Video Conferencing Systems: Native Vs. BYOD (And Why You Need Both)

Employees want their employers to invest more in hybrid workplace technology. That’s the key takeaway from a recent study by Barco ClickShare, which surveyed 1,750 employees worldwide to get their thoughts on returning to the office in a post-pandemic environment.

Video conferencing technology tops the list of priority investments. On average, 77% of respondents said they use video conferencing systems at least once a week, with 28% using them every day. That isn’t surprising, considering the hybrid workplace model depends on robust video conferencing to facilitate communications and collaboration between globally dispersed workforces.

As employees return to the office, large and small organizations in Phoenix, AZ, and across the globe are scrambling to figure out the best way to provide video conferencing in the office. Two systems have emerged: native conferencing and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solutions.

A third option is rising to bridge the gap between native conferencing and BYOD to bring the ultimate video conferencing experience to meeting spaces. Crestron Flex is an all-in-one conferencing room system that combines the simplicity of native conferencing with the flexibility of BYOD modes.

Keep reading to learn more about native video conferencing, BYOD solutions, and why you can (and should) have both in your hybrid workplace. 

SEE ALSO: Successful Meetings Start With Crestron Conference Room Scheduling

Native Video Conferencing

Native video conferencing systems use dedicated conference room hardware with built-in conferencing software (like Zoom or Microsoft Teams). A conference room running a native system is managed via a single device, like a tabletop touchscreen. With one tap on the touch interface, room users can start a meeting, invite remote participants, and share content.

Native conferencing systems offer many advantages.

• Easy to use. Native conferencing systems standardize the user experience across all meeting spaces in a company. Everything you need to start a meeting, share content, and manage the room settings is available in an easy-to-use touch interface. With minimal training, employees can walk into any meeting room and confidently start a video conference.

• High-quality audio and video. Native systems are designed with dedicated, high-quality hardware solutions to provide crisp, clear, and clean audio/video for video calls. As a result, room users never have to fiddle with the sound and visual functions on a personal laptop or smartphone. Instead, they can walk into a meeting room, tap a button to start a call, and be assured of excellent audio and video every time.

BYOD Conferencing

While native systems standardize the video conference experience in the office, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) systems do the opposite. In a BYOD-enabled room, meeting participants connect their personal devices (laptops, mobile phones) to the room and host a meeting using the conferencing software running on their devices.

Employees like the ‘create your own adventure’ approach to meetings that allows them to use personal laptops as mobile command centers for all things work-related. Barco ClickShare’s study revealed that 56% of employees preferred to host video calls from their laptops, compared to 19% who prefer in-room systems and 18% who like to use smartphones.

BYOD solutions have several benefits.

• While native conferencing systems are an excellent solution for structured boardroom meetings, what about casual, informal gatherings in huddle rooms, hallways, and empty offices? BYOD solutions allow employees to plug in and connect wherever they are, whenever the inspiration hits, with whatever platform is most convenient.

• Native conferencing locks you into making and accepting video calls from a single platform. The dedicated system approach vastly limits your flexibility to connect and collaborate with vendors, partners, and customers who may be using different platforms. In contrast, BYOD-equipped rooms can be designed with multiple wired and wireless connection points to support different hardware devices running a variety of conferencing software solutions.

Crestron Flex: Dual-Mode Video Conferencing

With Crestron Flex, your organization can support native video conferencing and BYOD solutions in the same spaces. Flex provides your teams with the flexibility they need to connect to external vendors and partners on different platforms or communicate and collaborate effectively with internal team members using the company’s preferred platform. 

Crestron Flex is an all-in-one solution that includes everything you need to host productive, collaborative meetings: video conferencing, room scheduling, room control, and wireless content sharing. With the Flex tabletop device, you can switch effortlessly between native Zoom or native Microsoft Teams and a BYOD mode, depending on what you need at the moment.

As the workplace evolves, smart enterprise organizations invest their resources into next-generation meeting room design and intuitive room systems like Crestron Flex and XiO Cloud that empower employees to communicate, collaborate, and connect more efficiently and productively. If you’re ready to make upgrades to support the workplace of the future, reach out to Level 3 Audiovisual today. Call us or fill out an online form to connect with our team.