NFS Hospitality technology solutions

Video conferencing and telepresence continue to be a hot topic across the globe right now.  With Organizations trying to cut reimbursable fuel costs, save money on airline travel, and foster collaboration between remote employees – not to mention ramping up on that “face-time” with clients in other cities, Companies not already on the bandwagon are scrambling to find and implement the right solutions.

Finding the right video conferencing and telepresence technology (VCTP) is a good start, but it’s only part of the equation.  Companies will also need a simple, efficient way to schedule and manage their VCTP facilities. Meeting hosts need an easy way to invite participants to meetings, keep track of changes, and update attendees as needed. Hosts may also need to communicate with VCTP technicians.  Some Companies will require a fully web-based solution that’s quick and easy to roll out, with others requiring this service to be hosted and supported.

Points to Consider When Implementing VCTP Technology

Once the decision has been made to implement VCTP technology in the Organization, there are certain questions to pose, such as, how do you manage the process of finding and scheduling available VCTP space? What if your Organization has a request/approve process with gatekeepers, or more of a self-service process, or even a combination thereof?

MS Outlook doesn’t have the flexibility or robustness to deal with variations and complexities such as these, but as many Companies know, employees rely heavily on this email application.

What if you could allow your staff to continue using the familiar MS Outlook, powered by a seamlessly integrated VCTP scheduling system that allowed them to book all meetings simply and efficiently from their desktop?

Knowledge is Key

Management and utilization reports are critical so that you know exactly how your VCTP space is being used.  Keeping track of trends will determine if VCTP space is being over or under-utilized.  Do under-utilized spaces need attention to make them more usable?  Do you need to scale up the amount of VCTP space on offer?  Knowledge is key. Informed and educated answers to these, and many other questions, can be easily obtained.

NFS Has The Solution

What if you could have all of this in one flexible, scalable, comprehensive scheduling solution?  NFS provides the capability to manage and schedule all your VCTP meetings directly from MS Outlook, with powerful software that is available on a hosted basis or as an easily implemented web-based system.

Experience the benefits of growing your video conferencing and telepresence capabilities, and let NFS show you how to manage and schedule these critical corporate assets with simplicity and ease.

For more information, please call NFS on 01992 514 598, email info@nfs-hospitality.com or visit our website at www.nfs-hospitality.com

When the iPad was launched at the beginning of 2010 it was hailed as the future ‘must have’ gadget for the consumer market. Whilst it has enjoyed unprecedented and unexpected success in this sector, for today’s modern executive the iPad is increasingly becoming the de facto mobile device, whether for note taking, delivering presentations, managing email, engaging in social media or just keeping on top of schedules and to-do lists.

Forrester analyst and commentator, Boris Evelson, notes in Mobile Tablet PCs, Not Phones, Will Create Critical Mass For Enterprise BI Adoption that tablet devices are driving enterprise Mobile BI adoption by addressing the inadequacies of smartphone form features – primarily the screen and keyboard.

According to Apple, more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies are currently deploying/integrating iPads in their enterprise communications programs.

The iTunes Apps Store contains many apps that duplicate the functionality of traditional desktop applications. For example, the PC Mag Editors’ Choice award-winning iWork for iPad (a mobile version of Apple’s office suite), Citrix GoToMyPC for iPad (a mobile version of the popular remote access software), Filemaker to Go for iPad (database software), and Power.ME (which excels at task and workflow management) give business users the ability to edit documents, access a Mac or PC remotely, keep inventory and track important data. This handful of apps alone makes the iPad a much more useful business tool than was initially envisaged.

A recent addition to the enterprise is Workspace Mobile – the iPad interface for NFS’ Rendezvous Workspace scheduling software. Workspace Mobile works just like any other business app on the iPad. Once a meeting is scheduled on the device it is seamlessly updated across the enterprise using built-in Exchange integration. But Workspace Mobile is more than just a calendar; it is also empowers the user to manage the event in much the same way as if they were sitting at their desktop PC. Unlike using a traditional PC, it is now possible to schedule and confirm meetings when sitting face-to-face with clients. This enables much faster decision-making and saves significantly on administration time.

With this exciting new interface you can now book meetings, view upcoming meetings, order refreshments, make amendments to AV requirements and send out agendas and meeting requests anywhere in the world, with just a few touches of the screen.

If Workspace Mobile sounds like the tool you need to empower your executives, please contact us for a demonstration.

With our new, six-part eBook, Scheduling Technology – The Benefits, we hope to offer a comprehensive look at why organisations should consider implementation of an integrated software solution for room and resource booking, and the many business advantages they stand to gain through use of this technology. We also offer a checklist of features to look for when choosing a scheduling solution – because, after all, every business is unique, with its own set of requirements.

The first series of our eBook, Why Space Management is Important to your Business, focuses on the many benefits that are available to organisations that deploy a powerful scheduling solution.

Did you know that workspace scheduling solutions can save time, streamline operations,  increase productivity, reduce overall costs and also increase employee satisfaction? These are what we believe are the core business benefits of scheduling technology, and in the first part of Series One we explain how each benefit can be seen across organisations that use an integrated scheduling solution.

There are also a range of transformational benefits to be gained, including reducing operational costs, increasing mobility, offering better access, improving work / life balance and also lessening your environmental impact. A more detailed look at these benefits forms the second part of Series One.

But it doesn’t stop there. Here are some of the topics we’ll be following in later series:

• Scheduling Technology for the Mobile Workforce
• Managing Space Using Outlook Calendaring
• The Benefits of Video Conference and Telepresence Technology

Series One: Why Space Management is Important to your Business is now available to download on our website.  Click here to enter a few basic details – and start reading!.

Our research has found that a number of companies have adapted Outlook beyond its standard email, calendar and task management functionality to encompass room and resource bookings. Whilst Outlook is a great solution as a personal productivity tool it doesn’t offer all the benefits, such as reporting and catering management, that a specific room booking solution does.

As many people spend a considerable amount of their day utilizing Outlook, for email and productivity, including such tasks as organising and confirming meetings, then it would make sense for them to use a room booking system which is seamlessly integrated with Outlook. This allows them to continue working uninterrupted.

Rendezvous Workspace gives you just this. A proven resource management solution tightly integrated with Outlook allows your employees to continue to use the interface they’re comfortable with, whilst providing easy access to all the feature sets of a powerful scheduling software solution.

Rendezvous Workspace is used by a number of companies, including leading law firm Wedlake Bell, who can testify to its benefits:

“The ability for our staff to make a room availability enquiry from within Outlook and to also request or book a meeting room and resources simply and efficiently will help with providing a better service to our team and also reduce the workload on reception,” comments Linda Webster, Head of IT.

Are you using Outlook as a scheduling tool?

We are delighted to announce the latest in our series of informative webinars; the next discussion being: Rendezvous Workspace vs. Outlook – Why Outlook Isn’t That Great a Scheduling Tool.

This webinar will highlight how Rendezvous Workspace significantly extends and enhances what is already being done in Outlook in terms of room and resource scheduling. Focusing on our latest offering, it will include a live demonstration of this flexible and powerful scheduling solution as well as its benefits over using Outlook alone for scheduling.

Rendezvous Workspace works with Outlook in various ways, including:

• Full integration with Outlook – no need to disrupt your email session or open multiple applications; simply launch Rendezvous Workspace directly from Outlook.
• Ease of use – The user interface is uncluttered, user-friendly and efficient. With “drag and drop” functionality, schedules can be changed quickly on the fly and without the need to rekey data.
• Highly configurable – Rendezvous Workspace is customized to your exact needs and business processes, and it integrates fully with several database platforms.
• Portability – Simply use your laptop, smartphone, Blackberry or iPhone to do everything you can do in the office – book meeting rooms, hot-desks, catering and resources.
• Seamless automation – Save time by automating meeting reminders, change notifications, cancellation and service alerts.
• Video-conference scheduling – Schedule multi-timezone and multi-location video-conferences, and notifications will be sent automatically.
• Smooth Integration – Rendezvous Workspace is flexible; whatever your choice of email platform, it delivers. It integrates as seamlessly with Lotus Notes as it does with Exchange server technologies.
• Interoperability – With Rendezvous Workspace you are not tied to one browser. The system is interoperable and works perfectly with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera.

To find out more about Rendezvous Workspace and to register to attend the free NFS webinar, visit www.myrendezvous.net/webinar.html today.