On Wednesday 22nd September, bmobile Business joined forces with global ICT leader, Huawei, to unveil the future of virtual meetings and collaboration for Corporate Trinidad and Tobago. The event brought experts together with over 100 corporate customers in remote presentations that covered the launch of bmobile’s Video Collaboration as a Service (VCaaS) and the Huawei IdeaHub.

The presentations highlighted the power of the consolidated IdeaHub that replaces several conferencing devices and peripherals and offers extended uses for real-time, remote collaboration that has been become vital in the world of remote work. According to Darryl Duke, General Manager Enterprise Services (Ag.) at TSTT, “as businesses operate in an even more complex digital world, they’ve had to make high-priority changes to maintain operations, maximize resources and maintain their competitive edge. Remote working is here to stay whether partially or in its entirety and with that comes an increased need for more advanced yet user-friendly tools that allow us to communicate more effectively and collaborate more meaningfully. Through this partnership with Huawei, we are leveraging our state-of-the art cloud architecture to provide a secure and reliable service that enhances both video and audio communication and collaboration and productivity in businesses looking to thrive in the next normal.”

While existing video conferencing services rose in prominence recently, they do not offer the same all-in-one solution. Before the IdeaHub, if a business wanted a complete collaboration experience, it would need a PC, camera system, sound system, screen and external whiteboard - all in the exact location. These devices would have to be tested before every conference call and routinely maintained. Larger businesses may be able to offset the higher startup cost in shifting to remote collaboration and may have an in-house IT team, but bmobile recognised that there are many SME's that can benefit from a monthly subscription that offers leading-edge technology along with capable and responsive IT support. As T&T's leading communications solutions provider, the company acknowledged that "access to technology like this opens up opportunities for even SMEs to expand their reach to engage and collaborate with new customers or suppliers locally, regionally or even internationally."

The IdeaHub offers alternate uses as a digital whiteboard (with AI text and shape conversion), office utility as a Windows device, conference utility with multiple mics and a 4K camera that can 'follow' presenters, a wireless projection device (using the built-in IdeaShare software) and as a knowledge board with live streaming and more built-in. It can also operate as a Windows computer aside from its Android operating system and has integrated Full Stack AI, which Huawei noted as one of its core benefits over other smart devices. Fernando Liu, President of Cloud Business, Huawei Latin America, pointed out, "By innovating in the fields of chips and Cloud together with AI, Huawei has continued to consolidate the foundation of the smart society. The purpose is to help customers to win the opportunities and achieve the business success in the digital transformation process."

According to Jeff Jin, Country Manager, Huawei Trinidad and Tobago, the pandemic presented a considerable challenge for his company’s 200,000 strong workforce in over 1000 offices in 70 countries. But the solutions have also heralded a silver lining. "What we found was that this shift from our traditional working mode to embracing working digitally, using new technology tools, helped free our employees from time and energy wasted in road traffic to the office, or in meeting rooms, as well as business trips to different countries, research centres, and representative offices. The use of virtual office services increased six-fold, and we saw our expenses reduced by 28%." Huawei undertook over 40,000 meetings in one day of the earliest days of the pandemic using their technology to collaborate seamlessly. Huawei Cloud Meeting services lead the way in China, where they hold a 35% market share and power the connection and collaboration for 110+ Fortune Global 500 customers.

Video Collaboration as a Service (VCaaS) is a platform built from the ground up to enable businesses to enhance their meeting experiences. Its video capabilities are accessible all through the Cloud and not just through the IdeaHub but through existing devices, including computers, smart TVs, and by way of an app for mobile phones. Its primary benefits are its mobility and flexibility, and with a managed service, installation, software updates and maintenance are handled for the client.

The primary benefit to users of the VCaaS platform and IdeaHub together, is that it is a fully managed service that is scalable, secure. Customers can access the smart board and services for a monthly subscription fee that can also be modulated depending on the customers' needs. Customers who already have a monitor or screen can opt for other peripherals, and those with a complete system can opt-in for just the Cloud meeting and VCaaS services.