Enhanced video conferencing and state of the art furniture from Sharp and Salamander are bringing conference rooms to the next level.

It may be hard to believe during the current state of uncertainty in this country, but the Modern Workspace is a significant piece of the Pro AV industry. When offices eventually reopen, the modern workspace may look slightly different than we’re used to, but there is no denying that room analytics and smart space management will be a tantalizing feature for businesses regardless.

Companies that are upgrading their huddle rooms and conference rooms to enhance video conferencing capabilities should consider the Windows collaboration display from Sharp. The first display to be certified by Microsoft delivers Windows® 10 and Office 365® at room scale on a huge 4K screen, enabling multiple users to collaborate together. It is Skype for Business certified and Microsoft Teams enabled and can be daisy-chained via dual source side-by side capability and extend mode for an even larger collaborative canvas.

Making spaces smarter with the embedded sensor hub is what makes the Windows collaboration display even more special. Using Azure IoT, the sensor hub can detect room occupancy to determine the location of people to turn on displays nearest each individual and even amplify their voice with a three-dimensional microphone. In turn, this allows the opportunity for better management of room-booking systems. Additionally, temperature and lighting are detected by sensors to help provide a better understanding of energy utilization. Whether there’s small breakout with 2-3 people or a large meeting with 12 or more, the sensor hub can help provide data allowing you to optimize your meeting spaces for a more comfortable and productive environment for all involved.

Simply enhancing the video capabilities is but one piece of upgrading collaboration. When it’s time for a technology refresh, it’s time for Salamander Designs. Now is the perfect time to leverage this high quality, fully customizable solution to transform and refresh your workspace. Even simple, preconfigured cabinets and carts will immediately improve productivity and collaboration with premium furniture engineered to make today’s offices mobile, global and better than ever before. Whether your needs require display stands or cabinets, Salamander stands will keep everything safe and supported while still looking great. Mobile stands are also available for easy portability between workspaces.

With Sharp and Salamander products combined, you’ll have top of the line smart display technology supported by the best furniture to bring any conference room to the next level.

Sharp has strategically partnered with Salamander Designs and Almo to offer five Windows Collaboration Display Bundles giving you incredible savings opportunities never seen before. Integrators that become Windows collaboration display certified will save $1700 per display as well as up to an additional $300 on the mobile stand or cabinet when purchased as a bundle.

One way or another, school is coming this fall.  Tips for being prepared.
Written by Rob Voorhees, Business Development Manager, ALMO

 

We find ourselves smack in the middle of July when days are getting hotter and in years past, we might find ourselves looking forward to August vacations or days by the pool.  However, 2020 has continuously thrown curveball after curveball, and we continue to adapt as best as we can.  If your house is anything like mine, one of the biggest topics has been “what is happening when schools open in September?” Considering my wife is an elementary teacher and my daughters will be entering 7^th and 4^thgrades respectively, I multiply that same question by 3 every day.  My home state of NJ is fortunate in that we have begun to reopen in phases, and it was recently announced that our schools could reopen although with a very large “IF” attached to it.  School districts nationwide are being advised to space out desks, close cafeteria lunches, and ban recess time in order to protect our children, our teachers, and our communities as a whole.  Some schools have already announced the continuation of remote schooling or even a hybrid model for the upcoming year.  This is where the term “Distance Learning” really resonates with us all.

Distance Learning is not as simple as just recording a lesson and emailing it to your students.  I certainly learned that earlier this year as I saw the hours that my wife was spending on lesson plans, zoom calls, and videos to help her students as best as possible.  Not to mention the frustration she would have with managing the shrinking attention spans of children and ensuring her video calls did not crash on a daily basis.   A close friend of mine, who is also a teacher, has told me “distance learning was challenging.  I worked more hours than I did while in the classroom and nearly everything had to be created from scratch to best accommodate each of her students. The technology component was also a challenge because teachers were expected to learn each of these new platforms with little to no preparation or background.”   As most can attest, one particular challenge in distance learning is the need to now rely on the internet and technology more than ever.  Simply put, if you cannot access the internet, you cannot access the day’s lesson.  Comcast, amongst other internet service providers, took the initiative early on and made affordable internet available to everyone while others managed their nationwide networks to prevent from congestion or outages.  You then also need to ensure you have the proper tools to access the internet.  Several districts across the country will supply students with Chromebooks each year, which is a great start. Internet Bandwidth Service remains an essential service and if schools are debating on hybrid schedules or full remote learning models, they will need to ensure the bandwidth is available for the lessons to be streamed each day.  Hybrid models will mean every teacher has a smaller class during the day while simultaneously being recorded so their remote students at home can learn at the same time.  Now imagine 20+ teachers all doing this at the same time and you can see where network congestion and outages will become a headache.  It becomes important to team with an A/V integrator and solution partner like ALMO who can provide an analysis of the current bandwidth at the school and then make recommendations for improvements based on the number of employees and the number of devices.  In several cases, this type of analysis could also lead to larger cost savings over an annual basis, which is one thing most school districts would love to see!  “What about the students at home?” you might be asking.  School districts can now supply mobile hotspots or tablets with built in access to students in need to ensure that everyone can access the same material.  There is also a reporting and device management layer to this, which the schools would find essential.  Administrators can have access to deactivate lost or stolen devices, escalate issues due to improper usage, or even identify cost saving measures by using the account analysis features.  All of this becomes a necessity if we are truly looking to embrace a new norm for our children and educators.  I think my closest friends and I are in agreement in that virtual schooling has become a necessity.  While currently imperfect, there is definitely a bigger opportunity in September for improved engagement between teacher/student as well as some much needed social interaction between student/student.  

In closing, I commend our school districts for navigating these difficult times and my hope is with the above suggestions and by partnering with the right integration firms and AV distributors they can alleviate some of the technological stress our students, teachers, and parents are facing and will face moving forward.  To help, ALMO Pro AV will be hosting a special Distance Learning Preparedness webinar on July 31^st at noon ET to share ideas and insights on pivotal technology equipment for a smoother and more effective hybrid learning environment when school is back in session. Lastly, let us all continue to stay safe and do our small part to make the learning experience easier this fall and beyond. 

Learning everything about digital signage

There’s a great solution for integrators wanting to learn a lot more about all aspects of Digital Signage. The Digital Signage Federation(DSF) has worked with subject matter experts from around the industry to create over two dozen online classes as part of a micro-credentialing program.  Training covers everything from the basics, to specific topics for hardware, software, scheduling, project planning and content. Courses were developed by Digital Signage Federation members working as volunteers to deliver educational content to industry peers.

Courses are about 30 minutes so they are perfect for learning a topic at whatever pace makes sense. Courses include a short quiz at the end and return a certificate of completion when done. Courses area always being added throughout the year as more contributors add to the growing library.

These courses are limited to DSF members, so you do need to first register yourself or your company to gain access. Once in, there’s hours of courseware available.

Ryan Cahoy, DSF Board Member and Managing Director of Rise Display provides some clarity about how these courses were developed.

“The Digital Signage Federation’s mission is to help our industry grow through ongoing education.  We have a very diverse membership so our approach has been From Members – By Members.  This approach has allowed experts in each field to share their expertise, such as the 2 courses contributed by Almo on interactive content design.  Today we have over 30 active courses with new releases each month.  We would encourage Almo reseller partners to join the DSF to get access to the entire library to and expand their digital signage knowledge.”

Learning about content

As Ryan mentions, I contributed two courses, a basic overview of content and a more advanced course on experiential content. The basic overview provides a good introduction to content creation, content strategy and workflows. The experiential course goes over interactive and dynamic content, both for close up touch screens and more complex at a distance experiences.

Getting involved

The great thing about this program is the DSF is always looking for more content, and they accept multiple contributions on similar topics. If you’re interested in contributing a course, reach out to me and I’ll connect you with the right people at the DSF.

I thought I would share with you what it has been like working from home with a full house. No schools or pre-schools open. Inside playgrounds, restaurants etc. all shut down and it’s been raining all morning here in Utah.

I have 3 kids here today, 2 of them under the age of 5, To keep from going crazy and to have a bit of fun I thought I’d share a log of activities, but instead of referring to them as kids or by their names I just substituted co-worker since this is our place of business. True Story. Read On…

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Co-worker activity log

6:45 am – co-worker barges in as I am preparing for the day loudly quotes Olaf from Frozen 2 – “Turtles can breathe through their butts”

7:21 am – co-worker has me put movie Frozen on TV in common area, loudly sings “let it go”

7:30 am – 5.7 earthquake hits SLC, building shakes, co-worker yells from other room “can you bring me some milk”

9:30 am – second co-worker finally shows up interrupts zoom call and argues with me about having Cheetos for breakfast

10:22 am – co-worker pees all over the toilet seat in bathroom and yells from bathroom for someone to come clean it up

11:15 am – co-workers run into my office yelling excitedly for me to come see the farm they made in the common area with Jenga blocks and stuffed animals. Left mess for someone else to clean up – Jenga pieces everywhere.

• 

• 

11:49 pm – co-workers playing “pretend” co-worker 1 yells at co-worker 2 for not playing pretend correctly, fight breaks out – both co-workers hysterically crying

11:52 other co-worker finally shows up interrupts asking for wifi password, so they can hook up their Xbox

11:54 pm – other co-workers back to playing pretend as if nothing happened

12:13 pm – co-worker yells at me to come open bathroom door cause their hands are messy

1:09 pm – fight breaks out between co-workers over possession of item, co-worker frantically crying yells for their momma

1:17 pm – co-workers play pretend again as if nothing happened moments before

1:25 pm – co-worker takes a break from Xbox demands I make them something to eat

How’s your new normal going?

With the uncertainty of the current times, most businesses are looking for a way to “bridge the gap”, and AV integration firms are no different.  While some have already made the difficult decision to lay employees off, others are doing what they can to maintain their employee base, and keep them busy with any project to generate revenue.

Because of the previous growth, many AV integration firms focused on low hanging fruit, because it was all they could do to keep up with demand. If nothing else, companies have now been forced to review their current portfolio to determine how they can branch out, or go deeper with their current client base.

Below are a few ideas on how integrators can utilize their current sales staff to engage on selling services that were previously overlooked.  This may provide a way to get them over any current hurdles, as well as build toward the future.

Because of the fluidity of the COVID-19 pandemic, communication has become even more of a key factor than before.  With the need to get a message out quickly, digital communication has proven most vital.  Clients that hadn’t previously invested in digital signage for internal communication may now see the great value that instant communication provides.  

Adding a few screens around an office where information can be easily and quickly disseminated is now viewed by most as a necessity.  A simple message about upcoming business hours, or even proper hand washing seemingly an afterthought previously is now seen as vitally important.

With many employees now working from home, increased network bandwidth has proven a necessity for business.  The importance of allowing employees to access servers and other assets on the network for a seamless virtual workplace, is now a reality for many.   

The additional benefit digital signage and internet service can provide to the integrator is the ability to build a portfolio that provides a steady stream of recurring revenue.  This is especially beneficial when business isn’t growing as expected, or something as simple as a slow playing client makes cash flow tight.

Most integrators have thought about investing the time and personnel on additional divisions, but because of the lack of experts available, or the consistent growth, they just haven’t.  Now with the market slowdown, adding additional personnel is most likely furthest from their mind. Now for the “antidote” – With numerous services available, Almo is here to help our clients looking to diversify, and find a way to add revenue without adding the expense of additional employees.  

Our expert staff, who help clients navigate a new offering by participating, or even leading a call with the end user, allows our clients to branch out without the hassle and expense of finding their own expert staff.  Contact your Almo rep for additional information on how we can help go deeper with your client and find untapped sources of revenue.

ALMO is here to help.