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The Enterprise Connect Show: A Focus on Unified Communications and Collaboration

enterpriseconnect-0315This past week, I attended the Enterprise Connect show in Orlando Florida as an invited media representative for rAVe, my first experience of this kind. I have been to many AV, IT, mobile and cyber security trade shows as an attendee, however my perspective from the side of a media representative created a whole new experience. With camera and wireless microphone, I recorded interviews with collaboration industry executives as well as conducted booth interviews learning more about a company’s solutions at the same time.

I talked with numerous mainstream audio visual industry solutions providers however I also visited with companies that might not be as well known in the industry where they were able to hold the microphone and record a booth interview as well. As a writer and technologist, I was able to conduct UCC-based interviews with discussion on cloud computing, virtualization, mobility/BYOD and security as well as solutions including Skype for Business, one of the major topics of technology discussion at the show.

Here are notes on and pictures of some of the solutions providers at the show:

AGT: AGT has improved the way organizations communicate and collaborate for over 20 years. Their passion for technical innovation, visual communication and customer service have been the cause for their success over the years. They help enterprises, government entities and educational institutions with every aspect of their collaborative environment, from audio visual design and integration, to managed services and cloud video conferencing.

AGT Mark Cray

CEO Mark Cray 

Crestron: Crestron RL 2 is a complete group collaboration solution. It combines Crestron hardware with Microsoft® Lync® 2013 software, the popular and powerful server-based application that many companies already use on a daily basis. It enables real-time group collaboration on conference room displays, rather than on personal laptops. It incorporates video, voice, interactive content sharing, presence, and chat from one touch screen interface.

Crestron Steve

Executive Director Business Development Steve Samson

Pexip: Pexip Infinity is radically enhancing and simplifying the user experience for face-to-face communications. For conferences that include any variety of clients and endpoints such as Microsoft® Lync® or Skype™, traditional videoconferencing solutions, and simple Web browser-based video endpoints, the Pexip Infinity platform is reinventing the way organizational members meet on any device. At the same time, it wipes out the need for substantial investments for dedicated infrastructure. Purely software-based and virtualized, Pexip Infinity uses existing IT and cloud infrastructure to deliver video, audio, and Web-based collaboration — resulting in a visual communications platform that is incredibly easy to install, deploy, operate, and, most importantly, use.

Pexip Jordan

VP of Architecture Jordan Owens

Polycom: Whether in a conference room, open office space, home office or coffee shop, collaboration solutions are necessary to transform the way teams collaborate, regardless of distance or device. Recent enhancements to Polycom RealPresence Group Series make it ideal for high-impact meetings in any size space, creating a seamless collaboration experience from anywhere.

Polycom Tom Mills

Solutions Architect Tom Mils

Tata Communications: Tata Communications will be launching Insta CC—a cloud-based contact center solution powered by Cisco’s Hosted Collaboration Suite. By leveraging Tata’s network of 1,600 service providers in over 240 countries, customers will be able to bring this contact center solution to emerging markets. The addition of InstaCC Global™, Hosted Lync and Click2RTC™ services to Tata Communications’ UC portfolio brings together multiple technology platforms to enable seamless and ubiquitous applications and services with integrated voice, video, chat and presence, delivered from the cloud and accessible through a rich set of APIs and software development kits (SDKs).

Tata Anthony Bartolo

President of Unified Communications and Mobility Anthony Bartolo

SMART Technologies: SMART kapp is the dry-erase board reinvented to actually improve business collaboration and productivity. Easily capture, save and share notes by connecting your board to smartphones, tablets and computers. With SMART kapp everyone can see the board’s contents update in real time during brainstorming and problem solving sessions – no matter where they are in the world.

SMART Ryan

Strategic Channels Manager Ryan Blomfield

Vaddio: Vaddio is a premier global manufacturer of PTZ cameras, specialty camera control systems and professional USB peripherals for the audiovisual, videoconference and broadcast marketplaces. The innovative products and partner-focused practices at Vaddio provide opportunity for integrators and resellers to win business and increase profitability. With industry-leading warranties, one-year advance replacement, and expert technical support, you have the entire Vaddio team standing behind every project.

Vaddio Hailey show

Marketing Communications Manager Hailey Klein

Videxio: Videxio’s video conferencing as a service, or cloud video conferencing, is a service that lets you enjoy high quality video conferencing from the device of your choice, the location of your choice and the network of your choice. You can bring your worlds together on video – affordably and simply. You can still connect on video using a video conferencing system, but you can also use a tablet device, a PC, a Mac or a smart telephone. No need to invest in additional infrastructure – just use what you have to hand and the rest is taken care of as part of the service.

Videxio Karl

President – Americas Karl Hantho

See related  LAVNCH WEEK 9: UCC Day Recap

Vidyo: The VidyoWorks software platform lets you embed point-to-point and multipoint video, audio, content sharing, and collaboration inside your own applications, workflows, and custom web portals. Choose from client and server APIs to add Vidyo to an existing application or web portal, or an SDK that lets you build a new communication solution using Vidyo’s core technology.

Vidyo Mark Noble

VP of Strategic Marketing Mark Noble

X2O Media: A deep knowledge of the live TV production workflow and the power of video and graphics is fully incorporated into X2O’s channel creation and management platform. X2O’s tools are as powerful and versatile as those used by broadcasters, without requiring the expertise of a broadcast engineer. X2O is leading the way with a new HTML5-based platform that enables real-time visual communications to the right audience, at the right time, on the right device.  The ability to create eye-catching, visual representations of complex information makes communications more effective, and employees more likely to take action yielding a significant competitive advantage.

X2O Mansour Brek

Vice President of R&D, CTO Mansour Brek

In upcoming blogs on the Enterprise Connect show you’ll be seeing one-on-one executive video interviews (including the Program Co-Chair of Enterprise Connect) as well as numerous video booth interviews.

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