As the world bands together to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, the critically important role played by professional and consumer AV technologies in keeping people connected and productive has never been more apparent, according to Stampede president and CEO Kevin Kelly, who today noted that the widely available AV and IoT technologies are making it possible for many of today’s business professionals, students, teachers, and ministers to be safe and productive.
[Stampede's Kelly Forecasts 2020 Commercial AV Trends]
“I believe we are seeing a glimpse of the future as millions of people around the world stay home and practice social distancing to fight the threat of this virus,” Kelly said. “And, as we all do so, we are marking a watershed moment for a range of conferencing and collaboration solutions that will no doubt become a permanent mainstream part of our lives once this crisis passes.”
Audio conferencing, videoconferencing, huddle solutions, streaming, and interactive distance learning are all examples of solutions that are becoming much more central to our daily lives during this crisis, Kelly said. “The virus is driving adoption rates that I don’t believe will lessen once this crisis passes.”
Kelly said the world is witnessing the arrival of a new, highly decentralized and dispersed personal and professional lifestyle that is very likely to become a permanent part of average life going forward. “There simply no longer is any great need for large groups of people to come together in central locations to work or learn,” he continued. “Technology is making it possible for everyone to be just as connected and productive working from remote, decentralized locations.”
As the world adjusts to this new work-from-home reality, if only for the time being, Kelly offered some advice:
- Have a discussion with your family to make sure they understand how important it is for you to work productively while you’re at home.
- Set up your home office and go there every day as you would to the office.
- While in the home office, do all of the things you would ordinarily do if you were at work—because you are!
- Maintain focus. Don’t become distracted by hourly news updates. Turn off the news and focus on meeting the needs of your customers. They will appreciate your dedication and you will feel better at the end of the day.
- Set daily goals and reward yourself for achieving these goals.
- Take advantage of all the great available technology: video calls, audio conference calls, and customer check-in texts. Being out of the office no longer means being out of touch.
- Set up a regular schedule of update calls with your team and supervisors. This will help to maintain our spirits and build a sense of all-for-one camaraderie.
- Stay fit by maintaining your regular exercise schedule. It will strengthen you physically and mentally.
“Finally, be positive!” he said. “Remember that the entire world is bound together by this shared commitment to fight and defeat this virus. By practicing common sense hygiene, social distancing, and keeping to our business routine as much as possible, we will all come through this together. And when we do, we will find that many of the AV and IoT solutions our industry provides will be that much more important to all of our daily lives.”
