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On October 16, I was fortunate enough to have an intimate look at some of HP’s latest offerings alongside Zoom and Poly (the latter of whom was acquired by HP in 2022) at the HP Poly and Zoom Innovations Roadshow in Manhattan. Here, I got to witness a small group customers in areas like legal, healthcare, not-for-profit organizations, as well as learn about and experience some of the latest innovations shaping the future of hybrid work. From HP Imagine and Zoomtopia announcements to live demonstrations showcasing the integrations of HP, Poly, and Zoom offerings, participants got to see how these technologies will help transform common hybrid work scenarios.
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To kick things off, however, some of the most eye-opening insights on what the future of work will look like came early on from Philip Ross, Founder and CEO of UnGroup and one of the individuals behind WORKTECH. Starting off his keynote, Ross identified various key workplace trends—including digital equity, personalizing workplaces, data-supported decision-making, and redefining teamwork—all of which can be enabled by emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies being introduced to workplaces. As a futurist, he sees the future of work to be bright with all the changes expected to come about. For instance, as many organizations are starting to take up less space, it is becoming more of a priority to seek out higher quality office locations.
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So much of the quality of these locations revolves around addressing the needs of workers in shared spaces, with some solutions being to provide them with dashboards to see what areas in a space are quiet and unoccupied, or developing “micro neighborhoods” that essentially divides the workspace into smaller, purpose-driven clusters tailored to the unique needs of different teams (instead of providing the “one-size-fits-all” space most of us are used to). Beyond actual spaces, Ross discussed how AI-driven personalization can further be enabled for workers—much of which leverages technology that we already use. Examples he gave included reserving spaces using cellphone apps to gamify the experience with AI recommending the optimal desks and rooms to use, as well as cameras being used to identify what spaces are available and to determine your performance working.
Following Ross’s keynote, audience members had the opportunity to ask him questions regarding the future workplace, and it was no surprise seeing how much of the discussion was around AI and remaining uncertainties around it. When being asked about making customers comfortable with AI, he raised the point that the news cycle often shines a more negative light on it by positioning it as a threat, when he instead sees how it has so much potential to help us in our everyday lives. Another attendee at the event asked Philip how companies are leveraging data-driven AI to help in their business practices; at this point, he expressed that not much is actually being done yet this early in AI’s arrival in our lives.
While the theme of this event was clearly focused on the future of work, what many of the attendees were excited to see for themselves were HP and Zoom’s latest product offerings powered by AI. HP communicated to the customers at the event that they are focused on experiences for product development—refreshing their portfolio for the next generation and addressing the collaboration needs of today—all to ensure their customers have richer experiences and that IT burden is reduced as part of a more streamlined experience.
Diving into the software side of things first, Noise Block AI v2 by Poly was highlighted. This solution uses advanced algorithms to reduce disruptive background noise during video calls so folks can focus on the people they are talking to and not be distracted. Compared to its predecessor, this version offers enhanced noise reduction and broader device compatibility. VoiceScore AI was also discussed, which is designed to improve voice communication quality by analyzing and monitoring audio performance during calls by evaluating factors such as noise levels and clarity, while offering real-time feedback to enhance sound in noisy environments. Both solutions are designed to ensure clear, consistent communication—making them useful tools for remote work and virtual meetings.
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As for the actual technology that works alongside these AI-driven solutions, new Poly Studio video conference devices were shared: including their All-in-One Video Bars and their USB Video Bars (which are designed for Zoom Rooms). This was followed by an overview of recent Zoomtopia announcements, which focused much on Zoom’s AI Companion 2.0 for collaborative efforts, call summaries, workspace reservation, as well as smart name tags and smart speaker tags to identify who is speaking at any spot in a room. After the presentations, guests split up into small groups to witness how all these offerings and features worked in tandem.
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
While short and condensed, this event gave customers (and analysts such as myself) a look at the direction the future workplace is heading and how we are already making it a reality. Bringing about their vision of “the AI-Inspired Workplace” (as HP called it) isn’t so much about introducing entirely new ways of working with never-before-seen gadgets, but leveraging AI to enhance technology that already exists to better streamline our day-to-day tasks. HP’s own research indicates that 58% of knowledge workers say AI will make their jobs easier, and the products that they are rolling out indicate that AI is more than capable in doing such.
Despite HP’s push for “The AI-Inspired Workplace” to become more of a reality across industries, it makes me curious to see how quickly we will get there. While many are still open about their fears regarding artificial intelligence, it goes without saying that it will still take time to get people comfortable with AI’s role in the workplace and our everyday lives. This is why it is integral for people to learn about the benefits of AI and become more comfortable with it. What was optimistic, though, was seeing a crowd willing to learn about what AI can do for them—an essential step into adopting it and modernizing how we work moving forward.
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