Volume 11, Issue 9 — May 13, 2020

UCC — Volume 11, Issue 9 — May 13, 2020

May 13, 2020 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 9

What was your (or your customers’) collaboration experience like pre-COVID-19? Are you missing the in-person interaction and spontaneous work sessions and brainstorms, or have you found a way to match the same creativity and output in an extended time of remote working?

For context, like many, I’m about two months into #WFH. I don’t know about you, but something is missing, even though I’ve loved my experience working remotely and finding that my coworkers and I are collaborating quite nicely with our good ol’ instant-messaging platform and Zoom. So what’s lacking? I want to say I’m missing the collaboration “experience.” But maybe I’m just confusing collaboration with being surrounded by coworkers (not that I don’t love my sweet shepherd mix, Zoey, and her not-so-sweet barking at the mail carrier every day).

While they go hand in hand, collaboration and in-person experience, I don’t think the two are synonymous. Collaboration comes in many forms — not just through the traditional means of everyone sitting in a room for an ineffective brainstorm dominated by Type-A personalities. Part of me dislikes when manufacturers claim their UCC product or solution can help you achieve “true” collaboration — because what does that even mean? Collaboration does not look the same for everyone, and it certainly isn’t the same for every company. How can manufacturers better explain and describe how their product helps achieve true collaboration? There’s the opportunity for a lot of experimentation here: What do we want “an experience” to be? How do we bring a community element and human nature to all these tech innovations? It’ll take a problem-solver to figure that out.

In addition to a jam-packed newsletter of product and industry news, this issue of rAVe UCC includes two hot takes on Zoom’s latest security updates; a thought piece on how (if?) installation verticals will weather the storm of COVID-19; and a fruitful piece from Christopher Gillespie on “ITIL, ITSM and the Challenge Confronting the AV World.” We also republished (exclusively, mind you) Julian Philips’ column, “The Not So Selfish Gene.” It’s a provoking read about how collaboration is hardwired into our DNA. Agree or disagree?

— Leah McCann

COLUMNS

+ Necessity Is the Mother of Invention [Scott Tiner]

Many of us are approaching our third month of stay-at-home orders (while others on the West Coast are looking at their fourth month). We — or at least I — spend much of our time thinking/dreaming about when this will come to an end so that we can get back to a normal routine. There will never be a “new normal.” That frame of mind will apply to our industry, too. Forward-looking firms are thinking right now about what this new normal will look like, and are beginning their pivot to meet that standard.

+ ITIL, ITSM and the Challenge Confronting the AV World [Christopher Gillespie]

Many of us in the AV industry are somewhat familiar with ITIL and its various relatives. However, it’s been my experience that not many of us understand what it’s about or why it exists. I was in that same boat for a long time, but as I started to learn more about these systems, I realized they are the missing link to our world. The entire purpose of this article is to help others see how this can help us, and maybe even kick-start adoption of (what I see as) the next stage of evolution in our industry.

+ I Watched Zoom’s Security Updates Webinar. Here Are the Takeaways. [Leah McCann]

I watched Zoom’s 45-minute “Get The Latest Product News From Zoom” webinar. When I received the lead, I figured it would be related to Zoom 5.0, the latest upgrade to Zoom and the result of its 90-day security-enhancement plan. From the webinar description, I had an idea of what to expect: “We’re excited to announce that Zoom 5.0 is now available! This release delivers one of our most advanced security enhancements to date. Join Zoom experts in this live webinar to walk through the latest release and participate in a Q&A session.”

+ How Will Installation Verticals Weather the Storm of COVID-19? [James Kirby]

Before the outbreak, installation was the fastest-growing segment across professional audio. This was driven by an increased emphasis placed on audio as a tool for engagement, but also by a switch to in-house equipment sales rather than rental. Everything has changed – dramatically.

+ Updated: How Zoom’s Recent Success Has Put Them Square in the Security Spotlight [Paul Konikowski]

Does the old saying, “There’s no such thing as bad press,” hold true for Zoom? I think it does. Zoom (ZM) closed at $159.38 per share on Friday April 24, 2020, about 4% down from its all-time high of $164.94 per share put in on March 23, only five weeks ago. Zoom will continue to receive criticism and there will certainly be some selling pressure. But once Zoom breaks the $165 price level, I would expect it to continue higher, just like it continues to take market share from other videoconference providers.

+ The Not So Selfish Gene [Julian Philips]

It would appear that the “selfish gene” is not so selfish after all. Although it remains true that survival and reproduction are ultimately the intended outcomes, our genes are being carried by a highly intelligent and adaptable species that realizes that mutual dependency and cooperation is a much more effective strategy than “every man and woman for themselves”; in other words, collaboration is hardwired into our DNA.