Andy Hirst, our UC Systems Architect, talks Convene

Hi Andy, first up tell us about what made you want to start a career in communication and collaboration?

Communication and collaboration is at the heart of every successful business. As competition grows and customer expectations rise, it is vital that a business can collaborate effectively. As start-up companies emerge, incumbent organisations are forced to adapt so not to lose market share to the younger, more agile competitors.

I was initially drawn to the fast evolving technologies involved in C&C. In just a few years we have seen the progression of ISDN to HD and now UHD 4K quality video. Cloud services have revolutionised the way we deploy and consume these products, allowing for faster interaction and quicker return on investment.

I also wanted to be involved in something that is fundamental to how a company operates. Unified Communications is not just a simple collection of tools; in order for it to be effective, it needs to become part of the company. With so many options available, it is paramount that a company has a vision for their communication strategy from the start to be truly successful.

As a key developer of Convene, our video conferencing platform, what are the core things you focus on?

The user experience is key to our design philosophy. We strive to make every interaction with our platform as intuitive as possible. Customisability and flexibility is also a key aspect of Convene. All our customers use the platform in a slightly different way. Our job is to support all these use scenarios whilst providing a secure, reliable and easy-to-use service.

How have our clients benefitted from using Convene?

Convene has benefitted our clients with many different requirements. We have enabled businesses to communicate with their customers and suppliers across continents, brought life into neglected meeting rooms and consolidated disparate communication technologies through our interop services.

What has been the highlight of your Visavvi career so far?

In 2017, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computing and Information Technology. This was a tremendous personal achievement and I had great support from Visavvi throughout my study. I was able to incorporate C&C into my dissertation by analysing the effects collaborating has on businesses. During the research for this paper I had the privilege of interviewing leading members of the industry such as Microsoft, Logitech and Pexip.

More recently I have had the pleasure of being featured in Innovate magazine's 40 Under 40 list, which was a huge honour.