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October 2022 www.avnewsonline.com Retail: technology innovations
HYPERVSN: New kids on the retail block
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When the worst excesses of the pandemic were largely under control, significant numbers of retailers were cautiously optimistic about their ability to withstand the challenges posed by coronavirus.
Bosses think workers work less from home A major new survey from Microsoft shows that bosses and workers fundamentally disagree about productivity when working from home. Bosses worry about whether working from home is as productive as being in the office. While 87% of workers felt they worked as, or more, efficiently from home, 80% of managers disagreed. (The survey questioned more than 20,000 staff across 11 countries.) Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella believes this tension needed to be resolved as workplaces were unlikely to ever return to pre-pandemic work habits. “We have to get past what we describe as ‘productivity paranoia’, because all of the data we have that shows that 80% plus of the individual people feel they're very productive - except their management thinks that they're not productive. That means there is a real disconnect in terms of the expectations and what they feel.” Both Nadella and Ryan Roslansky, the boss of Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, said employers were grappling with perhaps the biggest shift in working patterns in history. The number of fully remote jobs advertised on LinkedIn soared during the pandemic but Roslansky said data suggested that type of role might have peaked. Some 14 or 15 million job listings that are typically
Microsoft boss Satya Nadella has said that workplaces need to overcome ‘productivity paranoia’ live on LinkedIn, about 2% of those involved remote working before the pandemic. Some months ago, that stood at 20%, and it has since come down to 15% this month. Work from home for 20% less pay, says a city law firm At a time of acute labour shortages, employers are having to work harder to recruit, enthuse and retain staff. That even includes Microsoft itself, according to Nadella. “We had 70,000 people who joined Microsoft during the pandemic, they sort of saw Microsoft through the lens of the pandemic. And now when we think about the next phase, you need to re-energize them, re-recruit them, help them form social connections.” Continued on page 2
Turning customer engagement into direct sales is something that most forward-thinking retailers have been trying to achieve for some time, especially with the advent of COVID.
Elise and Romain to spearhead PPDS’ growth ambitions PPDS has announced the further strengthening of its France and Iberia management teams, with the appointments of experienced LED and digital signage sales specialists, Elise Hardouin and Romain Gentile. Part of the company’s continued global recruitment drive, strengthening teams of specialists with AV/IT knowledge for specific products in dedicated markets, Romain becomes PPDS’ new digital signage key account manager for France and Iberia, with Elise taking the position of LED key account manager for France. Reporting to César Sanz, Sales Director for Iberia and France – who guided PPDS to record sales of Philips digital signage
and its developing LED portfolio in 2021 – Elise and Romain add extensive sales knowledge and experience to the team and
LED and digital signage growth strategy in France, Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. PPDS recently announced a
PPDS strengthens Iberian and French sales teams with appointments of LED and digital signage specialists Elise Hardouin and Romain Gentile. will play a key role in further developing PPDS’ ambitious
series of clusterings in Europe, to harness its existing teams’
talents and bring additional focus to specific markets, of which France and Iberia were key regions. Based in Barcelona, Romain’s key responsibilities will include developing and strengthening new and existing partner and customer relationships to drive brand exposure and seize new business opportunities. He will also work closely with PPDS’ expansive list of third-party partnerships across hardware and software, to ensure seamless compatibility and integration with Philips digital signage solutions, creating additional revenue opportunities and enhanced customer experiences. Continued on page 2
New Christie HS Series 1DLP projectors Christie has announced the launch of the next generation of its popular HS Series 1DLP projectors with three new models. Ranging in brightness from 15,750 lumens to 23,650 lumens, the new models feature enhanced colour performance for bright, bold visuals with new Christie BoldColor+ technology. The DWU15-HS, DWU19-HS and DWU23-HS are 15,750, 19,150 and 23,650 lumens respectively, increasing the range of brightness while maintaining the legacy of reliability, quiet operation, and cost-efficiency of the original HS Series. With the addition of new BoldColor+, colours in the new genera-
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tion of HS Series projectors are brighter and bolder with deeper blacks and more natural and realistic on-screen images. In addition to three new HS Series models, Christie is also introducing the DWU1400GS, a new 14,250 lumen GS Series 1DLP projector featuring Christie RealBlack, which delivers stunning visuals with 4,000,000:1 contrast. The new HS Series models and the DWU1400-GS all come with a 5-year warranty. “Our new projectors increase colour Christie has announced the launch of the next generation of its popular HS Series 1DLP projectors with three new models. Ranging in brightness from 15,750 lumens to 23,650 lumens, the new models feature enhanced colour performance.
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