With remote collaboration becoming imperative to remain competitive in business, technology products manufacturer Lenovo has launched its Smart Collaboration product suite that provides communication solutions and enables hybrid work environments.
The company said on Monday that how teams work, collaborate and make decisions had fundamentally changed, and the Smart Collaboration portfolio of solutions would enhance employee productivity and engagement, regardless of their geographic location.
Lenovo SA GM Thibault Dousson said designing specific solutions to address different collaboration needs would drive real-world benefits.
“Organisations can cultivate a positive employee experience and enable flexible working, which helps to attract and retain talent while unleashing workforce creativity. The solutions themselves can include hardware, software, and services. The Lenovo Smart Collaboration ecosystem of solutions enable this by providing the platform essentially to fully migrate to a hybrid work environment,” he said.
The impact of the pandemic on work has been such that during the first eight months of 2020, at least 100 digital remote collaboration products were launched. The same research has found that CEOs expected 36 percent of their employees to be working remotely.
Knowledge workers see value in sharing information, finding documents, meeting efficiently, and gathering ideas. By embracing collaboration platforms, companies can boost productivity by up to 10 percent, significant given today’s competitive landscape.
The Lenovo Smart Collaboration offering consists of a ThinkSmart View, an eight-inch HD IPS touch-screen device built on the Microsoft Teams platform and which handles video-conferencing, content viewing, and more.
ThinkSmart Cam is an enterprise-grade artificial intelligence smart camera designed for video collaboration and certified for Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms.
The high-resolution web camera provides users with a wide field-of-view and supports features like auto-framing, auto-zoom, and whiteboard awareness.
The ThinkSmart Bar is a premium soundbar that features built-in beamforming microphones for an immersive audio experience in meeting rooms.
It is purpose-built for meeting room-based video conferencing and can be paired with a computing device or used as a standard plug-and-play speaker.
The ThinkSmart Manager software provides a single console with which companies can manage their entire ThinkSmart network of collaborative solutions.
Whether it is remote deployments or configuring, protecting, and auto-updating software on each ThinkSmart device, the ThinkSmart Manager software enables this with ease.
ThinkSmart Hub, is an all-in-one video conferencing room system configured with Microsoft Teams and Zoom software. This smart device provides meeting hosts with complete control over meetings from a centralised location.
ThinkSmart Tiny is a poly conference room solution that integrates with existing Poly solutions and bundled with the latest Poly controller. It provides a computer platform for meeting and learning spaces designed to improve productivity and collaboration.
ThinkSmart Professional Services is an integrated environment providing the support companies required to facilitate hybrid work. This provides businesses with personalised and professional services that help them get the most out of their Lenovo ThinkSmart devices and technologies.
The solutions support the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system and Microsoft AutoPilot technology.
Microsoft SA director of Modern Workplace and Security Colin Erasmus said it was clear that hybrid work was here to stay both with regards to the approach to work and the technology needed to accommodate this way of working.
“Business leaders need to place their people at the centre of their efforts and use technology as an enabler to enhance work culture, productivity and well-being. Together, Lenovo and Microsoft can make working remotely an easier proposition for organisations across industry sectors,” Erasmus said.
BUSINESS REPORT