AV Opportunities for IT Resellers

As hybrid work becomes the norm, companies of all sizes are looking to enhance user experience and engagement in their collaboration spaces. The increase in video conferencing due to new flexible work arrangements and extensive use of conferencing equipment has put a light on the inadequacy of existing solutions. Your clients now have greater expectations for meeting equity and an increased awareness, dependency, and consequently, demand for higher quality AV conferencing tools.  

IT departments are now tasked with implementing effective audio-visual hardware solutions to improve the performance of their company’s chosen software-based collaboration platforms. Naturally, they are turning to their trusted IT providers for advice and recommendations.
 

All-In-One Isn’t All That

IT resellers often respond to such inquiries with all-in-one device options from major UC & collaboration brands. These vendors offer a large variety of conference bars and speakerphones that are cheap and easy to install for clients, while promising a relatively swift and uncomplicated transaction for resellers. These are familiar, pre-packaged solutions and don’t require advanced AV skills, neither from the user nor the reseller.

Crucially, however, these off-the-shelf solutions don’t always provide the necessary audio performance for effective virtual collaboration. They are designed for small rooms and don’t perform well in larger spaces. Businesses are becoming increasingly aware of these limitations and are now seeking alternative solutions.

Those few accounts who have sufficient resources may turn to fully bespoke integrated AV systems to solve their online meeting challenges. However these systems require the expertise of professional, certified integrators. Moreover, such advanced systems are generally only implemented in a few important or complex spaces, so the overall opportunity is limited.

For IT providers, the significant new opportunity lies with the increasingly large number of collaboration spaces where all-in-one devices don’t deliver the needed performance and high-end systems exceed your clients’ needs and budgets.

Fill Gaps In Your Technology Stack

In order to address the demand for better collaboration experiences, you need to complement your UC portfolio with solutions from dedicated audio vendor partners who can deliver the performance your clients demand, at a price point they can afford. Obviously, these solutions should not only be user-friendly and reliable, but also easy for IT teams to buy and even easier to deploy on their own.

Sounds difficult to achieve? It’s easier than you think.

The Stem Ecosystem from Shure is at the perfect intersection between outstanding audio quality and scalable deployment. It provides the superior microphone performance of a professional audio solution with the easy installation and operation that IT teams appreciate.
 

Limitless Audio Hardware Combinations

The Stem Ecosystem comprises only six core devices – four audio endpoints (for placement on the ceiling, walls, or tables), an optional control interface, and a central hub that connects everything – which together provide endless configuration options. From a system selection standpoint, this offers both simplicity as well as flexibility.  

The solution is extremely versatile and can scale up or down into any-size room. This is a unique advantage over other UC solutions. Your clients are no longer bound by the inherent scalability limitations of typical room kits. They can tailor their audio configuration entirely to their room and budget needs.

Add Value With Pre-Sales Support

Technology advisors and solution architects who provide support in the AV design and product selection process can use the Stem RoomDesign tool to instantly create a solution for your clients, right on a call with them. The tool allows to quickly draw a simple room layout and overlay Stem devices to show estimated microphone and speaker coverage. It also helps to illustrate different configuration options based on the client’s budget. Customers greatly appreciate this as it eliminates all guesswork while giving them the confidence to know what they’re buying.  

Before purchase, decision makers often also want to make sure the system will sound terrific in any room. That’s where account managers have the option to reach out to Shure to arrange a virtual or on-site demo. Our experts will provide a live demonstration of the Stem solution that really “wows” your clients and answer questions until all doubts are put aside. Demos, and other pre-sales support involved, often cut the purchase journey in half. In many cases, clients get to leave such calls ready to place an order.
 

Ensure Satisfaction After Implementation

Another advantage of the Stem Ecosystem are the automated configuration tools that make deployment a breeze for customers who want to install the solution on their own. Once all is connected, the RoomAdapt function automatically configures the system based on the specific acoustic signature of a given room – no costly programming needed.

To ensure absolute user satisfaction, Stem also offers additional tools to verify a successful installation. One thing about audio is that it is extremely subjective. It may sound perfect and clear to one person and horrible to another. To solve this, the RoomCheck tool generates a heatmap that highlights the expected audio quality for different areas in the room. This provides an objective way to confirm a room’s audio coverage and can also be used for further optimization, if needed.

All these tools are available through the Stem Ecosystem platform which can be accessed through a web browser, mobile app, or the Stem Control device.
 

Strong Vendor Support

Even though the Stem solution greatly simplifies the purchase and deployment process, we understand that outstanding vendor support, every step of the way, is a must. That’s why our dedicated experts provide white-glove services both for end users and the account teams managing them.

Our friendly experts are readily available to answer any questions, provide system selection support, arrange proof of concept or demos, walk you through installation or troubleshoot any issues after implementation.

Look Beyond Individual Rooms

The combination of scalability and cost effectiveness of the Stem solution allows customers to expand videoconferencing capabilities to more rooms across their organization, without obliterating their IT budget.  

This not only saves money for other IT hardware purchases, such as cameras, network switches, smart board, PCs or BYOD-enabling devices. Having the same audio platform across collaboration spaces also adds benefits for your clients in terms of standardization, management, and consistency of user experience. All of which improves the lives of IT teams who need to support hardware and provide troubleshooting across the business.  

Solution architects can not only confidently recommend Stem as a budget-friendly, high quality audio solution for all types of collaboration environments. You can simultaneously address broader problems that your clients face from an operational standpoint, which helps to build trust and gain loyalty of your accounts.
 

Legitimize your AV Offering

Shure’s Stem Ecosystem allows you to expand your technology offering in the video conferencing category and take on almost any audio project. You no longer have to limit your scope of service to smaller rooms and typical “box-type” UC solution sales.

Even without extensive background in audio, IT providers can comfortably recommend a tailored audio-for-video conferencing solution with Stem and support clients in rooms that you may not have been able to address previously. Flexible and affordable hardware combinations, IT-friendly workflows, paired with simplistic platform tools and top-notch vendor support from Shure make it possible.

Want to know more? Speak to our experts about how to support your clients’ collaboration needs.