilitates their mutual healing and recovery.

Paws and Stripes provides animal-assisted therapy and other mental health services to military veterans and their loved ones living with service-connected trauma.

Chris D. explains, “I chose K9 service organizations because I understand the bond between a soldier and his K9 partner. Not only do our K9s save lives during the most chaotic of times, but they also continue this mission off the battlefield by servicing their fellow Veteran partners. Many combat Veterans are stubborn individuals and tend to have an easier time being vulnerable with animals than with people. This makes service dog organizations vital to the healing process for the Veteran and K9 partner who both sacrificed.”

Jeremey Dolby, Territory Account Manager and U.S. Veteran, adds, “I’ve met quite a few guys who benefitted from these K9 programs, and I’m really glad they were able to get the support they needed.”

Poly’s Backing

On Veterans Day this year, Poly encourages all our employees to donate to organizations that support Veterans through our Global Giving Program. This program offers a variety of ways to support Veterans, including the aforementioned K9 organizations. Poly’s Global Giving Program matches employee donations and volunteer hours up to $250 a year per employee.

We also continue to strengthen our internal community by fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace with Employee Resource Groups, such as the Veterans ERG, where employees continue to engage and support one another in their development, personally and professionally.

We know that Poly culture is shaped by our diverse group of employees who bring unique skills, training and backgrounds to our workplace. We are fortunate to be enriched by the Veterans working with us and proud to shine a light on the organizations that are special to them. Thank you all for your service, sacrifice and inspiration.

How your room video decisions can deliver an equal meeting experience for both in-room and remote workers

Hybrid work is causing businesses of all kinds to rethink what video conferencing equipment employees need to collaborate effectively, what their office workspaces should look like, and what it’s going to take to keep them productive and engaged. You need to facilitate more virtual meetings than ever before, but also create an environment for new kinds of hybrid work.

Today, nearly every meeting includes video and people calling in remotely, with your employees, partners, and customers getting down to business in your meeting rooms, from home, or while on the road.

The new goal for IT is meeting equality. It means using technology to provide a consistent, professional virtual meeting experience for those in the room, and those who are not. Doing anything less risks leaving remote employees feeling isolated, which can hurt team unity and lower productivity. What’s more, the image of your business will suffer if employees don’t look and sound professional when meeting with customers and partners.

To support hybrid work and meeting equality, you need to consider the impact of your room video equipment on people at all ends of the call.  That requires room video technology that keeps everyone neatly framed, well-lit, and heard loud and clear without background chatter, even if they’re writing on a whiteboard or moving around as they talk.

Part of what makes this tricky is that the landscape is changing, literally, meaning that post-pandemic you may be looking at conference rooms made bigger to support social distancing. Or new smaller meeting rooms and shared spaces used for collaboration. And with more virtual meetings lined up than ever before, your employees need audio and video equipment in all your group spaces that are easy to use, low-touch, and compatible with the unified communications (UC) platforms they already know.

Making the Right Technology Decisions

If you don’t select the right video conferencing equipment, or deploy it incorrectly in your meeting rooms, you risk sabotaging the hybrid work experience—and the ROI potential of your investment. Poly’s new eBook, 6 Critical Room Video Decisions that Can Make or Break Your UC Investment, gives you a deeper dive into these issues, including:

• Choosing from the three main types of conference room technology and determining which configuration is right for you: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), an in-room PC, or a dedicated video appliance. Each of these approaches to launching and running virtual meetings has its own set of pros, cons, and considerations.
• Managing employee expectations around virtual collaboration with in-office and remote workers. Employees on hybrid work schedules need technology that screens out background noise and helps them look and sound their best in a variety of shared spaces—from their home offices to small huddle rooms, shared desks, and their office cubicles. They also need portable equipment like headsets and webcams that are easy to pack up and move between locations to maintain consistently high-quality communications from wherever they work.
• Establishing a management and security process that extends to hybrid and remote workers. Learn how monitoring and analytic tools can help you manage and track all your audio and video equipment in the cloud, keeping users up and running while reducing service tickets and complexity for IT. In addition, the right vendor can help you manage the security/patching needs of meeting endpoints, along with providing safeguards for the actual cloud communication.
• Delivering a native or interoperable in-room experience with your UC platform. Avoiding vendor lock-in can be critical to accommodating your customers and partners and for future-proofing your investment. Consider video equipment that offers a desired native experience with popular platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom, as well as platform interoperability with all others.
• Identifying the vendor services and support you need for hybrid work. Do you have sufficient staff and resources to accelerate your hybrid working initiatives? Do you need to draw on vendor expertise for things like strategic planning, sizing, and aligning of your group spaces?

Poly understands what makes virtual meetings more human and equitable for everyone—no matter where they’re dialing in from. With pro-grade audio, video, and phone solutions that are easy to install, easy to use, and comfortable for all-day use, we can help you deliver an equal and consistently great virtual meeting experience for people across all your workspaces and on any UC platform.

LEARN THE 6 CRITICAL ROOM VIDEO DECISIONS THAT CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR UC INVESTMENT.

VIEW IN-ROOM VIDEO CONFERENCING SOLUTIONS

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I was at work when I got the call confirming I had breast cancer. I really expected to be told it was a false alarm, considering it was my first mammogram. My aunt had been diagnosed a few months earlier, first case in the family, which moved up the timeline of when I needed to be examined. The initial mammogram resulted in an ultrasound followed by a biopsy. The biopsy results came back negative! Phew, internally, I grumbled about all these additional tests that made me panic for no reason.

But then…I got a call. The radiologist didn’t agree with the pathologist’s findings, and I needed a second biopsy. What?! I called my primary doctor for input on this radiologist and how a second biopsy could find something. I was told this was extremely unusual, but the radiologist was well respected – and I needed the second biopsy. After, the radiologist called me himself. I did have cancer. I walked out of work stunned.

I was told repeatedly that it was good the radiologist questioned the initial results. If another year had gone by before my next mammogram, the doctors would be having very different conversations with me. I was also told how, even 10 years ago, if I had received the same diagnosis (HER2 positive), it would have been a much more dire prognosis. Oh, the advances that technology made!

Eventually, I began learning that ‘small wins’ are what make a good day. If I wanted, I could have a very pessimistic, negative attitude because I still had cancer, or I could embrace the small victories. It was difficult for me to lose my independence and accept help. I had a tough time coming to terms with my mother doing my laundry, others cooking and cleaning for me as well as being chauffeured around.

I distinctly remember that my first chemo treatment was on Halloween. The oncology department was decorated. I was scared – how would I feel, what would it be like? Then, my sister showed up. She said, “That’s what family is for. Family doesn’t let family do things like this alone!” We played cards and watched the activity on the floor.

Twice a week for three months, my sister drove three hours, round trip, to pick me up after chemo and take me to my parents’ house. She would make the same trip five days later to take me back to Santa Cruz for my weekly doctor appointments and the next chemo session. My aunt, weekly, sent me a card and little gifts counting down how many chemo sessions I had left.

Chemo was followed by radiation five days a week for six weeks. Friends drove me every day to radiation at seven in the morning. I told one person when my radiation was and, in less than 48 hours, all the slots on my care calendar were filled. For three months, people dropped off food at my house every week. These were the few times I saw friends, reminding me a little bit of my ‘normal’ life. These small things marked good days.

Now, I’m approaching the five-year anniversary of my last treatment. I get mammograms and body scans annually. I will always fear that cancer might come back. Still, there is comfort in knowing I’m not really in it alone, and, if necessary, I could make it through again – especially with the support of my family and friends. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I am very pleased that Poly is joining the fight.

Join the Fight with Pink Poly Sync 20 Speakerphone

To help raise awareness and support for this important cause, Poly is offering a limited-edition Pink Poly Sync 20 Speakerphone.  For every unit sold, Poly is donating $10 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to be used towards initiatives that combat breast cancer, including early detection, education, and support services for those affected. Learn more at: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

Spread the word about the Pink Poly Sync 20 to help fight breast cancer! It is available today at Poly.com or Amazon.