Superior audio, USB support and a low price tag separates this conference call equipment from the pack.

Revolabs Aims To Grow Channel With FLX UC 1500 Conference System

Revolabs FLX UC 1500
The console of Revolabs' FLX UC 1500 conference system

Dozens of things can go wrong during a conference call - from a missing PowerPoint presentation to dropped calls to AWAL attendees. But Revolabs, a Sudbury, Mass.-based subsidiary of Yamaha Corp., says you can count on one thing not to let a teleconference fall short: its audio equipment.

Revolabs’ latest gear, the FLX UC 1500, is a wired and crisp-sounding conferencing system consisting of a speaker base, touchscreen keypad and two satellite microphones. It's USB-friendly and protocol agnostic and aims to capture the growing market for small breakout rooms where teams collaborate using phones and video services straight from a phone, laptop, webcam or mobile phone.

“Work habits are changing,” said Holger Stoltze, senior product manager at Revolabs. Agile development, tight deadlines and informal meetings with remote clients and colleagues necessitate smaller, impromptu “huddle room” collaborations. Large traditional meetings are falling out of vogue.

The unified communications market will grow 16 percent between 2014 and 2020, when it will be worth $76 billion, according to Grand View Research, based in San Francisco. Expensive on-premise, hardware-centric unified communications systems have high capital expenditures and require on-sight maintenance, making software based solutions an attractive alternative, according to Grand View.

 

Get a look at the system in this CRN Test Center video.

Unified Communications Driving New Revolabs Partner Opportunities

Shifting sands in the UC market has Revolabs pushing to grow its partner base into the SMB market and enterprise. Products such as FLX UC 1500 allow Revolabs' partners to add an important line card item of affordable conferencing systems to their catalog, Stoltze said. The opportunity, he said, is to allow partners to create new revenue streams with Revolabs hardware, but also with back-end IP-based video conferencing services leveraging the popularity of Microsoft’s Skype and emerging WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) videoconferencing services from Zoom, Bistri, Google Hangout and FACEmeeting.

WebRTC is an API that supports browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing without the need of either internal or external plugins.

Stoltze said the FLX UC 1500 allows Revolabs’ 800 resellers to start new conversations with customers about updating their unified communications systems with more affordable IP-based solutions based on open standards – no vender lock-ins. The push, said Rob Claus, director of global channel sales, is creating new opportunities for traditional AV installers and IT resellers.

“We see a lot of potential in financial services, education and government markets,” Claus said. On the horizon, he said, is the need for reliable video services within the health care market that will drive telemedicine applications within UC.

Premium Sound, Feature Rich, Affordable Price

Revolabs is positioning the FLX UC 1500 as an affordable alternative to large conference systems that can cost $10,000. The UC 1500 costs $1,000. Competing systems from rival LifeSize and Polycom can cost as much as $1,700 and $1,200 for similar type solutions.

The UC 1500 supports both USB audio for PC communication gear and SIP telephony for IP PBXs. One defining feature of the UC 1500 is its ability to bridge calls between SIP and IP PBXs systems simply by plugging in USB-based devices (laptop or tablet) to join an existing conference call.

During a demonstration of the FLX UC 1500 at Revolabs' Sudbury offices, the sound quality was exceptional, thanks in part to premium tweeter and mid-woofer - features usually reserved for small high-end cabinet speaker systems. Testing of the unit was performed using a VoIP phone, Microsoft’s Skype video conferencing running on a laptop, and a mobile phone.

The FLX UC 1500 also includes four embedded microphones, two extension microphones and updated echo cancellation, according to Revolabs. 

“Things go wrong. Sound, video – you name it,” Stoltze said. “But with FLX UC 1500 even a bad (voice) connection sounds better. And a good connection sounds phenomenal,” he said.