Many companies that have built a remote work environment in a hurry have come to desire a high-quality remote work environment such as sound quality, video quality, and usability, about a year and a half after entering the Corona disaster. In addition to strengthening the network infrastructure, it is important to select a dedicated device.
Alisa Cheng, Country Manager for Japan of Yealink Network Technology (Yealink), which won the world’s top shipment of SIP (Session Intiation Protocol) phone devices in 2019, and Microsoft Japan Device Partner, which has a global alliance with the company. We spoke with Mr. Mankuni Kono, General Manager of Business Development Office, Solution Business Headquarters.
Low quality that can make you tired or distracted. Simply put, an online meeting requires just one laptop with a camera and microphone.
However, as those who attend online meetings every day have experienced, you will find that low-resolution appearances and choppy voices are factors that disrupt your concentration. Also, attending an online meeting in a poor quality environment can give the other person a bad impression that “this person is not serious” or “disrespects us”.
Yealink also said that these challenges during online meetings were “howling and the voices of the speakers are difficult to hear, and when multiple voices overlap, they become inaudible” (Cheng).
Against this background, the company’s products have focused on howling prevention and noise blocking functions. Even when compared from the viewpoint of usability, notebook PCs do not outperform dedicated devices. “It’s easy to set up and can be used by employees who are new to online meetings. If you book a Microsoft Teams meeting on your PC, you can join the online meeting with one touch without using a PC,” Cheng said. Emphasize.
Microsoft, which has provided Microsoft Teams for use by 145 million people worldwide (as of April), announced the hybrid work vision on May 21 in the name of its CEO Satya Nadella. It is a concept that connects the real world and the digital world from the viewpoints of “People”, “Place”, and “Process” as a way of working with an eye on the convergence of the corona.
Mr. Kono of Microsoft Japan said, “While 73% of employees want remote work, 67% of employees want a lot of interpersonal work and collaboration after the convergence of Corona. Based on this paradoxical factor, “Incorporating only the advantages of both” is the characteristic of hybrid work.
The foundation Teams is also improving day by day. Mr. Kono said, “(At the moment, only in English), it has a function to identify the speaker by sign-in information and record the content of the statement by voice recognition. Will be able to catch up, and (online conferences) will evolve significantly. “
The partnership between the two companies dates back to 2015. Microsoft has been rolling out “Microsoft Lync” (later Skype for Business) as a SIP solution since 2010. Starting with the introduction of Yealink products to the US headquarters through Microsoft in Taiwan, the SIP terminal “T48G” proposed to Microsoft has been highly evaluated by improving the user interface (UI) design such as the touch panel.
After thousands of verification tests, it was certified by Microsoft in 2014. The following year, it released the “Lync Phone,” which bears the name of Microsoft Lync, and reached a partnership. Cheng emphasized that he has built a close relationship with Microsoft.
“We have set up a dedicated development team for Microsoft Teams in-house, and before the Corona disaster, we had members of Microsoft’s product development department – visit us to discuss the direction of product development, etc.” The partnership between Microsoft and Yealink that has continued since 2015
2014 is also the year Nadella mentioned above became CEO. Earlier, when I interviewed the people concerned about the system at that time, it was stated that Nadella had taken over the executive system of former CEO Steve Ballmer.
Readers are aware that although he said he would not choose the path of radical change that would catch the eye of the public, Microsoft has since turned to the cloud business and is firmly adhering to the position of a major IT company. ..
When I asked Mr. Kono about the story at that time, he explained that this initiative has a long history.
“At that time, the UC (Unified Communications) market was rising, and Microsoft was also entering. Microsoft Japan also set up a UC division and started business development. For technological evolution such as expansion of network bandwidth and codec. Along with that, we have expanded (solutions). “
It’s clear that the online conferencing market is growing steadily and the corona wreck is a big boost.
“There are about 1.1 million conference rooms (overlooking domestic companies), of which about 19% continue to use traditional video conferencing systems, and the remaining 80% remain untouched. I want to “Teams” about 80% of this with device makers and ecosystems, “he said.
However, after the corona converges, the need for dedicated devices may change along with the role of the office. Mr. Kono explained as follows to dispel this question.
“It’s true that I haven’t been to the office (currently), but there are many industries where it is difficult to work from home. Devices that match the usage environment, such as dedicated devices in the conference room, Teams on smartphones for carrying around, and Teams-compatible headsets at home. In addition, the video conferencing system, which was previously premised on the intranet, has to change in the hybrid work era. The video conferencing system SIer (system integrator), which mainly has AV (audio visual) capability, also grows. As the premise of online conference solutions is the web, the criteria for adopting security solutions will change. Since it will be necessary to build an ecosystem of AV SIers and IT SIers, we are proceeding at a rapid pace. “
Mr. Cheng also said, “Although we have sales agency contracts with three domestic companies, we can try the actual machine at the showroom of Sumitomo Shoji Machinex and Prodelight. We also provide remote management such as updating firmware via devices. In the future, we would like to strengthen the domestic support system and examine the demand in the domestic market and reflect it in product development. “
About Yealink
Yealink (Stock Code: 300628) is a global brand that specializes in video conferencing, voice communications and collaboration solutions with best-in-class quality, innovative technology and user-friendly experience. As one of the best providers in more than 140 countries and regions, Yealink ranks No.1 in the global market share of SIP phone shipments (Global IP Desktop Phone Growth Excellence Leadership Award Report, Frost & Sullivan, 2018). For more information, please visit: www.yealink.com.
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