Few companies can excel at both Hardware and Software. Luckily, well planned partnerships can fill in the gaps.
When we first started YArooms we knew we’d eventually have to dabble in the hardware aspect of the room booking market. Sure, back in 2011 all we had was the Dedicated Browser Client, plans for the future and a penchant for bleeding edge tech, but we knew what was coming. So as the years went by, we bridged the gaps between what YArooms could do and what the market demanded – we launched our first room booking Outlook Add-in, meant to help Outlook users feel more at home with YArooms (by the way, we’ve just released its latest, best incarnation to date). Then came the Room Signage issue.
We’re a startup, with a startup mentality and a startup’s flexibility. And, as such, lots of our customers are startups as well. When building YArooms Door, our Room Signage Application, we knew we had to be able to accommodate both Enterprise-grade customers and clients working on a tight budget. So the app itself was built to be as versatile and lightweight as possible, able to run on both lower-end and high-end devices, from a lowly Kindle Fire tablet to the XDS-1078, a beautifully built smart signboard made by IAdea.
We met IAdea almost 3 months ago, through a client who asked about a possible integration between their devices and our software. It wouldn’t be the first time a client brings us closer to a potential partner, either through a direct request or a passing remark (that’s somewhat what happened with TheReceptionist too).
IAdea’s XDS-1078 has a number of advantages over your regular, consumer-oriented tablets:
- It is designed to withstand a lot more wear and tear than consumer-grade devices
- It comes equipped with everything needed to be mounted on a room, door or glass wall
- It features 2 programmable LED lights that YArooms Door can hook into to display a+ room’s status (Available – Green, Waiting for Check-in – Yellow, Occupied – Red)
- It can connect to a wired internet connection and draw Power over Ethernet – thus removing the need for extra cables or recharging
- Its software has been designed to be as streamlined as possible, making the hardware more responsive and energy consumption lower
- It comes unbranded
- It can be fitted with a NFC module to allow for easy staff-ID/ badge identification; the ID card could then be used to restrict bookings or validate check-ins
One of YAroom’s Door best features is the Check-in functionality, which turns the XDS-1078 LEDs a warm yellow. This can be activated in YArooms’ Dedicated Browser Client and, unless the booker or one of the attendees checks into the room before the meeting starts (timeframe editable from the DBC), YArooms vacates the room to prevent ghosting – booking a room and then forgetting about it. This allows you to reclaim your meeting space and improve usage rates.
IAdea has been a market-leading hardware pioneer for almost 20 years now (they were founded in 2000), focused on digital signage and digital media players.
Technical information on how to set up YArooms Door on IAdea XDS-1078
