In the interview with Sebastian Knaack, Managing Director of Vistafon Consulting GmbH
Video conferencing alone will not drive digitalization in companies. Nevertheless, it has become one of the most important tools for ensuring both internal and external collaboration, especially given the experiences of the past two years of the pandemic. High-quality video and audio conferencing systems have now become business-critical elements. For this reason, we are speaking with Sebastian Knaack today. He offers consulting solutions as well as functional video conferencing and collaboration tools for digital transformation. All elements are covered in one place, from needs analysis and consulting to sales, installation, and technical service. In the interview, we will focus in particular on the question of which mistakes are frequently made in the hybrid work environment, how a goal-oriented return to the office can be prepared after the pandemic, and which technologies are particularly suitable today to ensure effective video calls between team members or for customer meetings in the future.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Sebastian, when dealing with the topic of web conferencing, one might think that simply opening a Google account, opening the laptop, and getting started would suffice. Where does high-quality video conferencing begin for you?
Sebastian Knaack: Ironically, the approach from your question is still being used in many companies. The basic understanding is that as soon as I equip my laptop with a software client like Google Hangouts, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, I am ready for video conferencing. However, the software is only half the battle – equally important is the appropriate hardware. In this case, the concrete example is professional headsets, because both the microphones and speakers in the laptop offer inadequate quality. The same applies to the laptop camera, which must be replaced by a professional external camera. Video conferences of poor quality are dreadful and will frustrate employees more and more over the course of the day – this must be prevented with suitable hardware. The second step for professional video conferencing is conference room solutions. The work environment and office planning for the return of staff are currently changing significantly – many small meeting rooms and conference rooms are being created that also need to be equipped with adequate hardware. The key point is: only high-quality video conferencing will ensure that employees are happy to use these technologies. Securing this quality is the responsibility of future companies or organizations.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Which tools (software and hardware) are therefore essential for skilled and competent video conferencing?