AV News November 2020

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The direct channel to the industry

November 2020 www.avnews.co.uk Page16

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Remote learning

XR Technologies

As we sit down to write this piece. The UK government has announced that England will be locked down for four weeks, but that the schools and universities will remain open.

The technologies of Virtual and Augmented Realities, collectively known as XR Realities could hold the key to providing the added value perceived to be ‘missing’ from standard video communication.

Mass resignations forecast among those forced back to offices

Sharp and NEC complete acquisition

With current government advice encouraging all those who can work from home to do so, it’s no surprise that Britain’s businesses and employees are navigating a new normal. Research launched by Owl Labs, the leader in collaborative video conferencing and classroom technology, sheds light on Britain's attitudes to work during a Global Pandemic. It’s no surprise that the majority (84%) of UK full-time workers are planning on working remotely in some form for the rest of 2020, whilst almost half (41%) would be likely to

In a joint announcement Mike Marusic, President and CEO of the Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, and Todd Bouman, President and CEO of Sharp NEC Display Solutions of America, revealed that Sharp Corporation and NEC Corporation, have completed the acquisition of 66% of the shares of NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. (NDS), a subsidiary of NEC. As a result of

a full five day working-week from home, with 55% planning a more hybrid role with one to four days in the office. With working from home likely to become part of the future of working life, 45% of office workers are willing to take a pay cut to continue working from home in the long-term. 15% would be willing to take a pay cut of 5%, the equivalent to ÂŁ1,518 a year when looking at the average full-time UK salary of ÂŁ30,353.* However, if companies were to enforce pay cuts without offering benefits in kind, such

their pay as part of cost savings across the business (46%), or if their employer cut their pay if they chose to move to a suburban or rural location to work from home permanently (41%). Companies will need to be agile and open to employee suggestions when navigating this changing working landscape and changing expectations of working life. However, there are opportunities for nimble companies who can move fast to recruit the best talent regardless of location, to cut operational costs with smaller offices, and have a loyal workforce by of-

Almost half of workers (41%) would be likely to resign if they were forced to return to the office against their will. resign if they were forced to return to the office against their will. Almost half (44%) of UK full-time workers plan to work

as freedom to work from home, it’s a very different story. Office workers would be likely to resign from their current role if their company were to cut

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fering flexible hybrid working to better fit in with employees' work-life balance,” says Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. With the shift in working

practises, it shouldn’t surprise employers that there has also been a shift in employee expectations when it comes to what employers should be providing to their staff, both at home and in office. Three-quarters of employees (74%) believe their company should pay for, or provide, office technology equipment (including laptops, printers, and extra screens) when they work from home, with half (50%) believing they should provide office furniture (including desks and ergonomic chairs). Whilst the shift to increased working from home provides workers with more flexibility and freedom, employers concerned about their workers' productivity should think carefully before introducing remote monitoring technology. When working from home, 61% of employees would be concerned if their company bought in remote activity and productivity monitoring, with over a third (36%) saying they’d be likely to resign if so. Almost three-quarters (72%) were concerned about the use of video tracking, 61% with attention tracking apps, 60% were concerned about keyboard tracking apps, and over half (52%) if their employer were to monitor time spent on certain apps or websites.

a wide range of synergies that we can pass on to the business community and our resellers. Additionally, this venture will add scale and efficiency for our combined product lines across the world, allow us to more competitively pursue emerging categories within the marketplace and combine the immense knowledge, skills and capabilities of both organizations.

Mike Marusic, President and CEO of the Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, and Todd Bouman, President and CEO of Sharp NEC Display Solutions the acquisition, NDS will become a subsidiary of Sharp and a joint venture with NEC retaining 34% of its shares. The joint venture has been renamed Sharp NEC Display Solutions (SNDS) and will focus on the B2B display business. SNDS will be headed up by Fujikazu Nakayama who will serve as Chairman of the new business and Hisatsugu Nakatani will serve as President. This new company represents our deep and ongoing commitment to the B2B display business. The previous Sharp and NDS display businesses are two market-leading brands in the production and development of visual solutions, and the SharpNEC joint venture will result in

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Over the coming months, the Americas teams of both Sharp and SNDS will work closely together to develop our go forward strategies to maximize the value of the joint venture to our partners. During this period, both teams will continue to operate as they do now and continue to support their respective customers as they have been doing. “This is an exciting new chapter for us moving forward. We have mutual admiration and respect for one another along with a deep ethos in quality and innovation. We look forward to sharing our synergetic plans as we move further down this exciting road.”


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