The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we work today. It has also led many companies to consider work-from-home strategies for their employees. However, with work-from-employees separated from each other, there are concerns that projects requiring collaboration will suffer.
This can be addressed with unified communication’s video conferencing solutions. Using this feature provides a live team environment that brings everyone together and decreases feelings of isolation. Thus, technology can enrich the work-from-home experience for employee communications and collaboration.
Now, Avaya is a brand that has been at the forefront of unified communications solutions and we we recently has a hands on for a couple of weeks with the Avaya CU-360 Collaboration Unit. The CU-360 from Avaya is a device that is powered by the Android operating system.
It combines the functions of a standard video conferencing equipment with the portability of a laptop. The device allows you to create a huddle room, which essentially is a small meeting room, wherever you can find a screen with a USB port and Wi-Fi connectivity. The device also comes with some really brilliant built-in collaboration tools such as a whiteboard and presentation sharing capabilities.
Inside the box, you get the CU-360 unit, the power cable with the adapters and an IR remote that has the basic set of keys on one side and a full keyboard on the other side. The IR remote takes in a set of AAA batteries. You also get an HDMI cable, some screws, a wall/shelf mount, and some paperwork that includes the warranty information, quick start guide and installation guide.
The overall build quality and design of the CU-360 is top notch. All the connectivity options are at the bottom edge of the device. You get the power port, a LAN port, an HDMI port, a memory card slot, a security lock, and a USB port. It also comes with a stand which include a thread screw, in case you would like to mount it somewhere near a display unit.
In order to install and setup the Avaya CU-360 Collaboration Unit, all you need to do is, connect one side of the HDMI cable to the CU-360 unit and the other side to a television unit. Next, connect the LAN cable to the LAN port on the device, and insert the power adapter into the power port on the device.
And that’s it. You are ready to rock and roll! It literally takes minutes to set this thing up and it is quite impressive how effortless the whole procedure is. Once that is done, to enter into a video conferencing session, you need to dial into your Avaya conferencing room. You can even share your presentations wirelessly through your laptop, smartphones, tablets and so on.
In order to get people to join the conference session, you can send out invitations to your contacts. Since the CU-360 is a fully integrated unit, it fits perfectly into your overall communications setup. So you get access to the contact list, calendar, and a wide range of cloud based apps.
In terms of video quality, the CU-360 offers full HD live video support, and offers a >100⁰ Diagonal Field of View. It also offers touch screen support, Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC, meeting recording capabilities, and lots more. You also get support for 4K cameras and 4K displays. It also easily integrates with Avaya UC including Avaya Aura, Avaya IP Office, Avaya IX Meetings and even Avaya Equinox.
For a price of $899, the Avaya CU-360 Collaboration Unit makes perfect sense for businesses looking for a budget-friendly, fuss free, communication and collaboration solution that does an excellent job at what it does.
Price: $899
