Why All-In-One Videobars Aren’t All-Purpose Solutions

The global video conferencing market is booming. It reached $8.1 billion in 2021, and it is projected to climb to $19.2 billion by 2028, according to research from BlueWeave Consulting published in 2023. The reason for this significant growth is simple: Many teams no longer meet in person regularly, if at all. Indeed, most meetings will have at least one remote attendee, and virtual client calls are replacing face-to-face interactions to save time and cost of travel.

The resulting demand for video conferencing and audio-visual (AV) meeting room systems has led to an explosion of the collaboration and peripherals category, with numerous tech brands offering solutions to work with the dominating UC platforms from Microsoft, Zoom, Cisco, Google, and more. There is a wide range of options available today, from all-in-one videobars and speakerphones from established IT brands to professional, bespoke systems from audio and video experts.

Options at both ends of the spectrum certainly have their place, yet IT service providers often end up recommending solutions that may not fully meet clients' specific needs.

Limitations of All-In-One Systems

The ubiquitous videobar is frequently chosen due to primary considerations such as price, simplicity, and convenience. While the devices typically perform fine in smaller spaces, they rarely deliver the best audio quality and can be limiting especially in larger rooms. This should be of particular concern to the IT channel — many organizations are now redesigning their offices, creating a variety of different types and sizes of collaboration environments. This will ultimately require more powerful audiovisual performance than what an all-in-one device can deliver.

Due to ill-informed equipment purchases, companies end up in a cycle of frustration marked by poor productivity and user complaints. This often leads to costly upgrades down the line when they realize that their chosen conferencing system does not meet expectations. It can also impact satisfaction with IT service providers who proposed the initial solution.

However, there is an upside for the IT channel: By offering more advanced AV solutions from the start, IT resellers can fill gaps in their portfolio, cater to a wider range of meeting spaces, and get more out of their client relationships.

Partnering with the Experts

Audio specialists like Shure are available and ready to help the IT channel community augment its UC offering and support evolving client demands with powerful, sophisticated, yet IT-friendly conferencing audio solutions.

Shure is an industry leader with nearly 100 years of expertise in acoustics, wireless systems, networked audio systems, and digital signal processing. Its versatile Microflex Ecosystem portfolio delivers end-to-end audio solutions that efficiently address the need for high quality, ease of use, and scalability in modern collaboration spaces. Certified for Microsoft Teams, Zoom Rooms, Google Meet, and Cisco Webex, the ecosystem solutions can be integrated with video and UC systems from major brands like Cisco, Logitech, Poly, Yealink and others to enhance performance especially in larger spaces.

As organizations reassess their workplace strategies, flexibility is crucial. Shure's audio solutions can be configured in various ways and scaled according to the size and context of the meeting room. For IT channel partners and customers seeking customization and future-proof investments, the Microflex Ecosystem offers a comprehensive platform that can be tailored room-by-room for optimal results.

Learn more at www.shure.com/mxecosystem.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.