70 INTERVIEW The smart workplace imperative Businesses must enhance collaboration spaces and AV-IT integration to support hybrid work. AVIXA’s Peter Hansen discusses meeting equity, seamless conferencing, managed service models and more BY ALICE CHAMBERS Collaboration spaces are vital for offices, and 39 per cent of organisations plan to upgrade these areas in the next year, according to the Market Opportunity Analysis Report (MOAR) produced by the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA). Meanwhile, 31 per cent aim to update individual workspaces, corporate training facilities and control rooms. Peter Hansen, economist at AVIXA, explains how businesses are overcoming the challenges of hybrid meetings and supporting both remote and in-person participants. Please give us a brief overview of what the smart workplace of today looks like, and an insight into how you see it evolving in the future. A smart workplace is where an employee is happy and productive and has all the technology they need to be successful serving them in a seamless way. Critical challenges are seen in hybrid meetings, where too often the remote workers have a better presence than in-person attendees, and in efforts to compress the space used by workers occasionally in the office. Employees expect the in-person workplace to be better than the at-home one – and the latter is usually pretty solid, so this is a high bar to compete with! What types of office spaces are being upgraded to support hybrid work? Collaboration spaces are a priority, with organisations focusing on increasing usability and meeting equity. High-quality audiovisual (AV) technology is also in demand, particularly for executives who want to impress clients remotely. This trend, known as broadcast AV, has grown significantly postpandemic. Additionally, investments in lighting and digital signage are helping to create more inviting office environments that compete with home setups. The importance of software is also growing, with 52 per cent of organisations planning to increase their investment in software, according to MOAR. Why are organisations shifting towards managed services/ operational expenditure (OPEX) models for conference rooms? There are so many motivations behind the movement towards managed services/OPEX for conference rooms. Especially early on post-pandemic, end users were paying for conferencerooms-as-a-service out of uncertainty; they knew they needed some kind of hybrid setup, but the norms were so far from established that they didn’t want to commit to a big, long-term, capital expenditure-style solution. The as-a-service approach was a way to stay up to date with minimal friction and predictable costs. Another key motivation has been the rise of Microsoft Teams. It has motivated a movement towards managed services/OPEX in a few ways. To start, the ongoing evolution of the software platform often necessitates hardware upgrades to maintain full compatibility. Then, the physical layout of the rooms makes it easier to swap new equipment as needed rather than the old, wholesale revamp of the traditional capex model. Beyond external factors, the AV industry has long been interested in “ The biggest challenges for an effective hybrid meeting room is bring-your-owndevice compatibility and ease of use” Photo: iStock/xavierarnau
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