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Polycom vs Cisco Video Conferencing: Which Option is a Better Fit for Your Business?

Polycom vs Cisco Video Conferencing: Which Option is a Better Fit for Your Business?

Compared to audio conferencing calls, video conferencing offers a clear leg up. With the right tools, a video conference can be as good as – and more efficient than – being there in person.

As more businesses catch on to the value of video conferencing, more solutions have entered the market, but few companies come close to challenging the two titans of the enterprise video conferencing space: Polycom and Cisco.

Cisco and Polycom are the giant players in the industry for a reason: both offer highly functional and seamless video conferencing solutions.

Many of the features offered by both companies overlap; both offer reliable, high-quality video conferencing products. For maximum security, both companies also offer on-premise and IP capabilities for maximum security and flexibility. Their pricing is broadly similar, and both offer an extensive range of products.

VSSi can help you configure a solution which fits your exact specifications, and provide support down the road. But for now, here are some factors to keep in mind when beginning your research:

Cisco

Cisco was one of the first players in the video conferencing space, and is still the largest and most well-known. As an international conglomerate, they’ve been able to use their size to fund innovation and create a wide range of high-tech products.

For example, Cisco was a leader in developing 1080p and 4k resolution video options, and their current video conferencing solutions include audio triangulation technology to help filter out background noise.

Cisco focuses on the biggest enterprise clients; nearly all Fortune 100 companies use Cisco for video conferencing. They do customize their offerings by the size of the business, but their products can be more expensive and less streamlined for smaller businesses.

Polycom

Polycom competes with Cisco with its smaller, more nimble company structure. They focus on hospitals, universities, and entertainment companies. While there are a number of large enterprise clients on their list, they focus more on public organizations than the biggest Fortune 500 companies.

They offer ostensibly more personal services because of their structure, but their main selling point is interoperability with other vendors. Polycom’s video conferencing tools work with Microsoft communication products like Skype for Business and Office 365.

In other words, where Cisco offers a wide range of products which work well with each other, Polycom focuses on fewer products, but ensures that they are open and interoperable with multiple vendors. Since over half of enterprise businesses use more than one vendor’s AV equipment, this can be crucial.

Polycom also claims that all of their products are both forwards and backwards compatible, meaning that new versions of their products will still work seamlessly with the previous and future editions.

Closing thoughts

Whether Polycom vs Cisco video conferencing is ultimately a better fit for your business will boil down to preference and your specific constraints and needs.

If you already use Cisco products, or have a complex or very large organization, looking into an appropriately scaled Cisco video conferencing solution may be the best choice. If you’re a healthcare, education, or entertainment company, Polycom may offer products which fit more seamlessly into your existing AV architecture.

Regardless of what you choose, VSSi can help you choose, design, install, and learn to use AV solutions so that you end up with an easy-to-use and effective set of audio-visual tools and maximize the impact of your investment. To speak with a VSSi representative, click here.

 

IoT and AV Industry

IoT and AV Industry

In recent times, Internet of Things (IoT) has greatly established itself as part of everywhere conversation. IoT is a process that accumulates many things that exist in the world, puts them into a network and makes them connect to one another. These things are connected via sensors. One interesting thing about IoT and the AV industry is that both industries are in the same boat, as such, AV and IoT have worked perfectly together in the following areas.

Corporate Organizations

The corporate setting is a unique system that has incorporated IoT’s concepts into the audio visual settings owing to the fact that it is a system that is localized with all equipment located near one another. As such, the audio visual industry is greatly relied on by corporate organizations. The audio visual system is the heart of any corporate building in the sense that it provides a user with interface and knowledge about the way and manner clients interact with the corporate environment.

As an audio visual firm, VSSi provides the necessary interface between the building and the user. VSSi’s room schedulers provide indicators as to whether a room is occupied or not. At VSSi, touch panels are set such that they trigger boardrooms to be ready for meetings and the control systems of VSSi interface with the building systems and lighting.

Centralized Monitoring

IoT can be integrated into centralized monitoring system to discover the number of smart devices that are connected to a network. This will provide employers information about the number of people that are onsite every day. This information will help employees in knowing if the office space is being fully utilized if more desk spaces should be created and if more meeting rooms should be created.

Retail

In the retail setting, audio visual integrators in partnership with IoT have been able to deploy paging systems and background music with digital signage. As customers move through the mall, a Bluetooth beacon can be located at each digital signage that is displayed. The beacon will ping the environment for patrons that have downloaded the retailer’s app and have active Bluetooth. From there, the beacon will extract the patron’s purchase history and display related goods as well as other goods that might be of interest to the patron on the digital signage.

Security

IoT’s integration with the security field makes complete sense when it is tied to an audio visual integrator. Numerous information about emerging Mass Notification/Emergency Communication Systems (MNS/ECS) market has been provided by NSCA, manufacturers, and InfoComm. For these systems to provide intelligent information and offer solutions where there is a case of emergency, the skill set of an AV integrator is required.

Read more about 5 reasons why companies should use IoT in their workplace, click here

IoT Integration with Your AV Business

If you want to integrate IoT with your Organization’s audio visual equipment or AV business, Visual System Solutions and Integration is your best bet. Visual System Solutions & Integration (VSSi) provides ongoing support through PROactive IoT and AV integration through the provision of indicators with offers you detailed information about the level of office space or room occupancy. VSSi implements its professional support for audio visual integration with IoT by setting touch panels to prompt board room’s readiness for business meetings. The contract of VSSi allows for equipment maintenance at the top level of performance and guarantees the resolution of any technical issues that might emerge anytime in the future. The company’s highly-trained and knowledgeable technicians integrate IoT and AV equipment to provide you detailed security information and offer your business grade A solutions where there is a case of emergency.

Furthermore, VSSI’s audio visual integrators in collaboration with IoT will provide your business with paging systems and background music with digital signage which help in advertising new and/or useful products to customers in your office or retail store.

At VSSi, we provide IoT and AV integration with corporate and business organizations, worship centers, government establishments and healthcare centers.

Learn more about audio visual solutions with VSSi, click here.

 

Why is Visual System Solutions and Integration?

Why is Visual System Solutions and Integration?

You can purchase most of the components almost anywhere and anytime.  But the reason you want to work with a top-quality Audio Visual System Integrator like Visual System Solutions and Integration, is for the services we provide that make it all come together.

Discussed further down the page in more detail, these services provide you the following benefits:

  • You will receive a quality system that will work as expected.  A proper system is far more than the sum of all of its parts. It takes careful design, combined with extensive real-world installation/integration experience, to create a system that is engineered to work as needed and expected.
  • Your system will be easy to use.  A thoughtfully designed system will put a tremendous emphasis on the user interface as well as the serviceability of the equipment.  A well-crafted and flawlessly programmed user interface, combined with critical end-user and technical training, will make the difference between you getting tremendous value out of your system or just wondering why you spent so much money on a confusing contraption.
  • Your project will be well executed.  There are a myriad of factors that can frustrate the successful completion of a project, and something can always be expected to come up during a complex construction project.  But with savvy, experienced Project Managers following an actual process – we call ours, “The Visual System Solutions and Integration Way” – you can rest assured that you will know exactly where your project is throughout its duration and you will be helped to complete it successfully on-time and on-budget.
  • Your system will KEEP working.  With a proper maintenance plan in place, you can have peace of mind that the system will work as it was designed to do.

Visual System Solutions and Integration

is a full-service audiovisual provider. From our initial AV consultation, through design, installation, programming and long-term support, all services are provided in house by our extensive and knowledgeable staff. Visual System Solutions and Integration has completed hundreds of projects for some of the most influential and innovative companies because we can be trusted to get the job right, on time, and on budget.

Video Wall Vs Projector: Which Makes the Most Sense for Your Business?

Video Wall Vs Projector: Which Makes the Most Sense for Your Business?

Regardless of your presentation needs, there are many potential AV configurations on the market. VSSi works with businesses to help design custom AV solutions to fit any space and business scenario.

Many of our customers are unsure whether a video wall or projection-based system will better suit their needs.

Of course, both LED video walls and projectors are highly functional and impressive solutions.

Both can be customized to provide modern high-tech aesthetics and support multi-media presentations. Both offer cost-effective, high-res, and flexible solutions.

However, whether a video wall vs. projector will be more effective for you depends on a few key elements about your organization’s space, business, and AV-needs.

Here’s a short guide to video walls vs. projectors:

Video Wall Considerations:

Video walls have changed dramatically over the past two decades; modern solutions are slimmer, more energy efficient, and offer much higher resolution, and less bezels (space between panels) than ever before.

Since they’re made up of multiple panels working together, video walls can be configured into multiple shapes and viewed at many angles. LED panels also reduce glare and can be used outside and in areas with plenty of ambient light.

They are also modern, impressive-looking and elevate the spaces they’re installed in. Unlike some projection screens, video walls can be installed piece by piece. If you need a big solution, but have space constraints like small doorways which might otherwise prohibit large hardware, video walls are a great option.

Because the picture is native to the screen, video walls often require less space than projectors and can be viewed from farther away. They often also have better color saturation.

They are typically a larger up-front investment, since installation can be intensive and component parts are high-tech and must match each other. Some older models can also be more energy intensive than projectors, since each panel used to require its own power source.

Projector Considerations:

Projectors have been around for much longer than video walls. Since there are more options available on the market, projector component parts tend to be more interchangeable. It’s generally possible, for example, to upgrade only the projection screen or only the projector and scale up slowly. Depending on the model, projection screens are also more energy efficient than multiple-panel video walls.

Ambient light can be a problem for projection systems; they work best in conference rooms, banquet halls, and other rooms which can be darkened to avoid glare. Because the video is removed from the source, you’ll also need a way to keep the space between projector and screen clear of people and other obstructions.

However, projectors are highly customizable by size and can more easily be moved to new locations. Projection-based systems can be cut into multiple configurations to fit unique shapes.

Projectors are typically much less expensive up front than video walls, though replacement parts – especially bulbs – can increase the price tag.  You may need to factor in potential additional costs such as cleaning and maintenance, blackout curtains or high-quality projection screens.

LED displays are typically less high-definition than projectors, though this again varies depending on the specific solution you install. Standard high-def projectors can be up to twice the pixel height of standard LED video walls. Whether this matters to you will depend on how far away your audience will be – at larger distances, attributes such as brightness and color saturation may be more important than fine details, or vice versa.

Video Wall vs Projector: What’s best for your space?

Both projectors and video walls can be customized to provide an impressive and flexible solution for your organization’s needs.

Knowing how you will use your AV system and what your space is like will help you weigh the pros and cons when choosing a video wall vs. projection system. In light of the considerations detailed above, questions such as:

  • How big is the space? Is it an indoor room which can be fitted with blackout curtains, or a sunlight lobby?
  • How far away is the audience, and what kind of presentations will you be supporting with AV?
  • How much do you want to invest now, vs. down the line?
  • Will space constraints make installation difficult? and
  • How important are color saturation and brightness vs.  image sharpness?

are all important to consider when making a decision.

Whether you want a custom video wall or cutting-edge projection solution, VSSi will work with you to ensure that you maximize the results of your budget and end up with a solution that fits both your space and your organization’s needs. VSSi makes custom-built high-tech AV solutions and supports projects from concept through execution and support down the road.

To learn more, see some of our past installations or get in touch with us here.

Why Should Businesses Integrate Video Conferencing Systems into Their Workplace?

Why Should Businesses Integrate Video Conferencing Systems into Their Workplace?

It is widely known fact that an image is worth more than thousands of words. A crisp HD video conferencing powered by Visual System Solutions & Integration is a pointer to that fact. A lot of businesses, for instance, are interested in presenting a product to their international sales executives or solve a problem with their clients. With video conferencing, businesses have found an audio visual means of revealing their products to their team members as well as solving their client’s problems by audio visually taking them through the steps involved in the problem-solving process. Broadly speaking, there are many benefits associated with using video conferencing for your business but we will discuss some of the benefits below:

Cost Effectiveness

Businesses have two major responsibilities which are to reduce cost and to increase revenue. As far as cost reduction is concerned, the role of video conferencing cannot be overemphasized. Video conferencing has made it possible for businesses to be present in many locations at a point in time without leaving the four walls of the office. When you do an estimation of what you will incur on traveling to these locations, you realize that the traveling cost is far higher than what you will incur on video conferencing.

At Visual System Solutions & Integration, we offer your business video conferencing solutions that are compliant with existing infrastructure. We possess software that can be downloaded and aid virtual meetings on your smartphone, PC and other devices.

Relationship Enhancement Through Effective Communication

When video conferencing solutions are used, you can visualize the facial expression as well as the body language of your employees and clients. This brings about a collaboration that is quicker and highly effective, thereby enhancing a relationship. Provision of a platform by video conferencing where businesses can have meetings with officers around the world creates a situation through which employees feel they are closer to the head office. From the wholesaler/retailer’s point of view, manufacturers can be spoken to wherever he is and he can be shown through audio-video means the exact prototype he must reproduce in crisp HD quality. This improves the relationship between manufacturers and wholesalers/retailers and in the long run impacts on the level of sales.

It Aids Telecommuting

According to research, over 75% of employees love to embrace a working plan that is more flexible. This more flexible working condition is telecommuting. Video conferencing has so much aided telecommuting to the extent that workers at home can maintain the connection with co-workers and clients. This has aided businesses with the provision of more comfortable work environment which has, in turn, led to retention of company’s top talents.

Better Staff Training Experience

Before the advent of video conferencing, it was very difficult to organize training sessions for employees. Members of staff of business establishments had to travel to training centers, lodge in hotels and travel back after each training session while employers had to book training venues, arrange for hotels and approve traveling bonuses. However, since the advent of video conferencing, staff training has taken another dimension as thousands of employees can be trained simultaneously regardless of their locations. Rather than being crammed inside one venue, employees can be seated in front of their personal computers or other audio visual devices and be part of the training session. Video conferencing has also made it possible for employees to record the whole training session and watch it over and over again.

Improved Recruitment Process

According to a research carried out by Redshift Research, video conferencing ranks third in human resources business communication channels. Through video conferencing, the possibility of consummating job vacancies quicker and leveraging on opportunities to contact prospective employees around the world has increased. Job interviews are now done through video conferencing and it allows the interviewers to communicate better with the applicants wherever they are located.

With a host of video conferencing solutions, Visual System Solutions & Integration offers a potent way of enabling conferences or video contents to be streamed live or shared across the globe. Visual System Solutions & Integration has made it possible for customers, partners, employees, business owners and students to use video conferencing to interact with other people anytime, anywhere.

To learn more about Visual System Solutions & Integration’s video conferencing solutions, click here.

Download Visual System Solutions & Integration‘s brochures, click here.

What is the Best AV Solution for Your Company?

What is the Best AV Solution for Your Company?

It does not matter from where you operate whether from out of a corporate environment, a military command center, or automotive design department, audiovisual integration can help you effectively display complex data and detailed design files. These systems give viewers the ability to better understand and more accurately analyze displayed information. There are a great deal of advance audiovisual solutions from audio-video systems commonly seen in conference rooms and training rooms to CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) systems, for instance, for complex design apps. The best fit for your enterprise depends on a number of factors: space requirements, the data or information being displayed, and your budget.

Space

To provide the best AV solution for your company, it is important to understand that audiovisual integration relies heavily on understanding the space needed to utilize the system, the number of people viewing the display and a viewer’s distance from the display.

To clearly comprehend your specific requirements, your audiovisual integration partner will conduct a full-detailed consultation and site survey.

What information should be obtained:
  • Projection and viewing room sizes
  • Any existing audiovisual systems
  • Facility construction
  • HVAC and electrical infrastructure
  • Audio and communications needs
  • Seating requirements
  • Lightning
  • Accessibility

Information

The understanding what type of information you would like to have displayed on your system will definitely help to determine the best AV solution for your company. For instance, the right display and integration for an automotive company’s design team will differ from a corporate board sharing the latest annual report. Depending on the subject matter on display, solutions could range from commercial apps like an LED flat-panel display to more complex visualization systems like a front and rear projection PowerWall or Cave.

Budget

The cost of audiovisual systems vary based on the type of system selected, its apps, and the size of the space in which it is installed. A general commercial-grade AV system can cost as little as a few thousand dollars, while advanced visualization systems custom-integrated within your building infrastructure can be tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the specific needs.

An audiovisual integrator can provide different system options and pricing, varying on the budget. The decision-making process will depend on not only budget but also industry and installation requirements.

VSSi is a full-service audiovisual provider. From our initial consultation through design, installation, programming and long-term support, all services are provided in house by our extensive and knowledgeable staff. We know how to get the job done right, on time, and on budget. Contact us today! 

Also, you can learn more about VSSi AV Solutions by clicking here.

 

 

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