Microsoft Surface Hub is rapidly transforming business operations. GV Multimedia recognised its potential to the educational sector and successfully sought to become a recognised partner. Steve Montgomery asks Kristian Cutting about the benefits.
The product brief behind Microsoft’s new Surface Hub was to develop a tool that would transform the way people work together. The result is a brand new concept device that pushes the collaborative model; a team computer that allows people to share ideas in a natural and highly interactive way.
Recognising the potential in the educational sector, GV Multimedia convinced Microsoft of their ability to access the UK’s most prestigious colleges and universities. “We are extremely well-positioned in the education sector and have nationwide recognition as a reliable and responsive supplier. Endorsement by Microsoft indicates that we are able to deliver the highest level of service and support both commercially and technically. We are now recognised as one of the few suppliers in the country who can add value and offer a level of support that users expect from Microsoft-accredited partners,” says Kristian Cutting, GV Multimedia sales director.
It is not simply a means of generating new business or proving the company’s credentials, but underlines the philosophy that Cutting believes in. “Without doubt the worlds of AV and IT are converging, and it is critical for suppliers to embrace it. Microsoft is bridging that gap and extending their IT offerings into the AV sphere. By establishing this link we are delivering a clear message that we understand the way the market is moving and are actively endorsing and supporting it and the users who choose to adopt this increasingly popular technology.”
Cutting calls Surface Hub a ‘category-defining’ product. By which he means that: “It is a unique product that is completely different from everything else. It’s a revolutionary tool that transforms the way people create and share ideas, delivering better ways of working and learning that match the natural interactions between individuals and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the whole group. It provides a smooth and familiar experience through an intuitive interface and built-in apps like Word, Excel and OneNote. In addition it includes a high level of security: it operates in a secure Windows environment and when users finish a session they can save content and then wipe it to prevent it being seen by others.”
Surface Hub works throughout all educational faculties, particularly in videoconferencing suites, research and seminar rooms and huddle areas. “Everywhere that the sharing of information and collaboration between students and lecturers is important to the learning process. It operates highly effectively to make learning more interactive and engaging. Refined features like a microphone and cameras that automatically follow the speaker and the capability to instantly share content with personal devices make it particularly attractive to educational users.”
Cutting sees the product as an immensely important one in the company’s portfolio and one that fits extremely well into their modus operandi: “Surface Hub is a premium product that delivers best performance when it is integrated into the local AV-IT environment and the establishment’s individual educational process. Our 35-years of experience in the educational sector puts us in a leading position to help embed it into their particular way of teaching to gain maximum benefit from their whole infrastructure and ecosystem.
“This product is ideal for the corporate market and with students benefitting from it and becoming familiar with using it during their education, there is a clear follow-on in business applications and we will actively be promoting it there too.”