Five years after the pandemic pushed organizations to embrace remote-work technologies, many companies are realizing their once adequate AV tools haven’t kept pace with the changing dynamics of today’s workplace.
For example, the most pressing needs in Spring 2020 were to stay operational and quickly get your teams connected from anywhere. Today, however, it’s all about:
- Seamlessly shifting between home and office
- Creating engaging workplace experiences
- Implementing enterprise-grade tools that are reliable and secure
- Integrating AV tools with existing IT ecosystems
- Leveraging new capabilities, including AI, to scale and grow
If you’re responsible for workplace AV, here are eight signs it’s time to modernize your AV tools (and don’t worry, we’ll go beyond obvious signs like crackling audio and frozen video).
1. Frequent Complaints from Employees
Employees want reliable, user-friendly tools that make their work life easier (whether at home or the office). If your AV equipment is a regular source of employee frustration and complaints, those are strong indications the tools aren’t meeting your team’s needs.
ACTION ITEM: Poll your employees and ask them whether they have experienced AV issues that need attention. Review the feedback to spot patterns and prioritize problem areas.
2. Hybrid Work Challenges
If your current systems don’t make it easy for remote and on-site teams to connect and collaborate seamlessly, you’re adding friction to the employee experience. Many AV tools released during the last few years are specifically designed to support hybrid work and provide high-quality experiences that help remote attendees feel like they’re in the room with their colleagues.
ACTION ITEM: Test your hybrid meeting experience. Set up a meeting with both in-office and remote participants. Then, ask attendees to rate the audio, video, and overall ease of connection.
3. Incompatibility with Modern Collaboration Platforms
Tools like Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom, and Google Workspace are now the standard in most organizations, so your AV systems should integrate effortlessly with these platforms. If your setup requires workarounds to connect with modern collaboration tools, it strongly indicates that an upgrade is overdue.
ACTION ITEM: Conduct a platform compatibility check. Test your AV tools with the collaboration platforms your teams use most (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams). Document any glitches, delays, or workarounds needed, and share the findings with IT leadership.
4. High Demand on IT Resources
You know how when IT tools are aging, they require more IT support? Well, the same is true of AV tools. If your IT team is frequently called to address AV issues, it’s a sign that your current systems are complex, unreliable, or no longer meeting users’ needs. The latest AV solutions come with user-friendly interfaces and troubleshooting features that reduce the demand on IT staff, freeing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than constant equipment support.
ACTION ITEM: Track IT support tickets related to AV issues for one month. Identify trends, such as recurring problems or specific rooms and tools that cause the most disruptions. Use this data to assess the true impact on IT resources.
5. Limited AV Coverage Across Your Workplace
Collaboration happens everywhere in the modern workplace, not just in conference rooms. If your AV tools are only available in certain spaces, or if they’re not designed to support a variety of use cases, it may be time to expand your AV setup. Many of the latest tools are more modular and can be easily deployed in multiple spaces to support flexible work and spontaneous collaboration.
ACTION ITEM: Map out your collaboration spaces. Take note of where AV tools are available and where they’re missing. Identify areas where adding or improving AV solutions could make a difference for your team.
Related Reading: 7 Examples of How Modern AV Tools Create Enterprise-Wide Impact
6. Lack of Analytics and Usage Data
Without data on AV usage, it’s challenging to understand how tools are being used and whether they’re delivering ROI. Many newer AV tools offer analytics features that provide insights into meeting patterns, equipment usage, and performance metrics – all of which help you make data-driven decisions about AV improvements.
ACTION ITEM: Conduct a manual AV usage audit. For one week, track meeting room bookings, equipment usage, and any reported issues. Compare this data to room capacity and meeting frequency to identify underutilized spaces or problematic tools.
7. Solutions That Don’t Scale
Today’s modern workplace AV solutions are built for scalability, making it easy for companies to expand without disruption or costly overhauls. If your current tools can’t scale to support new capabilities or growing teams, that’s a challenge you’ll want to solve.
ACTION ITEM: Review upcoming workplace changes like facility expansions or technology upgrades. Assess whether your current AV tools can support these changes or if they’ll create bottlenecks.
8. Security Concerns
Legacy AV systems may lack encryption, security updates, or compliance with current data protection standards, leaving your organization vulnerable. If your current tools don’t include modern security features, it’s time to invest in tools that not only protect your organization’s data but offer peace of mind to your IT and data security teams.
ACTION ITEM: Conduct a security review of your AV systems. Work with your IT team to verify if AV tools meet current encryption and compliance standards. Identify any vulnerabilities and prioritize areas that need updates or replacements.
Time to Modernize?
If your organization is experiencing any of these signs, we recommend you start planning to upgrade your tools. If you need a trusted partner to guide you, AVI Systems specializes in rapidly deploying enterprise-grade AV solutions to organizations of every size.
Our experienced team of experts starts every engagement by taking the time to understand your unique challenges and then offers solutions that achieve your goals.
Contact us today to discover how modern AV solutions can improve communication and collaboration at your organization. 
