Bundle Up: Introducing Logitech® ConferenceCam Kit

Intel NUC_1

Bringing your laptop in a room for a video conference works well for most of our customers.  Your video software is already loaded correctly and you just plug in USB and go.  But many of our customers also prefer the convenience of just walking into a room and joining a meeting like a traditional video system.  No computer required.

To achieve this, a number of our customers have put together their own conference room solutions.  They purchase a computer, a keyboard or tablet to enter the conference info, the right wiring and cabling etc.  Sometimes it works but often times there are issues.  The PC they buy doesn’t have powerful enough processing or the necessary outputs to the TV.  The cables don’t work as advertised.  Confusing multiple remote controls.  And with an open Windows computer in the room, a number of things could possibly be misconfigured (install of Angry Birds, anyone?).

In order to solve these customer pain points, the Logitech VC group created a conference room bundle dubbed ConferenceCam Kit.  It includes a pre-specified PC from Intel tailored for video conferencing, a Logitech keyboard (K400+) for entering in meeting passcodes, a pre-configured Windows 10 Professional, Intel Unite for wireless data sharing to the local TV monitor, Intel vPro for IT to remotely manage the PC, and a Logitech ConferenceCam – either our new GROUP or Connect.

But most importantly, it contains a new element – a software shell called QuickLaunch SE that runs on top of Windows and turns the PC into a video conferencing kiosk.  This provides the best of both worlds for IT: a locked down computer but fully configurable by IT to add select Windows applications (think Office, Google Drive, or custom designed company programs) at their discretion.  No Angry Birds allowed.  This software has some neat tricks like asking at the end of your meeting if you want to email that spreadsheet on the PC with changes and wipeout any confidential data to protect security.

We then take these pieces and work with our channels to package and sell a solution to business customers.  One SKU to purchase, peace of mind knowing that the solution is well thought out and tested in advance by Logitech QA.  So what’s it in for Logitech? We enable people to mass deploy video conferencing for their choice to every meeting, huddle, breakout and collab room at your business and sell more ConferenceCams.  

 It’s a delicate balance of prescribing and curating a conference room solution without selling all of the components.  More of a “soft bundle” for our channels.  We know it’s a relatively new and different model for Logitech but absolutely what the market wants.  Early feedback from enterprise customers, partners, channels, and industry analysts has been strongly positive.

Kudos to Vic Bhagat, John Skeehan, Jason Moss and the extended team that put this entire offering together from idea conception, to product definition, partner recruitment, material creation, channel training, and product launch in 4 months!  Please join me in congratulating them on an exceptional job.  And buckle up your seatbelts for another exciting launch!