Or is it?
Huddle Rooms are a bit like Orgies, everyone is talking about them but no one seems to be taking part?
But, all of that is set to change. But, for me change will be now and as a result of great products from legacy manufacturers and not from Productisation!?
First, the resistance to mass adoption. Why? I like to think that the perfect Huddle solutions are only just coming to market now (more on this later) but, the other reason would be that small groups meet from the desk.
I am extremely proud of our culture at Involve, we drink our own champagne (eat our own dog food) & when I walk the floor of our open office, I frequently see participants from different desks joining the same small group meetings (yes, rooms are available) But, why try to change this? It works and reduces the need for what could be more investment in meeting spaces. Our meeting spaces are virtual / in the cloud. We really are our own best case study!
So, if resolution is needed, what does it look like? In a recent one-2-one meeting with one of the Wainhouse experts, we discussed Huddle at some length and the biggest take away was that we both agreed …
User Priorities for a Perfect Huddle Space;
- Audio
- Content
- Video
And, here lies the problem to date. Most Huddle meeting solutions were from the traditional video vendors who build with a first priority of video and video isn’t the number one priority!
So, don’t be fooled into thinking that a NUC with some bits bolted to it is a good Huddle experience. It isn’t, especially if you add a criteria of reliable / easy to use!?
What is?
Spark Board and Surface Hub would make ideal huddle space solutions, based on the above criteria, but if the fourth criteria is cost, scale might be an issue here?!
For me, leaving two great options from a some very safe hands in the industry…
Polycom Trio
Tried & Tested, it’s a workhorse of the future. Polycom really have developed the SoundStation for the 21st Century with this product.
We can expect many more developments and all of them should be to benefit the user and deployments at scale.
- It’s easy to use
- Great Audio
- Good Video
- Content works, but is proprietary.
- There’s a Skype for Business version too!
Crestron Mercury
Voice; I didn’t hear a demo at ISE, but all other audio from Crestron really do deliver (have you seen their new DSP?)
Content; Here’s one of the killer applications. It’s shipped with AirMedia, a tried and tested wireless presentation system.
Video; it does it and it does it just like the Trio does it. Except, I understand that when connecting a laptop via USB, it passes the camera / audio through to any soft client on the PC? (Love it!)
We’re not trying to divide opinion here and there are some very nice solutions from other very reliable manufacturers, I have simply picked out what I might buy / use and offering some advice, it’s free / on the house.
Contact us for further advice…. Sales@involve.vc
Jason Ward, Sales Director
