Every voice matters. More so, when they come directly from end users! To get the truth, Shure sought out data on meetings and the frustrations of users with conferencing. Armed with clearer insights, the manufacturer now presents better solutions to address the market.
Taking a data-driven approach, Shure engaged Illuminas and commissioned a survey encompassing 401 business
professionals and IT decision makers to determine the future of
conferencing. These respondents
came from a wide range of
industries from banking to
agriculture.
The survey revealed that 87%
of IT and business professionals
believed virtual meetings were
critical and/or very important.
Good news for AV? Not quite.
While videoconferencing is
definitely a core offering of the
AV industry, it seems there is
significant room for improvement.
The survey commissioned by
Shure revealed that only 36%
of the business professionals
surveyed believed that their
organisations currently have the
right technology to support virtual
meetings. Three out of five felt
their employers had the basic
technology in place but need to
make improvements.
What does this mean in
application? Chris Merrick,
director, marketing global systems
at Shure, explains: “Not having the
right equipment can negatively
impact several factors for
businesses – workplace efficiency,
cost savings and even morale.”
The data confirms Merrick’s
statements. The top problems
listed included the need to
re-schedule meetings,
miscommunication resulting
in reworking projects and
decreased employee satisfaction.
Interestingly, the data brings
‘audio’ forward as the main
component of a great
‘videoconferencing’ experience.
Overall, poor audio quality is a
leading cause of meeting room
problems based on the findings.
Among the top frustrations,
respondents listed background
noise, echoes, only hearing
partial pieces of speech and
side conversations.
The data shows these
frustrations are widespread.
Overall, 82% of business
professionals surveyed have
experienced a negative impact of
poor audio quality, with lost time
and productivity leading the list.
It is clear that audio needs
to be the focus of attention to
elevate videoconferencing for
users. According to business
professionals, the biggest factor
in improving virtual meetings is
providing flawless audio, with a
whopping 81% saying this is the
main culprit.
Addressing the needs from
the market, Shure has setup
a dedicated web site to help
businesses improve their
conferencing capabilities.
At Effortless.Shure.com, visitors
can access resources and tips
for effective conference room
set-ups, white papers on building
the best audio. Their newly
launched Shure audio conference
ecosystem was also designed to
be flexible across audio system
architectures in all room types
and ensures end users will
experience a high-quality,
more unifying AV conference
experience across an enterprise –
regardless of location.
Jim Schanz, vice president
of global integrated systems
sales at Shure, concludes:
“Shure audio equipment has a
distinguished history of being
trusted on the biggest stages
for world leaders and for music
legends. We are bringing that
quality to boardrooms and
meeting rooms in a way that
makes it seamless for users to
operate and effortless for IT staff
to set up and manage.”
Editor’s note: This research was
done prior to Covid-19 but still
presents relevant, if not more
pertinent findings that echoes
today’s work situation.