It was great to return to ISE 2023 in recent weeks and with over 1,000 exhibitors spaced out over 56,870 sqm of exhibit space – you could have spent 3 weeks going through each stand as opposed to the 3 days I spent there!   

Bizquip was founded on the provision of cutting-edge workplace technology almost 40 years ago. Although technologies have evolved considerably since our Managing Director Jim first opened our doors in 1984, one thing that has remained is how we adapt and evolve to match the changing needs of our clients.  

We are constantly looking at new technologies that will increase efficiencies in the workplace for our clients, and ISE Europe is one of the best ways to preview these and meet new partners.  The 4-day event is split into various conferences including The Smark Workplace Summit, The Smart Building Conference, and The Digital Signage Summit as well as various talks and discussions with industry leaders from across the globe.  It is great to be able to road test these new solutions and bring to the Irish market the global leaders in the provision of a range of workplace technology tools and solutions from AV and VC equipment to software all of which are designed to offer the best in class business process automation and a range of tools designed to help you manage your hybrid workplace.  Our passion for workplace technology has never lost pace since day one.  

It will come as no surprise that a very common theme throughout the exhibition halls was the hybrid workplace. How can technology enhance the experience of those working in hybrid environments, both from the home office and from the office office? Flexibility and Hybrid are here to stay so it was exciting to see what is available beyond the existing range of solutions from our partners.    

It was a great opportunity to meet with our current suppliers including GoBright, Barco, Poly, Yealink, and Logitech to see what innovations they will be introducing in the future, such as Hybrid office Apps and other space management solutions like Flowscape.   

Another key aspect of the hybrid conversation at ISE 2023 was the importance of user experience.  Hybrid needs to work for everyone, and meeting room technologies need to be user-friendly. 

If I were to focus on specifics that really caught my eye it would be around the incredible technologies and advances designed to bring everyone together using AV and VC tools and technology.  The strength in this area was the united opinion that the use of high-quality audiovisuals irrespective of location was imperative.  

Home office connectivity – Ensuring high-quality audio visuals irrespective of location  

For me, the Logi Dock from Logitech was a real winner in this space.  This all-in-one USB-C docking station with meeting controls and a speakerphone. The self-proclaimed Work-From-Home Superhero is designed to simplify your home office setup, reduce desktop clutter, and help remote workers feel more productive. Certified for leading video conferencing platforms and easy to set up, Logi Dock connects everything in one tidy unit that replaces the need for extra peripherals and eliminates a tangle of cables and wires.   

I also found the Poly Sync range from Poly to be excellent. This range of Bluetooth speakers and soundbars keeps the focus on voices, not background noise ensuring remarkable sound for meetings (and music!), very easily deployed and in a range of sleek modern designs to suit a range of spaces, from a home office to a large meeting space in a corporate office. 

BYOD  – Bring your own Device

There has been a big shift towards simple, BYOD soundbar and camera solutions for collaboration spaces and smaller meeting rooms over the past few years, which allows users simply plug in their laptop using either a single cable or wireless dongle to conduct a meeting with high-quality audio and video.  This was also evident in the technology on display at ISE2023.   

While there was no “game changer” new type of product in this space at ISE 2023, the solutions providers are really focused on the user experience and ease of use.  Two really popular solutions we provide our clients with are Yealink UVC40 and the Poly Studio X30. 

Larger Meeting Room Requirements  

For larger spaces such as boardrooms, training rooms, and larger meeting rooms – it is so important to facilitate an AV and VC system that works for you and your company. Reading that, you might think that is a very simple and obvious point, but It is surprising the number of companies we see that install incredibly complex systems unnecessarily which can be complicated to use.  

We have seen examples of situations like this where the technology goes unused due to the difficulty posed when trying to use it.  

There were plenty of innovative solutions on show to alleviate these challenges that users face, designed for ease of use on show at ISE 2023. 

“Meeting Equity” is a newer term being used showing that solutions providers are trying to create an equal experience for all meeting participants.   According to Barco, 71% of people struggle with Hybrid meetings and 1 in 3 remote workers feel disengaged in hybrid calls.  

A common issue for remote meeting participants is feeling less involved in meetings and finding they don’t contribute as much as the users who are in the face-to-face meeting room. Companies like Yealink and Poly are creating solutions to tackle this issue to enable a much more inclusive experience for remote participants.  

Two great examples of innovation to tackle the feeling of meetings being fragmented are the following; 

Again, we are leaning towards a Yealink product, this time the SmartVision 60, a new 360-degree panoramic Wide-angle camera from Yealink to create more inclusive meeting experiences.

Poly Studio showcased their Studio E70 camera, smart camera framing using AI to create a “People Framing” mode which recognises within the room and creates zoomed in tiles for each individual, enabling a much more inclusive meeting for remote users.   

 Simplifying Solutions  

The common thread across the whole event is in the need to simplify solutions and make them as user-friendly as possible for the SME/ corporate market.  All the technologies and hardware on display and immediately available to the market are designed to ease of use and ease of integration without any compromise to functionality or quality.   

Product of the Event  

It certainly caught the eye of everyone at the event including my own, it was impossible not to notice it, the LG a 272” MicroLED 8k screen was incredible to see. It was also reportedly bought off the standby by a La Liga footballer after seeing it, the reported purchase was north of € 1 million!  

All in all, ISE 2023 was an excellent event, and we look forward to expanding our partnerships to bring our clients the best Workplace Technology Solutions as your true workplace specialists.