Newer technological advances are leading to a new generation of video conferencing solutions offering unprecedented capabilities such as real-time data analytics, facial recognition and occupancy sensing. It makes it easier to work anywhere at any time.

As collaboration systems integrate state-of-the-art cameras, high-quality audio and artificial intelligence it will become possible to provide metrics, enable automation of lighting and perform a host of other functions.

Jabra senior vice president of intelligent vision systems Aurangzeb Khan agrees that this is a growing space: “smart investments in technology can now deliver compounding returns on investment”.

“In addition to offering 180 video capabilities through multi-camera arrays and advanced video stitching software, the latest collaboration solutions enable companies to continuously improve productivity and space utilisation through data collection and analysis.

“By using data analytics to automate workflows such as room reservation and release, or automatic shutdown of power-consuming equipment when a room is not in use, video conferencing technology is becoming far more valuable and useful than a simple communications platform.”

The confluence of automation technology and next-generation video conferencing equipment offers a wide range of benefits that can directly affect employee productivity including real estate utilisation and a company’s profitability.

Gathering large amounts of information across time, companies can create a data lake which they can analyse for future floor plans and schedules.

“Real estate costs continue to rise for businesses of all kinds, making space-utilisation one of the most important factors in optimising a company’s bottom line,” Aurangzeb says.

“While open floor plans exploded in popularity over the last two decades, hindsight has shown us that conference rooms are truly the most effective means to encourage and enable collaboration between multiple locations or departments.”

Data can determine when rooms should be booked, when people are most effective: what time of day, what type of room etcetera. This all improves the efficiency of the company.

The Jabra PanaCast is the world’s first AI-enabled intelligent panoramic video collaboration device with built-in people detection technologies. Containing three 13-megapixel cameras, the PanaCast offers a full 180 panoramic view which delivers an immersive experience.

On top of its advanced AV benefits, insights gained from the PanaCast over time by creating a data lake can be further increase productivity in the workplace.

“Whether your company is a giant multinational or a small or medium-sized enterprise, and regardless of whether you want to develop collaboration spaces for employees or just gather data lakes and business intelligence, the capabilities of video-collaboration solutions are only increasing,” Aurangzeb concludes.