BYOD vs. BYOM: Choosing the Right Meeting Tech for Your Needs

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting) are two related but distinct concepts that have transformed the way meetings and collaboration occur in modern workplaces. Let’s delve into these terms and their significance:

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

BYOD refers to the practice of allowing participants to use their personal devices, such as laptops, smartphones, or tablets, to connect to and interact with the meeting room system. In a BYOD-enabled meeting room, individuals can join, host, or control meetings using their familiar devices. \

BYOD in Meetings

For example, consider AV Access’s eShare W50 meeting room system. This innovative solution seamlessly integrates essential in-room meeting devices such as webcams, speakerphones, and the meeting room display. It offers both wired and wireless connectivity options, including screen mirroring and the use of a dongle, to empower mobile device users to take control of these resources during a meeting.

With this system in place, employees have the flexibility to leverage the meeting room’s devices using their personal laptops, and, in some cases, even their smartphones and tablets. This user-friendly approach allows individuals to effortlessly host meetings or become presenters, fostering a more dynamic and collaborative meeting environment.

Benefits of BYOD

Key features of BYOD include:

1. Device Familiarity: Participants use their own devices, which they are most comfortable with and use daily. This eliminates the need to learn and adapt to new meeting room interfaces or equipment.

2. Flexibility: BYOD offers great flexibility, allowing team members to connect their laptops, smartphones, or tablets to the meeting room system. This flexibility is especially valuable for hybrid conferencing scenarios where remote and in-person participants collaborate.

3. Efficient Team Collaboration: BYOD improves efficiency in team collaboration during meetings. Participants can easily host or join meetings and take control of meeting room devices from their personal devices.

4. Customization: Users can personalize their meeting experience and choose their preferred conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or others, depending on their team’s needs.

BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting)

Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) is a meeting room solution that empowers participants to use their personal devices, such as smartphones or laptops, to host and control the meeting.

Unlike traditional room-based systems, where dedicated in-room equipment dictates the meeting’s progression and structure, BYOM allows participants to take command of the meeting’s flow using their own devices.

This approach makes the meeting experience more customizable and flexible, as participants can use familiar tools and applications to tailor the meeting to their specific needs and preferences.

Benefits of BYOM

Key aspects of BYOM include:

BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting) is a transformative approach to meeting technology that empowers users to drive the entire meeting experience using their personal devices.

Here are the key benefits of BYOM:

1. User-Centric Experience: With BYOM, dedicated room system devices are no longer needed to initiate meetings. Users interact solely with their own laptops, tablets, or smartphones. Meeting hosts can start video conference meetings using their devices, seamlessly integrating room technology with remote participants.
2. Agnostic Conferencing Support: BYOM provides support for various video conferencing services (VCS), breaking free from vendor-locked experiences. It is compatible with major VCS platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Webex, and more, offering flexibility in hosting and joining video conferences.
3. Rich Content Sharing: Beyond video conferencing, BYOM enhances the entire meeting experience, both in-room and for remote participants. It enables seamless integration of personal devices with room technology, facilitating rich, multi-participant content sharing, including 4K video, images, documents, applications, and other content.
4. Personal Calendar Integration: BYOM systems integrate with personal calendars, automatically launching scheduled meetings with a single step. The room technology adapts to users’ schedules and choice of VCS, personalizing the meeting space.
5. Touchless Solution: BYOM eliminates the need for physical cable connections or shared room hardware. It provides a touchless meeting space solution, crucial in a post-pandemic world, where shared devices and touchpoints are minimized.
6. Global Standardization: BYOM solutions support meetings in various spaces, from traditional conference rooms to huddle spaces, lounges, and more. They offer flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and familiarity, allowing users to collaborate in any environment.
7. Ease of Use: Unlike traditional room-based systems with vendor-specific workflows, BYOM offers a consistent workflow across different meeting spaces and VCS platforms. It combines flexibility with ease of use, simplifying the meeting experience.
8. Meeting Space Analytics: BYOM solutions provide valuable analytics for administrators. De-identified data helps assess room and technology usage, meeting duration, room density, and other metrics. This insight enables better management and optimization of meeting spaces.

BYOD vs BYOM

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting) are related concepts that involve participants using their personal devices for meetings and presentations, but they differ in several key aspects:

1. Define Your Own Meeting:
   • BYOD: In a BYOD scenario, participants use their own devices to access meeting resources or display content, but the meeting room system typically remains unchanged. Participants can share their screens or presentations from their devices to a central display.
   • BYOM: BYOM is more dynamic and allows participants to not only use external devices but also take control of the meeting’s workflow. This means that participants can personalize and control the meeting experience using their own devices.
2. Choose Your Own VCS (Video Conference Service):
   • BYOD: BYOD may be limited to specific video conferencing platforms or services supported by the existing meeting room system.
   • BYOM: BYOM solutions are generally more open and flexible, allowing users to choose the video conferencing service that best suits their team’s needs. It’s not locked to a particular VCS, providing more freedom of choice.
3. Ease of Use:
   • BYOM: BYOM often provides a touchless or hassle-free connection experience. Participants can control and contribute to the meeting without the need for physical device connections like cables or dongles. Their personal devices serve as the control dashboard.

Hybrid Conference Systems

There are hybrid conference systems like the AV Access eShare W50. These systems offer a middle-ground solution for small to medium-sized teams. They support both wired and wireless connections to host the meeting (similar to BYOM) while also allowing wireless BYOD for participants to engage in the meeting.

These hybrid systems integrate both hardware and software solutions, offering the convenience of plug-and-play while providing users with more options and control over their meeting experience.

Conclusion

The world of meeting room technology is constantly evolving, with new products and concepts emerging regularly. However, it’s essential to remember that users’ needs are often practical and straightforward. While the latest and most advanced solutions might be appealing, they may not always be the best fit for your specific requirements. In many cases, a simple Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solution can effectively meet your needs and provide a seamless and user-friendly experience.