“When most people think of Lenovo, they think of ThinkPads,” says Megan Corkell, Lenovo Brand Ambassador, speaking at CDW’s BTEX 2020 virtual event. “But we offer more than just that. We have been focused on providing smarter technology for all, and offering an end-to-end solution for our customers.”
As we all navigate this new “work from anywhere” lifestyle, Lenovo is aiming to help its customers embrace this workplace transformation. “Back in March, we saw that people were having to work from home overnight, and a lot of companies were not prepared,” says Corkell. “Companies that were stuck in the ‘stone age’ weren’t embracing workplace transformation, and they weren’t understanding how great it is to allow employees to work from home.”
5 aspects of intelligent transformation in business
The shift to a remote work environment has affected businesses in a variety of ways. In her presentation, Corkell touched on the following aspects:
Employee talent and experience: If everyone’s working from anywhere, can you expand your talent pool? When it comes to employee experience, how do you ensure that your employees have the right devices to get their job done?
Workplace transformation: The workplace is not going to be the same as before. Organizations will have to rethink meeting rooms, for example.
Security: Because everyone is working from anywhere, many employees are connecting through their home Wi-Fi network, and they may have spouses working with them, children doing virtual learning or playing video games. What impact does this have on your data?
Digital transformation: As employees are working from anywhere, the move toward digital transformation has only accelerated, and this can offer many benefits to businesses.
Disruptive technologies: What’s going to happen when we move to 5G? Some industries could be left in the dust, and others are going to excel if they can embrace this new, disruptive technology.
With these transformative aspects in mind, here are some of the ways Lenovo products can help employees in a work-from-anywhere environment.
How to cancel out background noise on a conference call
Both the Lenovo T-Series and X-Series models include two far-field microphones, with the X1 products including four far-field microphones. “When you’re on a call, you might have a dog barking or kids crying in the background, so having these far-field microphones comes in handy,” says Corkell. “We’ve also introduced unified communication keys, so with the hit of a key, you can accept or decline a Skype call.”
Keep prying eyes away from your screen
Lenovo devices offer Privacy Guard as part of their ThinkShield hardware features. When they first introduced the Privacy Guard, users had to hit a certain key for it to take effect. But now their laptop can use its camera to detect that someone is behind you, and you can set up rules to make the Privacy Guard automatically go into effect.
“Granted, people aren’t going to the airport right now,” says Corkell, “but if you’re at the airport, working on a confidential document, and you feel like someone is peering over your shoulder, you don’t have to worry. Your computer will detect that, and your data is protected.”
Keep collaboration software separate with Lenovo ThinkSmart View
Corkell says Lenovo’s ThinkSmart View began to get a lot more attention once everybody started working from home. “People want to use the ThinkSmart View to be able to have their calendar up, to have video calls and meetings, and free up that space on their PC.”
Corkell notes that in addition to the corporate environment, the ThinkSmart View is being used in hospitals and nursing homes as well. “If a doctor needs to talk to a patient, they can call through the device.”
Rethinking collaboration as we move away from meeting rooms
Many companies were used to fitting 10-20 people into a large meeting room. But going forward, you might only have four or five people in a room, and others still working from home. So, how do they collaborate?
Corkell recommends the ThinkSmart Hub as a compact console that you can use to collaborate with people working from home. They can dial in via videoconference to easily connect with people in the room.
“It’s a great device because it eliminates that awkward 10 minutes of trying to plug in your laptop to the meeting-room monitor,” says Corkell. “My old manager used to have all kinds of issues connecting to the screen, but as soon as Lenovo put in these ThinkSmart Hubs, he no longer had that issue.”
How Lenovo can help relieve the burden on IT services
Because everyone is spread out right now, IT services are probably overburdened, Corkell says, as they’re having to figure out lifecycles on top of making sure employees have the right devices.
“If you have an issue with your device, instead of having to call your IT department, just call Lenovo’s Premier Support line,” says Corkell. “You’ll talk to one technician, who’ll handle your case from beginning to end.”
To learn more about Lenovo solutions, please visit CDW.ca/Lenovo. And be sure to bookmark this page for more coverage of BTEX 2020.
