Commercial Integrator 2023 - 64

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C llab rati n
TODAY and TOMORROW
RoomReady on Simplicity,
Consistency and Uniformity
Collaboration Today and Tomorrow chats with RoomReady's
Aaron McArdle on the drive for meeting spaces to be simple,
while also ensuring that rooms across the country - and
across the world - are deployed consistently.
Aaron McArdle, founder
and CEO, RoomReady.
Collaboration Today and
Tomorrow: What dominant
trends are you seeing in
collaboration today?
AARON McARDLE: It's still
more of the same: the gross
simplification of collaboration
meeting spaces. Our
goal has always been to
simplify meeting spaces,
and, so, this is just a continuation
of that for us. We
were seeing that trend begin
pre-COVID-19, and it just
continues to be reinforced
as we move further and
further away from it. Organizations
want more rooms
that are video-enabled...
collaboration-enabled...for
less price. And they're willing
to make compromises to
accommodate that.
CT&T: How do RoomReady
solutions align with
these dominant trends?
McARDLE: In 2015 or 2016
is when we really started to
focus on the RoomReady
portion of our business. And
that was, simple is better
[and] speed matters. We
could deliver better solutions
for our customer if we could
take out unnecessary parts...
if we could talk them through
64
the value of a simple system.
So, we've been doing this for
a very long time. And then,
along with the simplification
of systems also comes the
value of documentation,
accuracy [and] consistency.
Not only should the meeting
room in New York function
exactly like the meeting
room in Los Angeles for an
organization, it also should
be exactly the same material,
wired exactly the same [and]
documented exactly the
same. And there's a real art to
that, actually. Just because
it's simple doesn't mean
it's easy. And, so, the more
systems that we put in place,
the complexity lies then in
the consistency between the
delivery of the solution.
And, so, that's where we've
shifted our focus. You know,
RoomReady, at one time,
we were trying to develop
really the next big thing from
a software standpoint. We
have 12 patents on collaboration
equipment processes.
And our focus now, in the
last several years, has really
just become, " How can we
do simple better than anyone
in the world? " And that's
what we continue to chase.
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2023
CT&T: How does the idea
of meeting equity fit with
those ideas of uniformity
and consistency?
McARDLE: That probably
is the single largest shift
from pre-COVID-19 to postCOVID-19.
You used to look
at the person who was the
remote participant - the
person not in the meeting
room - as the person who
was at the disadvantage. And
so, when we were talking
about systems and meeting
equity, we were saying,
" OK, well, Joe and Jane are
remote, and so we want to
give them as good of an
experience as possible. So,
we want the microphones in
the room to be tuned well.
We want to be able to hear
everyone. We want to be able
to see the whole room on
camera. And then, we come
back spending from a year or
longer working from home
- having a talking head in
front of us - right? And it
zoomed in on everyone in
the meeting.
And, now, the people at
home, at their workstation,
with multiple monitors, all
their tools in front of them...
they're at the advantage
in the meeting space. The
people who are sitting in
the meeting room are at
somewhat of a disadvantage.
So, the meeting equity and
trying to create equity across
all participants has shifted
where our focus is. And
so, as the systems are now
shifting toward that, you see
it with all the manufacturers
coming out with intelligent
framing or people focus.
That's a huge shift. And also,
that's a huge shift from the
design aspect, where the
integrator's not the one driving
the innovation into that
space; it's the platform and
the hardware manufacturer.
So, as the integrator, again,
our job is just to install the
room exactly how the manufacturer
and the platform
require us to do it. Don't try
to get too slick with custom
applications. Because the
platform provider is probably
going to change things
regularly. And so, if you build
something for the now,
there's a strong chance you
put your customer at a disadvantage
in the future. So,
it's more important than ever
to just follow the script.
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Commercial Integrator 2023

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