Aug. 2, 2022 - The modern workplace now demands a mix of spaces that all need to be digitally outfitted, and with that comes the need for a consistent control experience that can easily be deployed across any enterprise or university setting. Control should enable everything from unified communications to lighting and scheduling at the user's fingertips, from the smallest huddle room to the biggest auditorium. As a company or a school grows, expanded control of those spaces can rapidly become an overwhelming concern for IT departments. The issues are obvious: How can we scale this effectively? How much will this cost? Do I need new infrastructure? How do we manage the management system? What happens to all the "black boxes" we've already got in place?

One solution is Virtual Control — a software-based product with the ability to scale up quickly with zero friction, from interoperability to security to device management issues. Crestron's VC-4 is just that solution.

Control: Your interface for an immersive in-room experience 

As businesses adapt to the modern workplace, with its emphasis on rooms that need videoconferencing capabilities (and much more), the demand for control solutions that provide consistent user experiences is increasing. While devices with "out of the box" functionality that are dominating the technology landscape promote their ease of use, the reality is that the need for scalable, reliable control systems has never been more vital to an in-room experience. The right control system ties all these technologies together so that there's never an issue for those interacting with an organization's rooms on a day-to-day basis. After all, nothing's worse than tech that goes unused because it's simply too complex or unreliable.

What Drives the Need For Control?

• The sheer number of devices and technologies used in spaces, including (but not limited to) displays, videoconferencing systems, lecture capture technologies, source routing from multiple laptops and/or tablets, and in-room PCs.
• The need for a consistent user experience across an entire organization or enterprise; from room to room, or space to space.
• The need to access specific functionalities from each device to ensure meeting productivity and effectiveness.
• The ability to control cameras in a variety of ways (including zoom functions) to highlight messages or speakers.
• The need to switch content sources with ease and immediacy.
• The ability to adjust audio levels based on specific preferences or to control the volume of speakers or sources.
• The need to adjust climate and/or air controls, as HVAC and a room's ambiance are just as mission critical as the technology — a good work environment demands optimal heating or cooling for spaces while in use.
• Adjusting lighting (and/or shading) based on the room's use (such as video presentations or live presentations), the need for natural light, or adjustment necessitated by the time of day or weather.

Room Automation Has Never Been More In Demand

• Automated control is a critical piece of any control platform. Automation that utilizes room occupancy sensors (or timed settings) can provide solutions such as:
• Shutting rooms down or powering up based on usage, thereby saving money on heating/cooling and electricity
• Making any space intuitive for a broad variety of users, which increases technology usage and maximizing an organization's investment in technology
• Creating touchless spaces that run "automatically," supporting general health and safety initiatives

The Need for Control Extends Beyond the Meeting Space or Classroom

There are uses for control systems that extend well beyond the spaces mentioned above. In a modern digital environment, there's a diverse amount of interaction with content in a variety of applications, including:

• Hybrid spaces where remote and in-room collaboration come together
• Interactive digital signage and video walls
• Directional "way-finding" to specific points of interest in a building
• Virtual lobby assistants for check-ins and social tracing
• Training centers where multiple technologies are integrated

This is the first in a series of excerpts from Crestron’s latest eBook,

Virtual Control Solutions for the Modern Workplace.