Let me start by stating the obvious, being quarantined to our homes with next to no human interaction is hard. Even for someone like me who has spent the past 15 years of his career working remotely, it is difficult. I enjoy being able to grab lunch during the day or running errands on the weekend. Just the other day my wife convinced me that buying fertilizer for our lawn was not “essential” so I ordered online and paid extra for shipping instead.
One aspect that I do not mind, however, is having my wife and two daughters Samantha and Sydney (ages 12 and 8) home with me every day. They allow me to close my office doors and focus on the work I have but it is also nice to get a break and watch them play outside for a little as well.
The most interesting part of being home with my family is watching them adapt to remote learning/teaching and how technology, specifically video conferencing, has helped them remain connected.
The day was March 18, 2020. Our house had been under a quarantine since Saturday the 14th and my wife and daughters were learning a “new normal” of home schooling. My youngest, Sydney, was having the hardest time because frankly she is a social explosion waiting to happen! She has so many close friends, classmates, cheer teammates, girl scouts, and cousins that you could see the smoke coming from her ears when she realized she could not see any of them. That is, until I introduced her to the world of Zoom. Watching her eyes light up like Christmas morning the second she saw her friends Talia, Lianna, and Reilly on the screen was worth more than gold at that moment. That is when it dawned on me that something I have always taken for granted, Zoom, was now viewed as the “recreation of the wheel” by those that have never experienced it. Sure, we have FaceTime, Skype, and a number of other video-calling platforms to choose from, but the ease of “zooming” your friends, colleagues, family, and customers takes it to another level.
Zoom’s platform is the perfect teleconferencing tool for a multitude of uses and as each day goes by, we are finding new ways of creativity on how to use it: happy hours, school assemblies, birthday parties, even quick check- ins with a customer. We have certainly done it all. Almo Professional A/V is certainly no stranger to Zoom, having utilized it for 4 years now. What started as a necessity for our organization to remain connected to our customers has expanded into the 2019 introduction of Zoom Certified Hardware Bundles and the April 2020 announcement that we are now an Authorized Zoom Solution Provider which means our customers (and their customers) can source a full solution from us; Certified Hardware Bundles and the necessary Zoom License to make it all work as desired. One of the best features of the Almo/Zoom relationship is that it requires little to no extra work from our valued resellers. For every opportunity that is brought to us, it is assigned a Zoom Account Executive to help see through the sales process.
“What’s the job of the reseller?” you might ask. It’s to send the initial referral and then collect the recurring commission that is paid out on every job. The ability to collect recurring revenue in these times of uncertainty can certainly be a valuable proposition.
In closing, I hope we can all find creative ways to use Zoom as a bridge during these interesting days and weeks ahead. While most of us might not have the same bright-eyed look that my daughter Sydney had, I know we all appreciate the ability to connect with the outside world while being told to “not go outside.” I would love to have future discussions with all of you on how Zoom and Almo Professional A/V can help you stay connected and make your business, schooling, family get-togethers, or happy hours even better!
Rob Voorhees
Business Development Manager
[email protected]
888-420-2566 x6572
