Why Poly is a Smart Choice for Enterprise Meeting Room Solutions

In the not-too-distant past, setting up a video conferencing room was an exercise in integration. Separate cameras, microphones, speakers, processing, interconnects, and control interfaces all had to be integrated into a cohesive system. Many conference rooms are still custom-built this way, depending on the specific needs of that space and the organization. However, there has been a rise in the “appliance” meeting room solution, an integrated solution that solves the audio and video communication needs of most conference rooms. 

Some of the best of those solutions come from Poly, a longtime player in conference room AV, starting with the ubiquitous Polycom conferencing phones from the 1980s that were found in most corporate meeting rooms. Now, you might think, does an appliance-type solution work for the enterprise? One of the things that aids in deploying meeting room solutions across hundreds or thousands of rooms in disparate locations is standardization. If you can operate a solution in each space that is consistent in usage and operation, you decrease complexity, downtime, and cost. Aided by the fact that Poly is now part of HP and has worldwide distribution and support, solutions like the Poly Studio appliance series are a smart choice for enterprises in Phoenix, AZ, and around the world. 

Keep reading below to explore the benefits of Poly meeting room solutions for your organization.

SEE ALSO: Managing Meeting Room Solutions Just Got Easier

Teams or Zoom? Your Choice

With the rise of hybrid work, one of the most important capabilities of video conferencing systems is compatibility with Microsoft Teams or Zoom, the most popular unified collaboration platforms today. With a Poly Studio solution, you don't have to choose between them. Poly Studio video bars like the X30 and X50 make it easy to schedule, start, and join meetings on both platforms and integrate the conference room seamlessly with screen sharing and virtual whiteboards. 

But while compatibility with basic collaboration platform features is essential, leveraging advanced features is even better for increased productivity and engagement. For example, Poly supports Zoom's High-Fidelity Audio mode, which uses digital audio processing to improve the intelligibility of conversations by reducing background noise. Poly also supports Zoom Smart Gallery, which can detect the person speaking and automatically focus the camera on that person in the meeting room. 

In Microsoft Teams, Poly supports Together mode, which makes meetings more inclusive and in-person by grouping remote participants together on a virtual background. Poly also supports Teams Dynamic View, which allows participants to customize how they view meeting content, such as rearranging video feeds or showing shared content alongside the participants.

Support for Legacy Video Conferencing Systems

Many companies have significant investments in legacy video conferencing systems that still work and are not quite ready for retirement. Poly supports these systems as endpoints using industry-standard protocols like SIP and H.323. In addition, they support proprietary ones like TIP employed by Cisco solutions that were popular in enterprise systems. Poly’s RealConnect cloud-based software service enables legacy systems to connect with Microsoft Teams and Zoom, enabling enterprises to leverage existing video conferencing AV investments with these modern platforms. 

Monitoring and Management

Enterprises with hundreds or thousands of rooms need efficient tools to manage AV systems. Poly Lens is the company's answer to remote management for Poly systems. Lens has several features that allow AV and IT staff to ensure maximum uptime on conference room systems. From a single web interface, the system monitors Poly device operation, troubleshoots issues, runs diagnostics, and updates system software and firmware. When a new Teams or Zoom feature is enabled, Lens can quickly deploy it across the enterprise. 

Poly Lens also provides other critical features for management. It collects analytics and insights into meeting room usage, including device utilization, call statistics, and network performance. These analytics help enterprise AV and IT staff determine usage patterns and better plan for AV investments. Poly Lens also maintains a system inventory, offering a centralized source for understanding where all the equipment is in the organization.

Poly Lens also allows for customization and configuration to meet the needs of different parts of the organization. The user interface can be customized for the needs of an executive boardroom versus one used by a software engineering team. Lens also allows for standardization of camera, microphone, security, and other settings to ensure smooth interoperability across all the rooms in the company. 

If you need assistance in modernizing and upgrading many meeting rooms across your company with Poly solutions, we can help. Level 3 Audiovisual is a Tempe, Arizona-based national managed services provider helping organizations of all sizes across the U.S. design, deploy, and manage AV systems and infrastructure. Learn more by reaching out to Level 3 Audiovisual or clicking the chat box below to connect instantly. We look forward to working with you.