How important is professional-grade video collaboration to innovation in modern workplaces?

The first step to innovation is collaboration, and our video collaboration and personal workspace solutions make this happen because employees are empowered to embrace the “work and create from anywhere” concept. Video serves as a “middle ground” between voice-only phone calls and in-person meetings, which is important for building business relationships. Moreover, video collaboration solutions enable managers, and the workforce to better convey and understand the information that is being shared. As a result, new ideas can be actioned and rolled out faster, and that too, with a higher degree of quality and customer learning.

Briefly tell us about the industry verticals that you’re focused on at GITEX

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Enterprise Business, AMECA – Logitech

Organizations within the government, financial, education, and healthcare have been and will continue to be our focus. The application of video collaboration solutions may be different for each of these sectors but the end goal is common, to improve collaboration in the world of hybrid – with customers, partners, and employees.

What kind of solutions do you provide for the healthcare, and education sectors?

Our Logitech MeetUp is a bright example of a conference camera suitable for the demanding healthcare environment. MeetUp provides 4K Ultra HD optics for a sharp, distortion-free 120° view of both patient and room, enhancing the quality of telehealth offerings.

In the education sector, our video collaboration solutions can maintain and enhance many scenarios across teaching and learning Interactions between faculty, teachers, and parents; and even guest lectures and field trips to get the best learning outcomes. We have the Logitech MeetUp, Rally Bar, and Rally Plus video collaboration solutions which are easy to use and deploy. They provide exceptional clarity and wide viewing angles to show more of the classroom to remote pupils.

Speak about the products, and solutions that Logitech is presenting at GITEX 2022

At GITEX Global, we will be showcasing in-office and personal workspace solutions that focus on human-centered solutions in this “New Logic of Work.” We recently launched Logitech Brio 505 and Zone Wireless Headphones will be showcased. In addition, we also want to show how enterprise-grade solutions can be blended into personal workspace through our Ergo and MX series solutions to have a seamless hybrid style of work.

What differentiates Logitech from its market rivals, and what are your goals and objectives for the remainder of 2022?

As a market-driven and solutions-based company, Logitech is in the best position to enable organizations to lead their digital and workplace transformation. We help customers think through their processes of how infrastructure, tools, software, services, and physical environment all work together.

Globally, our client portfolio includes the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies, 9 out of 10 largest healthcare companies, 8 out of 10 largest automakers, and 9 out of 10 manufacturing companies.

We have new product launches in the remainder of 2022. And, we will always continue exploring new partnerships to strengthen our presence in the region.

We understand ASBIS extends its winning streak from the past year to this year. Elaborate a little on your current achievements

Yes. 2022 is treating ASBIS well, especially in terms of growth in the core products, irrespective of the less market growth in general.

Hesham Tantawi, Vice President- MENA, ASBIS Middle East

We have already achieved what we had planned for the last five years. We aimed for a solid partnership, and we are yielding the results now. We are also planning to open new segments in the distribution business, incorporating consumer-centric products with targeting a specific league of customers.

How competent are you in providing customers with advanced technologies (AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, etc.)

In addition to ASBIS’ earlier portfolio in the key business verticals (i.e., volume, value-added, and commercial services), we have recently added one more segment focused on consumers.

ASBIS aims to help business advance with emerging technologies, including data analytics, cyber security, and AI, and that is handled through our value vertical. It gives a competitive advantage for organizations when configuring themselves with these latest technologies. We enthusiastically work with system integrators and solution providers to make that happen. Supermicro, Seagate System, Infinidat, and TP-Link are a few leading vendors we present to customers from the value-added divisions. Plus, ASBIS is presenting itself as a one-stop shop for all organizational needs, incorporating retail, building management, agriculture, etc., of our customers.

Explain how ASBIS optimizes its business strategies around GITEX GLOBAL 2022

At GITEX, we are representing leading vendors with the entire portfolio in the following categories:

• VOLUME: AMD, Intel, AFOX, Sapphire, PNY, AOC, ECS, and Lexmark
  • Storage: Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Kingston, Transcend, QNAP, Synology, Dahua, Solidigm, Infortrend, DDN, and infinidat
• VALUE:
  • Networking: TP-Link, Ubiquiti, Grandstream, Mimosa, Yealink, Yeaastar, and Mikrotik.
  • Server: Supermicro, NVIDIA, and Gigabyte
• CONSUMER: Logitech, Bang and Olufsen, Loewe, Prestigio, Canyon, Lorgar, Aeno, and Perenio

Even though ASBIS’ policy is not to show itself at the event, we are conducting a client reach out and meeting program soon.

ASBIS’ strategies for 2023

The key strategy we have is that we will continue to create a solid association with our partners. We will integrate more brands, offer excellent support to the existing ones, and that’s the culture we followed since the beginning.

What is the size and structure of the organization you focus on as a distributor?

ASBIS is focusing on micro, medium, and big companies. Plus, we are open to working with everybody as we believe that everyone is adding value to the supply chain.

How do you evaluate the growth of ASBIS in the future?

ASBIS gained revenue of $3.7 billion. We are expecting a growth of $7.97 billion, which is bottom-line profitability, and we are determined to grow and go beyond.

From East Europe and Russia, ASBIS used to have 22 percent annual revenue. But now, the business isn’t operational there due to the ongoing geographic tensions. However, ASBIS is trying to add 2-3 percent additional revenue from other countries to compensate.

How important is professional-grade video collaboration to innovation in the modern workplace?

One of the major work-related changes driven by COVID-19 was remote and hybrid working. For many people, this meant working away from their colleagues, with less dialogue and face-to-face contact.

Video collaboration came into its own during the pandemic, keeping teams connected and keeping the spirit of collaboration alive. But now, as remote workforces transition into long-term hybrid working styles, workers need easy-to-use, enterprise-grade collaboration tools as they move between home and office.

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video Collaboration, META and Central Asia

Enterprise-grade headsets and webcams for home offices enable remote employees to continue collaborating and remain productive, with features that ensure their collaboration experience is not just average, but excellent.

In terms of engendering a culture of collaboration, video conferencing tools are important for keeping your workforce active, engaged, and connected with their colleagues. This is important for people working remotely and can have an impact on an organization’s ability to retain talented staff.

Employees who feel engaged will also be happier and more productive, producing better work and better results for your company. In fact, it is important to remember that human beings are naturally social. Working remotely can lead to alienation from your colleagues. Seamless, quality video collaboration overcomes this. By using video collaboration effectively, employees can achieve more face-to-face meetings than they would if they were working from the office.

A relatively small investment in video collaboration technology pays off very quickly through increased productivity from a happier workforce, reduced demand for IT to fix glitches, and an improved relationship with partners and customers who can also benefit from seamless video collaboration with your organization.

How are you working with the education sector?

We are seeing huge demand in education. COVID-19 accelerated the shift towards distance and hybrid learning models. We’ve equipped many universities and schools in the region with conferencing solutions. These tools make a world of difference to the quality of lessons, lectures, and tutorials. Consistent quality is vital to students’ ability to learn. It is also important for teachers to have access to tools that are intuitive and reliable, allowing them to focus their efforts on teaching.

We have many products for education. The Rally Bar, an all-in-one video conferencing solution, is ideal for universities and schools, enabling teachers to deliver lessons with consistent high-quality audio and video. It features AI-assisted motorized pan, tilt, and zoom, which means it can adapt to meeting dynamics and keeps the camera on the action.

Logitech recently launched the Logitech Scribe, an AI-powered whiteboard camera that is compatible with leading services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It broadcasts whiteboard content into video meetings with incredible clarity, virtually transporting everyone into the same room. It’s ideal for education and we’re excited about bringing it to the Middle East.

What kind of solutions do you provide for the healthcare sector?

Video collaboration has proved invaluable in the healthcare sector during the pandemic. It means a patient in one clinic or hospital can be checked by a specialist who may be hundreds of kilometers away. This reduces the need to travel, with all its risks of infection. With high-end video collaboration solutions, the specialist can see the finer details, help diagnose ailments, and offer advice. Patients can even have their homes equipped with webcams for regular consultations with their doctor or specialist.

It’s all about increasing access to care, enhancing patient experiences, and improving outcomes, with technology as an enabler. Logitech is very active in this area. Healthcare providers can convert any small room or workspace for telehealth to connect specialists to patients and to connect patients to family members in long-term care.

Our high-end conferencing cameras like MeetUp or Rally give professional-quality video and audio for individual hospital rooms, consultation rooms, medical carts, and other applications.

What differentiates Logitech from its market rivals, and what are your goals and objectives for the remainder of 2021?

What differentiates Logitech is the quality of our products, which are carefully designed with the user in mind. Logitech invests heavily in R&D, which is reflected in the level of innovation in the solutions. We also have a very broad range of products – from high-end professional products to affordable products for more price-conscious consumers.

According to Synergy Research, Logitech ranked #1 worldwide in video conferencing hardware last year. Fuelled by the acceleration of remote work, Logitech experienced its strongest years to date. According to Synergy’s Research, Logitech accounted for nearly fifty percent of all video conferencing devices sold in the Q1 FY21, and over thirty percent of the industry’s revenue.

Photo: File

How was the event and what outcome do you foresee it?

At GITEX, we showcased our top video collaboration solutions for SMBs and large enterprises in conjunction with our partner Avientek. The event is very important for us to demonstrate our video collaboration solutions and it also gives our partners the chance to meet with end-users.

It has been a long time since we met customers face-to-face or attended any of these events due to COVID-19 so it was a great experience to reconnect with the market, partners, customers, and our peers. We saw a very positive reaction to our solutions at the event.

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video Collaboration, META and Central Asia

How do you evaluate the customer reactions to Logitech Rally Bar and other solutions?

Enterprises are keen on adopting hybrid models of work and they need the best video collaboration solutions to efficiently connect and coordinate with their workforce. That’s why we brought out Rally Bar, our next-generation portfolio of video conferencing solutions for small, medium, and large rooms. Rally Bar is a portfolio of appliance and PC-based solutions that work with today’s leading video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

We also demonstrated Logitech Scribe, an AI-powered whiteboard camera for meeting rooms and classrooms. Compatible with leading services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, Logitech Scribe broadcasts whiteboard content into video meetings with incredible clarity, virtually transporting everyone into the same room.

With Logitech Scribe, AI enables the device to render the user invisible, so that they don’t get in the way of the content they are creating on the whiteboard. It’s a truly unique product. It’s ideal for education and we’re excited about bringing it to the Middle East.

Which verticals are especially important for Logitech in terms of video collaboration?

The education sector can benefit hugely from video collaboration solutions. With Rally Bar Mini, we want to help both the educators and students have seamless classroom sessions.

Most schools and colleges were not prepared for the pandemic but the learning process can’t be stopped either. As a leading solution provider, we felt responsible to provide the technology and solutions to facilitate collaboration and provide ultimate flexibility in engagements. We hope Logitech Rally Bar and Logitech Scribe will become the future of teaching and learning.

Speak about how small, medium, and large enterprises can make use of these products

Video collaboration has never been so important. Organizations across the region have experienced the importance of keeping their teams connected during the past two years, and there is a growing awareness of the advantages of using enterprise-grade solutions. Even as many people venture back to places of work and education, hybrid models are now an established mode of operations for many organizations, and Logitech sees continued high demand for solutions that aid collaboration.

In what has undoubtedly been a transformative time for the video collaboration industry – one that has pushed us to innovate and continue to raise the bar – Logitech Video Collaboration has taken the lead.

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video Collaboration, AMECA, Logitech

First, according to Synergy Research, Logitech has ranked #1 worldwide in video conferencing hardware.* Fueled by the acceleration of remote work, Logitech experienced its strongest years to date. According to Synergy’s Research, Logitech accounted for nearly fifty percent of all video conferencing devices sold in the Q1 FY21, and over thirty percent of the industry’s revenue.

In addition to this #1 position, Logitech has been named the Market Leader in Video Conferencing Devices by Frost & Sullivan, recognizing the company that has achieved the greatest market share resulting from outstanding performance, products, and services. To make its assessments, Frost & Sullivan identifies companies at the innovation and growth forefront of their respective industries that most effectively address new challenges and opportunities.

According to Roopam Jain, Frost & Sullivan’s Senior Industry Director, Connected Work, “In Q1 2021, Logitech surpassed its closest competitors to become the number one vendor in revenue market share in the business-use video conferencing devices market. This was the communication giant’s first time reaching that milestone. Logitech has long dominated the video conferencing devices market in unit shipments. Its recently earned revenue leadership position is a further testament to its unique design-led approach that focuses on creating meaningful products with a clarity of purpose and clear benefits to the users in delivering simple, effortless communication experiences.”

As technology continues to reshape work, Logitech is uniquely positioned to help address emerging and evolving hybrid work trends. Raising the bar on meeting room solutions and optimizing video conferencing for the hybrid worker, our products have become a hallmark for frictionless user experiences and scalable deployments for every meeting space. We owe our success to our customers, who believe in the quality of our VC products, from conference cameras to complete room solutions.

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video collaboration for AMECA region (Africa, Middle East Turkey, and Central Asia), said: “The results of recent surveys are very encouraging and confirm what we see in the field here in the Middle East. Organizations increasingly recognize the value of high quality, seamless video collaboration, and with the ongoing shift to hybrid working and learning, we look forward to helping teams collaborate with our best-in-class video collaboration tools.”

Logitech Video Collaboration is on a mission to elevate video conferencing for all – and we aim to keep leading the way.

Tell us about the importance of video collaboration for organizations.

There is no doubt that organizations across all verticals have accelerated their digital transformation journey since COVID-19 hit. Hybrid models of operating have become the norm, and teams have been forced to work and collaborate in more innovative ways. As part of their broader transformation plans, and given the current scenario, organizations increasingly understand the value of video collaboration tools to keep teams connected and collaborate effectively — with each other, and with partners and clients.

Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video Collaboration, Logitech

In the current situation, with restrictions on people’s movement having an impact on the ability of organizations to collaborate, video collaboration tools have an important role to play in helping organizations execute their plans effectively, and they can overcome these obstacles by investing in the right video conferencing tools for their needs.

How is this playing out in the Middle East?

As the Middle East begins to emerge from the pandemic, we expect to see demand remain strong. While organizations will no doubt return to having some face-to-face meetings and limited business trips, video conferencing will remain a pillar of communications and hybrid work.

Organizations will also scrutinize the value of face-to-face meetings and business travel with more zeal than before, and management will be acutely aware that executives can take part in more video conferencing meetings than face-to-face meetings on a given day. The potential productivity gains and cost savings are enormous.

In terms of engendering a culture of collaboration, video conferencing tools are also an important tool for keeping your workforce active, engaged, and connected with their colleagues. This is important for people working remotely and can have an impact on an organization’s ability to retain talented staff.

What plans do you have for GITEX?

Logitech is excited to showcase a range of high caliber solutions at GITEX, with demand for collaboration tools remaining high across the region as organizations continue to embrace hybrid working models.

We will showcase our top video collaboration solutions at GITEX in conjunction with our partner Avientek, which is exhibiting in Hall 3, stand 8A.

Among the products on show will be Rally Bar, our next-generation portfolio of video conferencing solutions for small, medium, and large rooms. Rally Bar is a portfolio of appliance and PC-based solutions that work with today’s leading video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

We will also demonstrate Logitech Scribe, an AI-powered whiteboard camera for meeting rooms and classrooms. Compatible with leading services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, Logitech Scribe broadcasts whiteboard content into video meetings with incredible clarity, virtually transporting everyone into the same room.  In addition to exhibiting products on our partner’s stand, we will also hold meetings and 1-1 demonstrations at a dedicated meeting room in the Conrad hotel, close to Dubai World Trade Centre.

Any last thoughts to share?

Video collaboration has never been so important. Organizations across the region have experienced the importance of keeping their teams connected during the past two years, and there is a growing awareness of the advantages of using enterprise-grade solutions. Even as many people venture back to places of work and education, hybrid models are now an established mode of operations for many organizations, and we see continued high demand for solutions that aid collaboration.

We look forward to meeting with customers at GITEX to demonstrate the advantages of our newest innovations and how they can help companies boost efficiency, innovation, and employee and customer satisfaction.