Do You Have the Right Communication Technology for Hybrid Work?

Companies are racing to implement modern workspace solutions and hybrid IT to provide employees with the right tools to do their best work from anywhere and at any time. Seamless communication and collaboration is the hallmark of a successful modern workspace.

So, what does it take to provide your teams with the best communication and collaboration tools?

If you simply implement a unified communications (UC) platform with little hardware support, you risk creating a frustrating experience and poor outcomes. You must support your hybrid work strategy with the right software, hardware, and services.

Let’s explore how to optimize hybrid working with the right technology and choose the best communication solutions for your modern workspace.

Unified Communications Require the Right Tools

We hear this often: “We have MS Teams/Zoom/Google Meet/GoTo. Our people can work from anywhere. We’re all set.” We hope things can be this easy, but unfortunately, they aren’t.

Implementing a UC platform is a critical piece of hybrid working. However, employees need to interface with the software via hardware and devices to use the features and perform their jobs. If you sign up for a UC solution and hope for the best, you aren’t likely to get the most out of your investment.

On the other hand, when you pair a robust cloud-based UC software with the right equipment, you can reap the most benefits these solutions have to offer:

• Support seamless collaboration through various channels, including voice, video, chat, email, and file sharing via a single interface.

• Reduce IT costs and increase efficiency by consolidating multiple communication tools and services into a unified platform.

• Enhance flexibility, productivity, and employee satisfaction by enabling employees to work from anywhere with an internet connection.

• Simplify user provisioning, software updates, security management, etc., by centralizing administrative activities.

• Improve security with encryption, authentication, access controls, and more to protect sensitive business and customer data.

• Ensure regulatory compliance by using vendors who meet industry-specific compliance and regulatory requirements (e.g., HIPAA).

Equip Your Teams for the Future of Work

What tools do you need to create flexible, consistent, and equitable meeting experiences across workspaces? First, consider where employees do their work.

For example, provide equipment that cancels background noises to minimize distraction if an employee is always on the go. They may require cameras that can compensate for variable or poor lighting if they work from home.

Here are the tools to help enhance employee communication, no matter where they are:

On-site Solutions: Business Phones + Video Conferencing Equipment

Collaboration occurs in various places, from cubicles and shared spaces to huddle rooms and meeting rooms of different sizes. Here’s how to support seamless communications in different environments:

1. Choose user-friendly IP conference phones that integrate with popular UC platforms (e.g., MS Teams, 8x8, Zoom, Cisco Webex, etc.) They should have noise-blocking technology and expansion microphones to deliver brilliant audio, no matter how big the room is.

2. Your video conferencing solution must adapt to environmental challenges to deliver a consistent experience — with cameras that track and frame speakers, mics that minimize background noises, and software that optimizes lighting.

3. Use modern desk phones that augment the work environment with a sleek design and deliver an outstanding employee experience with intuitive interfaces and robust functionalities. These include easy pairing with a mobile phone, noise-blocking technology, and out-of-the-box Wi-Fi configuration for easy hot-desking.

4. Wireless phone systems combine the robust features of a modern desk phone with the capability to roam throughout the office. They can scale up quickly by adding handsets, bases, and repeaters. Also, look for a solution equipped with Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) encryption to protect sensitive conversations.

Remote Solutions: Wireless Headsets + Personal Meeting Solutions

Equip remote employees with pro-grade headsets, video cameras, and speakerphones to ensure a consistent experience so they can fully participate in meetings without being in the room—whether they’re at home or on the go.

1. Bluetooth wireless headsets, headphones, and earbuds allow users to talk and listen while on the go. They create a modern work experience by untethering employees from their devices or workstations. They should offer a noise-canceling feature and integrate with existing technologies for a seamless user experience.

2. Empower employees to command the conference room from anywhere with smart speakerphones that connect with their devices and synch with their favorite collaboration tools. They should integrate with popular UC solutions and offer advanced noise-canceling capabilities to filter out distracting background noises.

3. Meanwhile, personal video conferencing solutions and webcams enable employees to make the most of video calls from anywhere. Look for solutions that offer high-performance cameras that compensate for lighting imbalances and premium audio that eliminate distractions.

Management Solutions: Device Tracking + User Self-Service

If your IT team cringes at the thought of adding more equipment to the fleet to support remote work, we get it. The proliferation of devices can lead to IT nightmares if you don’t have the right software to centralize management.

Choose a device management platform, like Poly Lens, that allows you to set role-based permissions for easy account access to enhance security. You can locate and filter devices with an interactive global inventory map and use intelligent newsfeeds to monitor connection status and device health from a centralized dashboard.

Also, you can empower users to personalize their experience and perform troubleshooting with tools like Poly Lens App. It allows them to customize their devices, stay current with the latest software, and access guides, tips, and support to streamline issue resolution and lighten IT workload.

HP Poly + Compugen: Enhancing Hybrid Work with a Human-centered Modern Workspace

Poly has been a trusted provider of award-winning collaboration and communication technologies since 1990. HP Inc. acquired the company in 2022 to complement its portfolio and provide enterprises with access to cutting-edge solutions to augment the hybrid work experience.

However, the wide range of devices and technology poses another challenge for organizations. How do you select the right hardware and software and implement them strategically to align with your business objectives, company culture, and internal workflows?

With a technology ally who takes the time to understand your needs, help you design a strategy, support end-to-end implementation, and stay there with you every step of the way through maintenance and optimization will help you get the most out of your investment.

At Compugen, we have extensive experience implementing modern workspace solutions for organizations of all sizes. We help our clients leverage the latest HP solutions to support their digital transformation journey — improving operational cost efficiency, boosting employee satisfaction, and delivering a modern customer experience.

We partner with HP because of our alignment in strategy, culture, and commitment to customer success. We help our clients implement and maintain HP solutions through seamless communication and collaboration with the trusted technology vendor to realize your IT roadmap and new possibilities.