• Collaboration Technology
• Service and Support

Summary:

• Integrating advanced hybrid technologies supports IT staff by automating routine tasks such as room testing and remote monitoring. This can help your organization manage a decentralized network of endpoints and ensure more seamless audio-visual communication.
• End-user training enhances the adoption and efficient use of new technologies by both IT and general staff, reducing the support load on IT personnel and fostering an environment of self-sufficiency within hybrid workplaces.
• Utilizing workplace analytics and insights allows IT teams to preemptively troubleshoot and resolve potential issues, minimizing downtime and improving productivity through data-driven decision-making.
• Delegating tasks such as audio-visual support and meeting room maintenance to specialized external providers like ET Group can free up in-house IT staff for more strategic initiatives, optimizing resource use and boosting operational efficiency.

Essential Hybrid Workplace Technology to Support Your IT Staff in 2024

The role your IT staff plays changes when your workplace goes hybrid. It’s no longer enough to have a few tech experts on-site to reset routers—you now need to be able to address potential issues across a decentralized network of devices. There’s also a more pressing need to monitor the audio visual technology your team depends on for seamless communication and ensure it can function properly.

Training your team to embrace the potential offered by hybrid workplace solutions is part of the solution—but so is investing in technology that will provide adequate support. Below, our team at ET Group shows you several different kinds of hybrid technology and how they can benefit your IT staff in the current era.

Why End User Training Is Essential for IT Staff in Hybrid Workplaces

End-user training does more than just encourage AV tech adoption in your workplace. It also brings your internal IT staff up to speed with the needs of your tech stack so that they can deliver more effective support.

At ET Group, we provide consulting for hybrid workforces that can help your team:

• Understand the limitations of your current technology (including compatibility, security, and UX)
• Identify new technologies to bridge these gaps
• Optimize your space to be maximally efficient and productive
• Embrace the potential of your upgraded workplace for better ROI and productivity at all levels

We also offer workshops for hybrid teams to identify and implement new ways of working. These can be useful for both IT and general staff, ensuring their comfort with any upgrades you need to make so that your workplace can meet the demands of the modern era.

Key Technologies for IT Teams in the Hybrid Age

So what specific technologies do modern IT teams require? The answers differ depending on the size of your organization and the industry you work in—but in our experience, here are the most useful upgrades you can make to your tech stack:

Workplace Analytics & Insights

This service provides up-to-the-moment information about the way your video conferencing systems and other communication technologies are being used. Through ET Group’s workplace insights, you’ll gain valuable data about:

• Meeting usage stats
• Room capacity and availability
• Failure rates
• Incident frequency
• User adoption metrics
• Improvement opportunities

… and more. Your leadership team can then use this data to validate strategic decisions about the spaces and technology you use. For example, high rates of failure for a particular piece of equipment may point towards a need to upgrade or replace it—while consistently high room capacity in a certain type of space may indicate a need for more similar spaces.

Automated Room Testing

Struggling with room or equipment settings before meetings is bad, but having to put a meeting on pause to deal with a sudden hardware or software issue is even worse.

Our automated room testing checks the settings for your audio-visual equipment between calls or video meetings and reverts them to the defaults (or optimal settings chosen by your administrators). This creates consistency for users and saves time by reducing delays from technical difficulties.

• Run scripts between meetings or on custom schedules
• Restore settings like speaker volumes, HDMI inputs and outputs, microphone settings, lights, and room temperature
• Keep scripts running while rooms are in use to restore normalcy quickly if equipment fails

Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring and support allow you to monitor with real-time detection from your entire AV network (including endpoints located off-site).

Remote Monitoring and Management allows you to monitor the state of your system while being alerted when a problem arises. This allows your IT Team to:

• Diagnose issues in real time
• Take a proactive approach to system maintenance and troubleshooting
• Reduce lost time and revenue by providing expedient and accurate solutions

An Outsourced AV Help Desk

Responding to tickets takes up valuable time for in-house IT staff, who are often stretched thin as it is. Outsourcing the responsibility of fixing audio-visual problems to experienced technicians frees up time and energy for your in-house team to handle other critical tasks.

Working with ET Group can give your organization access to a help desk that can take over any or all of the following:

• Logging incidents and initial troubleshooting
• Second-level remote diagnostics from certified professionals
• Dispatching technicians and assigning resources as needed
• Managing and closing tickets

Support from Meeting Room Technicians

Having a full-time, on-site technical resource with an in-depth understanding of your meeting room technology can improve your spaces, tools, and organizational culture. When you work with ET Group, our meeting room technicians provide:

• Timely and accurate responses to incidents and service requests. This means your in-house IT staff won’t have to drop what they’re doing anytime there’s an issue or emergency in one of your meeting rooms.
• Incident escalation protocol that ensures urgent matters are always reported to skilled field service technicians for advanced solutions.
• Hands-on support that keeps key meetings and events running on time and as planned.

Leveraging External Resources for Future IT Success

Your in-house IT staff have a lot of important work on their hands already—and the more advanced your tech stack becomes, the easier it will be to stretch them too thin. Outsourcing key services and investing in the right technology is often the most immediate and cost-effective way to upgrade your office and network for efficient hybrid work—and ET Group is ready to help.

Book a discovery call with us to learn more about how we can help you bring your organization comfortably into the age of hybrid and remote work. From consulting and employee workshops to technology buying, systems installation, and ongoing support, our AV experts have your needs covered.

Frequently Asked Questions about ET Group’s Hybrid Technology Products & Services

Can I mix and match technology support offerings from ET Group?

Yes—we offer a comprehensive package of products and services, but it’s also possible to pick and choose the support you need. However, be advised that upgrading a workplace for efficient hybrid work usually requires a human-centered approach. And it’s typically more cost-effective in the long run to make this a concerted effort than it is to upgrade one aspect of your tech stack at a time.

How does upgrading a meeting space support my IT staff?

Upgraded spaces often include better integration of communication tools and infrastructure. This enhances the ability of your IT staff to support end-users by allowing them to work more efficiently.

Spaces that focus on meeting the needs of humans also tend to see higher occupancy and usage rates. In turn, this provides more accurate and useful data that you can use when planning maintenance and upgrades.

We’ve written extensively on this topic. Download our eBook on how design thinking can help hybrid work succeed.

Where can I learn more about using data to empower my IT staff and hybrid space?

We’ve compiled a report with Vyopta that packages and presents insights from over a million hours of hybrid video meetings and summarizes key takeaways. Download the report here.

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