With the challenges of the pandemic still with us, working and schooling from home will be a continuing reality for the better part of 2020 in many areas. Major tech companies like Google have already announced they will continue work-from-home policies into 2021. Educational institutions at all levels are also grappling with how to resume classes, and many will adopt remote approaches in the short term. 

In this environment, communicating effectively from home has become critical. Communication is not just for work and school; maintaining social contacts with family and friends is also needed to not feel isolated.

Crestron has thought about this, too. A worldwide leader in enterprise video conferencing, audio-visual, and commercial automation, the company is bringing that expertise to improve communication and collaboration from home. Of course, Crestron is also a leader in smart home automation, so it couldn’t be a more perfect fit.

Keep reading to learn more about Crestron's new HomeTime, which brings together sophisticated video conferencing, communication, and home control to your Atlanta residence.

You may recall the early days of video conferencing. It wasn’t that long ago. Video conferencing has been around in some form since the 1980s, but it was an expensive, slow, and often tedious experience. The equipment was bulky and complicated to operate, the video was grainy, and your meeting could include video or audio, just not both at the same time. It was often easier to default to a phone call.

Fast forward to modern times, where almost every smartphone has the camera and audio capability to make an excellent videoconference device. Today it's easy and often free-to-use collaboration solutions from laptops and mobile devices, with excellent video resolution and audio capabilities thanks to today’s powerful and sophisticated hardware and software. A host of collaboration applications like Zoom, Slack, Microsoft’s Skype, Google’s Hangouts, GoToMeeting, and many others offer the ability to see and hear the other party, as well as share just about any digital information from a computer and collaborate on it in real-time.

That’s great for the individual in an office – or on a beach – but what about getting a group together in the conference room? The dynamic is different, as your group may be collaborating with another group in another part of your company, or it can be a client or partner on the other side of the world. We want the same ease of use from our laptops and mobile devices when we are meeting and collaborating in a group setting.

If you’ve heard of the term BYOD (bring your own device), it means that workers want to use the tools they use every day – laptops, tablets, and smartphones – for business collaboration, without having to learn complicated new software or processes. If you’re stuck with yesterday’s technology in your conference rooms, you’re not set up for today’s fast-paced collaboration. If all you have in your conference room is a speakerphone, then you have an excellent opportunity to upgrade.

Crestron, a long-time leader in both home and commercial automation, has the solution to modernize your Alpharetta or Midtown meeting spaces instantly. Crestron Mercury is an integrated hardware and software solution that can bring your conference room into the 21^st century.

Ready to see how Crestron automation can elevate your conference room right now? Just keep reading.