Crestron Touch Panel Vs Personal Tablet In A Professional Environment

What is the difference between a Crestron touch panel vs personal tablet in a professional environment?

Many companies are moving to a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, which allows employees to utilize their personal devices for work-related applications. While this strategy can be a good one for some settings, it should not replace a Crestron touch panel solution. There’s a reason why the world’s most successful businesses rely on Crestron for their communication and collaboration needs. Crestron touch panels are purpose-built for professional settings, with superior security, functionality, responsiveness and appearance. Personal tablets can’t match Crestron panels in these areas.

Why a Crestron touch panel is the preferred choice in a professional environment

Crestron has been producing leading-edge communication technologies for decades, and it has a ubiquitous presence in the professional world. According to Forbes, 90 percent of all Fortune 500 companies make use of Crestron solutions, to some extent. Crestron products are designed for meeting rooms, boardrooms and any space set aside for communicating or collaborating. Companies that rely on Crestron know that they are getting a product that will precisely fit their needs. You couldn’t say the same for personal tablets. How does this design advantage play out? Here’s a look at a Crestron touch panel vs a personal tablet in a professional environment:

1. Crestron touch panels are fast enough for important meetings – Crestron is constantly improving on its touch panels and leveraging current generation hardware to do so. Crestron’s TSW series of touch panels is the newest example, and is built for companies that require lightning-quick and pinpoint-precise touch navigation. Compare this to a personal tablet, which may or may not be powerful enough to get the job done. Personal tablets can also experience significant slowdowns if they are not maintained and replaced regularly, but it’s not wise to count on employees to handle this on their own. Eventually, a personal tablet will be brought into a meeting that it is not suitable for, and that could cause delays or derail the meeting entirely. That’s not a problem with Crestron’s superior hardware.

Crestron is also an industry leader in interface design, and especially touch interfaces. When operating a Crestron touch panel, the important controls, functions and apps are all easy to find and quick to respond. This saves precious minutes and prevents delays that could cause people to disengage from the meeting.

2. Crestron touch panels are secure – Crestron touch panels are designed with enterprise-grade security, and the TSW series utilizes major security protocols to do so. This includes TLS, 802.1X, SSH, FIPS-140-2 and SFTP. With Crestron touch panels, it is far easier for IT departments to minimize potential avenues for intrusion, and ensure malware is not a concern.

For IT departments, the most concerning aspect of a BYOD policy is the potential for compromised security. Personal devices are notorious attack vectors for malware and bad actors and allowing employees to connect their personal devices to other parts of the network is risky. There’s a lot that can go wrong with a personal tablet, as it is up to the owner to protect them from malware and data leaks. Personal tablets may also not be compliant with data security regulations, opening up potential liability issues for the company.

Businesses and their IT departments respond by sanctioning certain applications and prohibiting others, but these policies are difficult to enforce. An industry study put together by A10 Networks found that about 30 percent of employees knowingly install and use prohibited applications at work. The majority of those employees claimed they did so because “everybody does it.” The fact is, it’s impossible for companies to control what employees use their personal tablets for at work, and that’s a potential security hole.

Another security advantage of Crestron touch panels, and one that doesn’t get as much attention, is that the panel can be locked down with a special mounting latch. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to remove the touch panel and walk away with it. Personal tablets are rarely protected to this degree, and if someone steals one, that could result in a data leak.

3. Crestron touch panels are easy to use – Crestron, again, has many years of touch panel design experience, and this makes for a product that is both easy to handle and highly functional. For example, the TSW series of touch panels can be placed in room scheduling mode. When in this mode, anyone can walk up to the tablet and reserve the room at a particular time. This is done with just a few swipes and button presses, so it’s simple enough for anyone to handle. If the room is already reserved at that time, the touch panel will look for another room that is available, so every meeting goes off easily and without double scheduling. Anyone can see the room’s schedule, too, so meeting members can confirm that they are in the right spot at the right time.

That’s only the tip of the functionality iceberg, though. Crestron touch panels can be controlled via touch or with voice, so presenters can access functions without stopping the talk and taking their eyes off the room.

Getting the meeting going is often the most difficult part of the process, but the TSW series makes it easy with Crestron’s AirMedia. With AirMedia, users can instantly connect to the panel to deliver a wireless presentation, merely by pressing a couple buttons. It’s as seamless as it gets, and ensures meetings start on time.

4. Crestron touch panels look the part, too – All of Crestron’s touch panels are aesthetically well-suited for the professional environment, with a sleek, clean look that modern offices prefer. Crestron’s Smart Graphics drive responsive, kinetically-realistic interfaces, and companies can customize them for enhanced function or appearance.

The TSW series comes with an ambient light sensor that constantly responds to changing light levels in the room. When the amount of ambient light changes, the touch panel alters LED backlights and screen brightness for the most comfortable appearance. Glare will never be a concern with a Creston touch panel.

When comparing the differences between a Crestron touch panel vs a personal tablet in a professional environment, Crestron is the clear winner. Today’s companies want technology that makes communication easier between teams, and more compelling. Crestron’s touch panel solutions offer both, with airtight security and an attractive, professional aesthetic.