4 Questions Your CIO/CTO Has About Cloud Based Video Conferencing

In this GooglePlus community post, an industry colleague brought to my attention four questions that a client may have about the telepresence offering, StarLeaf. All are important questions for enterprise-level conferencing and I wanted to share my answers with you…

1) How does StarLeaf handle calls from non-StarLeaf endpoints? Do you still need to download the application, create an account, and log in? That’s a significant barrier.
Short answer – nope! Long answer – StarLeaf can receive or transmit video calls from/to all standards based H.323/SIP hardware and software endpoints. StarLeaf also has a unique integration with Microsoft Lync. Their level of interoperability means that a customer can “bring their own endpoint” to a StarLeaf virtual meeting room or customers with a StarLeaf endpoint can simply dial another non-StarLeaf endpoint. When you get invited to a scheduled meeting you get an email that basically explains how you can download the FREE StarLeaf Breeze client OR it explains in simple detail how to easily use an existing H.323/SIP device to call a StarLeaf user. Very powerful!

2) How does StarLeaf work with mobile devices?
StarLeaf views a mobile device as another endpoint. That’s one thing that is so cool about it. People are calling YOU, no matter if you are in your VC room with hardware, on your laptop at a coffee shop, or at home on your tablet, and the interface is exactly the same across all the platforms. Owners of StarLeaf hardware can send unlimited guest invites for users to download the client called Breeze. The mobile client is available for Windows and Apple laptops and tablets today.  Android & iPhone devices with a 5″ screen or greater will be released soon.

Continue reading at: http://synergyct.com/2014/12/ask-an-expert-4-questions-your-cio-cto-has-about-cloud-based-video-conferencing/

Promises, Promises...

     I’ve been thinking about my sales style lately, and trying to understand what I’ve been doing, and how I can be better. I’ve been in sales for the good part of 10 years now, but I’ve been in sales for an AV integrator for just one year. It is my first year really selling direct to end users as opposed to AV consultants and integrators. Selling to end users is very different in that you have to prove your worth in terms that they understand and find valuable. Also, you don’t know if the decision maker is the Director of IT, CIO, or the CEO’s administrative assistant, so you have to tailor your conversation for your audience. It is fun and challenging!

     This first year has been pretty good for me. I had an annual quota and I hit it in May! In 5 months I sold everything I was supposed to do in 12. I was shocked! There are many aspects I contribute to my success. Things like a great company with management that has vision, an amazing technical team, support folks that go above/beyond, but I have been trying to understand what has been my unique individual contribution to being successful in sales. I think I’ve narrowed it down to 3 simple things:

To continue reading please go to: https://avnation.tv/2014/10/promises-promises%e2%80%a6/

Video Projection, Wizards, & Magic

I am so honored to have one of my blog posts summarized on Commercial Integrator publication!

Video projection doesn’t have to be all about wizards and magic.

     Why is it that so many conference rooms have LCD/LED panels? I’ve personally always been a fan of 2-piece projection. (Yes I call it 2-piece projection because the screen is just as critical as the projector – more on that later.) I’ve heard so many end users say projected images are “ugly,” or “My flat panel at home looks better than the projector in our expensive executive boardroom.” Sad but true.

     I’ve seen so many projection systems that look horrible. The image is always washed out. Too many integrators have been putting in the wrong projectors, the wrong screens, in all the wrong places (sounds like a country song). Surprisingly, I firmly believe that with the right environmental factors in play, a projected image can look better than a flat panel. I always lead my sales with 2-piece projection and I can say my team is designing approximately 60 – 70% of my jobs with projection.

To continue reading please go to for my full blog post: http://avnation.tv/blog/projection-wizards-magic/

To read the Commercial Integrator summary of my post go here: http://www.commercialintegrator.com/article/video_projection_more_than_wizards_and_magic/

"This is a man's world"

 

Lately I’ve been hearing James Brown’s sultry voice singing this song in my head. After the 2014 InfoComm show many people wrote blogs regarding women in the audio visual industry. Some of the pieces were controversial regarding the use of female models at booths, which brought out others that talked about the difficulties and challenges of being females in a predominately male industry. Here is my honest outlook on the models in booths: I’m not that offended or even really bothered by the use of beautiful half clothed women in booths to attract attention.

It can be a little annoying and maybe uncomfortable at times, but luckily the InfoComm show is very professional for the most part. The “sex sells” campaigns are not completely rampant. I really don’t think the few booths using these methods here and there are that big of a deal. In fact, I almost feel that the people making a big stink of it are a.) Giving even more unwanted attention to those using the “attention grabbing” tactics and b.) Giving the impression that women in our industry seem like we need some sort of protection, or that our intelligence can’t compete with some cute girl in a short skirt! I know those folks out there blogging about this subject didn’t have those intentions, and I do appreciate the concern, but something that is more troubling to me is the gender gap in our industry...

To continue reading please go to: AVNation.tv