Inavate + Neat: Ownership of experience

• Features

• 21/11/2023

The evolution of the workspace has meant that meeting equity has become a critical consideration. Niko Walraven, regional director for APAC at Neat, details the complexity that has arisen: “When it comes to meeting equity, we are trying to solve one major problem and that is that people on the far side do not feel they are ‘equal’ to the people in the room. Naturally, because we are used to talking face to face, we gravitate toward the person that is in the same space. They get more attention and the person on the far side is ignored to a certain extent. The challenge of meeting equity is to have both sides equally represented and to optimise the experience for all participants.”

He continues: “Just a few years back the biggest problem for facility managers was ‘Can you see me? Can you hear me?’ Now it is also, ‘Can you see my content?’. Equity is a new challenge, because during the boom of VC in the past years, everyone was dialling in from a remote location. It started to get complex when people started returning to offices and you started to have hybrid meetings where participants were in-room and at a remote location.”

Neat solutions are designed to help facility managers, IT leaders, and end users solve the complexity of meeting equity and tackle these challenges head-on. Walraven says: “When it comes to the meeting experience, Neat is leveraging every tool at its disposal to help end users achieve better outcomes. Our solutions and platform are designed to help them understand how their meeting spaces are being used. Neat products come with sensors and analytics that can tie in with third-party portals or the Neat Pulse platform to provide a granular look into how the technology is being used as well as determining how factors such as room temperature and other ambient factors are impacting the outcomes of your meetings. This data can help facility managers and teams make better decisions after determining the return on investment for technology.”

Core to everything Neat is trying to achieve is its ethos and philosophy. Walraven expands: “Everything needs to be on one device. In the past, we’ve seen the outcome of having sensors and peripherals and software split across all different platforms and products. We believe that providing a complete solution results in a better, richer experience for the user. Sensors are part of this experience. Having the ability to run three screens creates this experience, having the ability to add apps enriches the experience. And the only way Neat can deliver this better, richer experience is by ensuring that our devices have all the capabilities they need to do so.”

What sets Neat apart from the crowded field of solutions in the meeting experience product and solution vertical is its patented, unique technologies. Neat Symmetry and Neat Boundary are two components that are part of every Neat device and Neat believes these are unmatched.

Walraven provides details: “Neat Symmetry is what enables equity. This patented technology allows our devices to understand who is human and distinguish them from say a plant that might be in the meeting room. It is crucial for framing the right person and keeping them framed as they organically conduct themselves through the meeting. Neat Symmetry ensures that they always take up an appropriate amount of space in the frame and that they are appropriately represented so that they are on par with participants that might be sharing the same physical space during the course of a meeting.”

He adds: “Neat Boundary addresses the challenges that are rising from the fact that meetings are not just happening in meeting rooms. Communication and collaboration are no longer restricted to purpose built, pre-defined spaces. We are seeing people jump on VC calls at their desks, in the pantry, in open and communal spaces. It is now part of human nature to communicate in a manner and in spaces that are convenient. Neat Boundary, as the name suggests, allows users to set boundaries which will then instruct the Neat device to detect video and pick up audio from the defined space. Essentially, this allows you to create a ‘meeting room’ wherever you are.”

Building on the unique technology it has created and its understanding of how the workspace is evolving, Neat is continuing to deliver solutions that are aimed at taking the meeting experience to a new level. Walraven says: “The features I have discussed, from the sensors to our patented technology, Neat Symmetry and Neat Boundary, are included in every single one of Neat’s devices. The latest addition to our line-up, the Neat Board 50, takes it a step further. It is built with the idea of having meetings anywhere in the workspace and it is a truly mobile display that is equipped with everything needed to have effective communication and collaboration sessions.”

Neat is committed to improving the meeting experience for all users with a focus on simplicity. Walraven says: “Being ‘embarrassingly simple’ is our daily mantra. When you design devices, as we do, that are so simple and intuitive to operate that anyone can install, set up, and use, you’re already paving the way for multiple cost savings. That’s because recruiting extra IT personnel to cope with a growing demand for video across all your available office spaces, locally or internationally, is expensive. That’s if you have an in-house IT department. Hiring outside help can be even more costly for businesses without that luxury.”

He concludes: “Neat devices are incredibly simple to deploy. Once you receive your Neat device, you can unbox, install, and set it up within minutes. For example, take our all-in-one 65-inch touchscreen device Neat Board or our ‘frame changing’ all-in-one, portrait-oriented device, the Neat Frame. With only a power cable, all you have to do is plug them in and connect to your Wi-Fi, and you can be up and running and straight into productive meeting mode. We’ve designed everything for maximum simplicity, efficiency, and effectiveness, so you can get on with your tasks without wasting unnecessary time or worrying about anything except reaching your goals. Everything ‘just works!’.”