What you need to know:
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BlueJeans by Verizon announces iOS and Android updates designed to improve hybrid collaboration
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Device partnerships deliver new level of consistency and controls regardless of end-user work mode
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Announcing New BlueJeans solutions for conference rooms:
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BlueJeans and Poly release Rooms-as-a-Service
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New BlueJeans Meetings+ program featuring Owl Labs offers bundled subscription service for Meetings and Hardware
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At Enterprise Connect today (3/21 – 3/24), Verizon Business announced new capabilities for BlueJeans Mobile for Android and iOS and new as-a-service packaging options for BlueJeans Rooms. Delivering a new set of functionality across work modes—office, home, or remote/field—the latest updates to the BlueJeans platform were designed to support the workflow consistency and inclusivity teams need to be productive in today’s anytime, anywhere work environment.
“At BlueJeans, our goal is to enable our customers the flexibility to hold engaging and productive meetings of any size and from anywhere,” said Chris Lewter, VP and General Manager, BlueJeans by Verizon. “A part of this is providing flexible work models to meet employees where and how they want to work, and the fluidity to adapt these models as new situations arise. With today’s announcements, we’re making the hybrid work environment one that’s natural, seamless and equitable for all users across devices and channels.”
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Unleashing Mobile Productivity
To empower all employees to do their best work, BlueJeans has added new features to BlueJeans Mobile to drive seamless collaboration from the office to the field.
- Zero-Touch Conference Room Access: Working on legacy standards-based endpoints (SIP/H.323) and the new Android-based experience for BlueJeans Rooms, meeting participants will be able to use their mobile device to start and control meetings running on their conference room systems. Using a new pairing code on the in-room monitor and a new Pair with Room button in the mobile app, the mobile user can join a meeting through the mobile app and then control the experience with audio/video controls. Once paired, the meeting room calendar will also be synced to the mobile user’s calendar. Enhancements such as chat and raise hand will help to foster inclusiveness, while users on the move will appreciate Meeting Shift, where a mobile user auto pairs with a conference room in-meeting and moves the meeting to the room using the same Pair with Room workflow.
- Mobile Collaboration with Collab Board: Further enabling meeting equity for remote attendees, iOS and Android users can now access the BlueJeans Collaboration Board on their mobile device. With simultaneous co-creation for up to 25 users, Collab Board provides an integrated, infinite canvas for brainstorming collaboration that is just a simple click away.
Making Work-From-Home (WFH) Interactive
Creating a more immersive video conferencing experience without the typical computer distractions, the latest updates to the BlueJeans Meetings app for Meta Portal provides a convenient, dedicated home office video calling device for productive, engaging meetings. In addition to existing support for 5×5 gallery view, background blur, and in-meeting chat, BlueJeans on Portal now includes features to support meeting inclusivity, such as Raise Hand, Closed Captioning and improved Speaker Tracking, to help improve at-home engagement with a dedicated video conferencing device. The addition of Restricted Meetings and Hardware Mute to BlueJeans on Portal increases meeting control, while the ability to quickly share a screen during the meeting from a laptop or desktop via a URL link improves meeting flow and interactivity
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Improving Team Collaboration from the Office
According to Frost & Sullivan, “There are currently 110M+ meeting rooms [and classrooms] globally and only 6.4 percent are video-enabled.” With more hybrid workers heading into the office than at any point in the past two years, the demand for improved on-site video experiences is accelerating quickly. BlueJeans is excited to offer two different types of flexible conference room packages to enable in-office workers to have a more consistent and equitable meeting experience.
Providing IT decision makers with the benefits of predictable pricing, a simplified OpEx-focused approval process, and the convenience of adding more hardware and software bundles as needed—all from a single vendor–these new BlueJeans offerings were created to provide more flexibility as facilities managers build out their next-generation workspaces. Sold directly or through channel resellers, certified partners will work closely with the BlueJeans sales team in selling and deploying the solution for our customers, starting with:
- BlueJeans Rooms-as-a-Service with Poly: Poly’s native Android BlueJeans Rooms experience will be available through a Rooms-as-a-Service model partnership. BlueJeans Rooms-as-a-Service running on the Poly Studio X30 and X50 will enable customers to immediately transform how conference room-bound employees are able to participate in hybrid meetings through a simplified subscription offering that combines BlueJeans Rooms software, Poly hardware, maintenance, and support. The Poly X Series features, broadcast quality video with Poly DirectorAI technology which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver real-time automatic transitions, framing and tracking, while NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence technologies block-out unwanted background noise to create collaboration equity by ensuring all participants have a seat at the virtual table.
- Meetings+ with Owl Labs: Announced today, organizations of all sizes will soon be able to procure the Meeting Owl® Pro and a package of BlueJeans Meetings Enterprise licenses in a bundled offering at a simple, cost-effective monthly fee to create the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams. As the first 360-degree bundled video conferencing solution on the market, BlueJeans and Owl Labs are helping to make any meeting an inclusive and collaborative experience for participants. Furthermore, setup is plug and play, takes minutes to implement, and does not require any IT support.
With specialized video applications to meet every business need, BlueJeans is driving market transformation around today’s hybrid work environment and helping customers achieve a new level of consistency, regardless of which mode of work they’ve chosen. Zero Touch and Meeting Shift capabilities will be available in the 2H of 2022.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $133.6 billion in 2021. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.