Brief history of BYOD

BYOD started out as a trend about a decade ago, when portable personal devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops were being adopted at a phenomenal rate. Employees would bring these personally owned devices into the workplace and connect them to the corporate network. This trend has evolved into a policy in many enterprises, where employees are encouraged to bring and use their own devices to perform their duties.

The financial benefits of such a system were realized quickly, since supplying your workforce with computers and other devices comes at great expense, especially if you employ hundreds or thousands of employees. In addition, studies have shown that BYOD may help employees achieve greater productivity, allowing them to feel more comfortable with a device that they have set up to their liking.

Applying BYOD to videoconferencing

Videoconferencing systems, at their most basic level, are composed of speakers, microphones, and cameras. Each component can be deployed as a separate device, or alternatively, two or more of these components can be integrated into a single unit. In all cases, there must be a centralized “intelligent” device that coordinates these components and connects them to the network. For Yealink’s MVC rooms systems for Microsoft Teams, for example, this role is accomplished by the mCore mini PC. For Yealink’s BYOD systems, however, this component is provided by the user.

Yealink’s BYOD videoconferencing kits are specifically designed to work with virtually any laptop running any one of a series of unified communications meeting platforms, including Teams, Skype for Business, and Zoom, to name a few. Thus, with the full series of BYOD offerings from Yealink, the benefits of BYOD can overflow into your huddle and conference rooms.

BYOD conference room kits are designed to plug right into any laptop using a USB cable and be ready to go in a matter of seconds.

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Yealink BYOD videoconferencing offerings

Yealink delivers a series of four different BYOD systems that are capable of supporting the needs of conference rooms of various sizes.

UVC30-CP900-BYOD – This entry-level multi-function BYOD room system is ideal for small huddle rooms of up to four people. It includes the UVC30 room camera, a 4K camera with a 120° field of view, digital PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) and multiple mounting options. It also comes with the wireless CP900 high-quality speakerphone with built-in microphones, high-definition speaker, Bluetooth support, full duplex audio, and noise suppression for crystal-clear communication from up to two meters away. Using a specialized USB hub, called the BYOD Box, the camera, the speaker, and the user’s laptop are all connected simply and easily. An external display using an HDMI connection can also be added, if desired.

UVC40-BYOD – This kit employs an all-in-one philosophy, where the camera, speakers, and microphone are all built into one bar-shaped device. Sporting a 20 MP camera with a field of view of 133°, speaker tracking, auto framing, and digital PTZ, it’s a simple and elegant solution for small huddle rooms. It also includes eight built-in microphone arrays for optimal audio pickup. With this kit, not only can you bring your own device, but you can easily bring this device with you, since its design enables a high degree of portability.

UVC84-BYOD-050 – Moving up in capabilities and size, this BYOD videoconferencing package is suitable for medium- to larger-sized rooms. Compared with the UVC30-CP900-BYOD system, it uses the BYOD Box hub, but has an improved camera and a more advanced speakerphone. Specifically, it includes the UVC84, a 4K camera with 12x optical zoom and smooth remote-control mechanical PTZ capabilities via the VCR20 remote control. The MSpeech speakerphone also delivers high-quality audio but improves pickup range to a maximum of six meters and also adds acoustic echo cancellation.

UVC84-BYOD-210 – For use in some of the largest conference rooms, this kit has the same high-quality UVC84 camera and VCR20 remote control as the UVC84-BYOD-050 but further enhances the audio experience by incorporating an MSpeaker II soundbar and two VCM34 microphones, each with an array of three microphones for 360° audio pickup. These can be strategically placed in the room for the best audio quality.

For even smaller setups

For cases where you need videoconferencing capabilities but don’t require the use of a huddle room, you can always transform your personal device into a personal videoconferencing system by deploying one of Yealink’s high-quality webcams. These deliver superior video, have built-in microphones, and can easily be connected to your PC or laptop with a USB cable.

UVC30 – This desktop webcam comes in two versions, the room version, included with the UVC30-CP900-BYOD kit, and a desktop edition that can be used with your PC or laptop. Transmitting the same superb image quality, auto-framing, and a wide field of view, it can be mounted on top of a display, a laptop, or on a wall bracket.

UVC20 – For a more conventional and economical webcam option, the UVC20 is an ideal choice. With five megapixels, it is capable of delivering full HD quality. It has a built-in omnidirectional microphone to capture ultra-HD sound, as well.

Videoconferencing BYOD benefits

One may wonder what benefits come from using a BYOD videoconferencing system. The benefits are similar to those of any BYOD philosophy. It can often be expensive to equip a room with state-of-the-art videoconferencing systems, so using a BYOD philosophy brings down the cost. Furthermore, it makes the participants more productive, since they’re using their own devices. Thirdly, most workers today are familiar with unified communications platforms and are technically savvy enough to operate such systems on their own devices, without the need for technical support personnel.

Conclusion

The BYOD craze is not just a trend, but it is a viable business philosophy that has substantial financial and operational benefits. Yealink has leveraged these benefits by offering BYOD-centered videoconferencing systems to serve use cases that range from personal webconferencing to large conference rooms.

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