The ultimate home office upgrade

In 2021 our industry set to work adapting smart spaces to create effective collaborative environments that allowed businesses to enable their teams regardless of where we were working from. Working from home has become part of most people’s regular week so our resident smart meeting expert Sven Berckmoes discusses all the must-have technologies to create the ultimate home office.

Whether it's maximising our productivity, or maintaining a healthy work-life balance, finding new ways to adapt our hybrid spaces has been an integral part of the last two years. As the majority of meetings will now include at least one remote participant, it is crucial that they feel as connected as possible and have the best audio and video experience. Brands have really stepped up their game, demonstrating a clear understanding of what end-users need and what the future holds for hybrid working. When it comes to what the market is currently offering, there are some incredibly versatile innovations to check out as we move forward into 2022.

Huddly ONE

Having premium image and video quality is a necessity when creating a true collaborative experience. Transforming your home office into a professional video conference setup couldn't be easier with the Huddly One. Designed with home offices in mind, this 12 megapixel camera features HD wide-angle video, making for sharper picture quality and providing you with professional standards away from the office. The Huddly One also houses some AI enhancement features like portrait lighting that adapts to the changing lighting conditions you might be struggling with, working remotely.?

The Huddly One easily mounts on top of your desktop or laptop and the award winning sleek and compact design will fit into your laptop bag making it perfect for hybrid working, hotdesking and working on the go. Compatible with all platforms including Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and zoom, this straight out of the box solution is USB powered and suitable for either Mac or PC.?

Google Series One Desk 27 by Avocor

Google Meet has dialled up the game with the introduction of their new powerful personal collaboration tool, the all-in-one Series One Desk 27. With the ability to collaborate in real time, Google has given us the tools to easily co- work on documents across multiple devices, with or without the internet. This flexible approach meets the demands set by the cloud worker - recognising that the vast majority of the work day is conducted either on a browser or browser-based apps.??

The Desk 27 boasts an innovative and simple aesthetic, a seeming nod to Google’s recently announced hardware. However the curved edges, built in 4K camera and fabric covered soundbar with microphone array aren’t the highlight of the display’s innovative craftsmanship. The 27 inch touchscreen display is optically bonded, tilt-optimized for comfortable handwriting and features anti-fingerprint glass.

The Google Meet features on Desk 27 allow you to easily call up someone, start a scheduled video meeting or collaborate on Google Jamboard, Google’s digital whiteboard application. Excelling in giving the ultimate user experience, the device can also serve as a desk monitor, laptop docking station making it ideal for your designated home office.??

Crestron Flex Phone for Microsoft Teams

Superior audio and video conferencing, all at your fingertips, whatever space you're in. The Crestron Flex phone features one-touch Teams accessibility to offer quick and easy meeting experiences so users can instantly access any meeting, share notes and collaborate directly from the device.?

By handling all audio, video, and content sharing, the Crestron Flex phones frees other devices to be used as productivity tools during a meeting, fostering a collaborative experience that is more immersive and less frustrating. This minimises inefficient task-switching, streamlines ad hoc communication, and allows users to segment their schedule and workload more efficiently.

Microsoft Viva?

Investing in the ultimate work set-up is one thing, but maintaining a healthy work life balance is one way to fully maximise your productivity when working from the home office.? Microsoft Viva Insights has integrated various new modes including an innovative employee experience program which encourages just this. The platform brings together communications, insights, topics and learning; and offers personal and private insights to maximise the way employees work. The application prioritises wellbeing by including actionable recommendations, such as shielding specific time for breaks away from the computer. Viva Insights will also encourage users to immerse themselves with leading meditations app Headspace. This new feature will include daily meditation exercises, to help employees start their day focused, relax before a big presentation, or simply unwind after a busy day. While offering employees various ways to relax, the app also encourages focus mode. This feature amalgamates both music and timers to help progression with specific tasks, ensuring employees can meet deadlines whilst still encouraging regular intervals.

Logi Dock

If your home desk is anything like mine you will probably know the issue of having too many cables running over your desk connecting to your laptop. The Logi Dock is an all-in-one docking station that is built for the hybrid working space. It’s mission is to remove the cable clutter and give a great user experience enabling video conferencing features across different platforms. The Logi Dock can connect up to 5 USB peripherals and 2 monitors, allowing an easy one-cable connection, running over USB-C, to connect to your personal computer. It also charges your laptop up to 100W, giving you instant access to everything you need to get your work done.?

The built in speaker and microphone array makeup for a full fledged video conferencing solution. The controls on the Dock allow you to enable one touch join when your meeting starts, to control your volume and even allows you to turn your camera on and off with a single touch of the button, regardless of the platform you are using. If you are using Logitech’s Zone headset or earbuds you can also simply switch your audio between the different devices. If you are using Logi Tune, Logitech’s app to manage personal collaboration solutions, you can also take Dock to the next level and enable integration with your personal calendar. Logi Dock is built to work with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Zoom and will give you a great user experience regardless of the collaboration platform you are currently using. You can even program the light’s to show you when you have an upcoming meeting or show people around you when you are in a meeting! Handy, right?

What’s coming next?

ISE will be a hotbed of innovation from all of Maverick’s brand partners, with increasingly intelligent and intuitive products reaching the market in 2022. We’ll have all the latest news and specs available here on the Maverick blog.