Bose Gets Into the Connectivity and Communications Business

Business meetings can be major cause of stress for employees and IT departments. When the technology in a meeting room fails to work, it can throw the presentation into a tailspin, costing your company valuable time and resources. According to two studies conducted by global technology company Barco in partnership with independent research agencies Vanson Bourne and Mind Lab, 90 percent of office workers experience seriously elevated stress levels when dealing with troublesome technology during meetings.

Some of the findings of the study reveal:

–Participants’ heart rates reached up to 179 bpm when struggling with technology during a meeting, compared to resting heart rates of around 60-100 bpm.

–Among the biggest challenges for employees were sharing content and screens, and finding the right cables to connect to in-room devices.

–73 percent of those surveyed try to fix problems themselves; 57 percent call IT/tech support; 31 percent end up giving up with the technology entirely; 13 percent postpone meetings until technology problems can be fixed.

In an effort to alleviate some of the pain points when setting up and conducting a meeting, Bose Professional recently acquired ZiipRoom. The ZiipRoom meeting experience software was purpose-built to remove the everyday hurdles that have plagued end users and IT for years. The ZiipRoom software knows your devices and calendars, your conferencing services, and all the hardware in the room – and brings it all together seamlessly to deliver one-click access a videoconference, phone call or wireless presentation.

ZiipRoom will integrate into Bose Professional, the dedicated group within the company that focuses on the needs of professional audio designers, consultants and system integrators.

“We are thrilled to bring ZiipRoom technology to Bose Professional,” says ZiipRoom CEO and co-founder Martin Bodley. “Bose is heavily investing in developing the next generation of communications tools, and we share their values. We look forward to combining forces to offer market-driven solutions and engaging, user-friendly experiences.”