5/30/2019

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Every year, Phenomenal Industries introduces at least one new GAMECHANGING product before InfoComm, AV’s premier commercial trade show.  Last year, there was an explosion of activity around ShareChair, the revolutionary huddle room collaboration product that blurred the lines between technology and furniture to change the way we share information.

It should be no surprise that this year, AV Phenom has raised the bar by moving beyond the Huddle Room and introducing a product that addresses issues across the entire office.

We all know that the concept of the Open Office has dominated workplace design for several years now.  Most new facilities are designed with an open concept that adheres to the principles of Activity Based Working or ABW.  However, not every company has the luxury of designing and moving into a new building.

“Moving a business or renovating an office can cost a lot of money,” said Phenom, “so I asked myself how I could provide a company and it’s employees the experience of an open office through the creative use of technology.”

And with that, Phenom’s new enterprise grade software product, OpenOffice247365, was born.

So how does it work?  Phenom gave us an overview.

“Open offices are notorious for noise transfer, but in a building full of sound proof spaces and private offices, it’s hard to get sound to travel. OpenOffice247365, when installed across a company’s various PCs and devices, enlists the microphones on the devices of the 10 people closest to you and then through proprietary DSP technology installed on the OpenOffice247365 Server, creates an audio soundscape of those 10 people and automatically plays it back through the speakers on your device, effectively knocking down those pesky walls, and creating a truly collaborative environment where everyone can hear everyone.”

Phenom went on to explain that open offices provide a lot of valuable data and transparency because many conversations that would normally happen behind closed doors are had out in the open.

“In an office place with private offices, walls, doors, partitions, it’s hard to know which employees the boss has issues with or which ones may be in danger of being demoted or fired.  That can be a problem, because as an employee trying to climb the corporate ladder, you don’t want to be associated with the people the boss hates. OpenOffice247365 solves that problem.  Employee reviews and disciplinary forms created in the software are automatically distributed over a state of the art AV over IP backbone to every monitor in the building, turning them into digital signage content that shames poor employees and alerts those around them to pick better workplace friends.”

When asked about the potential loss in productivity some open office critics purport, Phenom chuckled.

“Open offices can actually INCREASE productivity.  Sure, a private office that provides the opportunity for deep focus and detailed work may sound like a good thing, but giving an employee a door and the opportunity to position their desk in a way where their screen is hidden from everyone’s view just gives them permission to surf Insta or play Fortnite all day.  That’s where OpenOffice247365 comes into play by swinging a digital wrecking ball through the illusion of productivity offered by private spaces.  Every 30 seconds the software analyzes the screen of your PC and uses AI to tell if something is amiss.  If so, it sends your supervisor a screen shot of what is on your computer at that moment in time.  Advanced AR technology then superimposes a picture of your face frozen in shock to one side of the image, giving your boss the full effect of catching you red handed doing what you’re not supposed to.”

Phenom argues that this is not reminiscent of Big Brother at all, but really more in tune with many other software apps people use for time management and efficiency.

So if you’d like to get all the benefits of an open office without all of the cost, OpenOffice247365 by Phenomenal Software may be for you.  If you want to see the software in person, come by the Phenomenal virtual booth located next to the Hot Dog stand across for the OC Convention Center in Orlando. Phenom will be the tall, sweaty guy braving the Florida heat.