106 INTERVIEW Improving the collaborative space In a world of hybrid work, it is important that employees can hear, and be heard, clearly. Shure’s Tyler Troutman tells us more BY AMBER HICKMAN “ Developing our partnership with Microsoft is more valuable than ever” Organisations around the world are navigating changing work trends and establishing environments that allow their employees to be productive in a way that suits them. But what does this entail? “The return to the office has been a big focus lately, and we’ve seen a lot of companies asking their employees to start coming back into the office,” says Tyler Troutman, manager of strategic market development at Shure. “But this doesn’t mean the hybrid experience is going away and there is a big focus on making sure that both in-person and hybrid employees have an equitable experience.” Virtual conferencing over platforms such as Microsoft Teams is a vital part of creating a hybrid work environment. However, employee efficiency is diminished if organisations use low-quality audio technology that results in unclear voices, poor connectivity and inaccurate transcripts. Shure aims to solve this issue by providing a full ecosystem of audio solutions, including microphones, digital signal processors and loudspeakers, that fit the needs of businesses wherever they are on their hybrid journey. “Employees want to be able to collaborate and engage as a team and high-quality audio solutions are key to this,” says Troutman. “We work to ensure that audio pickup with our devices is the exact same for every single person in the room, wherever they are sat. This makes it so everyone is heard on the exact same level by external participants.” Shure’s latest offering, an audio conferencing kit for small and medium conferencing rooms, is one such solution. The kit contains the Shure MXA902 Ceiling Array Microphone with built-in loudspeaker and the ANIUSB-MATRIX Audio Network Interface, which provides seamless connectivity to conferencing platforms like Teams. The devices are pre-routed and paired for user convenience. “The main benefit of this kit is that it’s really a touchless system,” says Troutman. “In the past, a setup like this would require more configuration on the user side. Now we are doing that work for them. All the user has to do is pull it out of the box, plug it into the network and everything is ready for them to use.” The out-of-the-box functionality makes it ideal for businesses just starting to establish hybrid workspaces, or those that don’t have the budget or time to invest in external sound engineering. Furthermore, by working with Microsoft to ensure the devices are Teamscertified, users don’t have to worry about compatibility issues and can get to work quickly. According to Troutman, collaborating with Microsoft and ensuring smooth functionality with Teams is an important part of Shure’s mission to providing value for organisations. “As the world is progressing more towards virtual Teams Rooms, developing our partnership with Microsoft is more valuable than ever as it is shaping the future at the application
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