10 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has
significantly changed the way
we use technology today and
collaborative technologies
that are making it easier for us
to communicate with family,
friends, clients, and co-workers
are playing a crucial role.
Kyriakos Kaimis, vice president
and New York metro general
manager at Custom Computer
Specialists, recently spoke with
us about the technologies that
are making remote work and
other growing trends possible,
as well as the role his company
is playing.
Q: What types of technologies
are playing an important role
at your organization and with
your clients now?
A: Since the pandemic hit,
collaborative technologies have
become front and center. Simply
put, collaborative technologies
are the technologies that
improve communications. With
learning from home and working
from home the new normal,
the way we communicate has
changed. Just because we can’t
be together doesn’t mean we
don’t want to be together. For
this reason, we are seeing video
communications as the preferred
communication vehicle.
Q: How has that changed since
the start of the pandemic?
A: Prior to the pandemic, there
was an interest in video solutions,
with schools selectively using
video to teach a lesson and
businesses using video for
meetings. Overnight everything
changed. Video became a critical
requirement across the board.
Schools are implementing video
solutions to reach students that
Tech Insights
How Collaborative Technologies
are Helping Us During the Pandemic
are learning from home and
businesses implement video to
reach remote workers.
Q: What is the biggest
technology challenge that your
firm’s clients are facing?
A: Since we were founded in
1979, we have been supporting
school districts with their
technology implementations. It’s
looking like many districts will be
moving forward with a blended
learning classroom, meaning
some students in person learning
and others learning from home.
Their challenge is providing the
same experience to the student,
regardless of their location.
We have developed a solution
that creates an immersive
experience for all students.
This solution includes speakertracking
cameras for the front
and back of the classroom. Why
is this important? This allows the
students from home to follow
the teacher but eliminates the
isolation of always seeing the
back of their classmates’ heads.
As the students in the classroom
speak, the cameras switch
view and focus on the student
speaking, giving the at-home
student the same classroom
experience.
By MaryAnn Benzola
We have also been working with
area hospitals, especially during
the height of the pandemic. In
order to keep healthcare workers
safe when treating COVID-19
patients, we facilitated the
deployment of voice-activated
devices, such as Amazon
Echo. This allowed healthcare
workers to see and speak with
the patients from afar without
having to put themselves at risk.
Q: Are there any specific
technology challenges unique
to video communication?
A: One issue that we see arising
with remote learning is the
ability to get technical help
when the student is learning
from home. Frequently, they have
issues uploading homework,
downloading assignments,
accessing applications, etc.
For this reason, we’ve created
a Distance Learning IT Help
Desk. For many years, we’ve
had an onsite IT help desk
at our Hauppauge facility, so
we’ve taken that expertise and
developed an IT Help Desk that
is solely dedicated to assisting
students and their parents. The
Distance Learning Help Desk is
staffed 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday
through Friday. A parent or
student can either call, email or
send us a chat with their issue
and our technicians will work to
resolve.
Q: What do you see as the
future of technology on Long
Island?
A: We don’t see anything
changing any time soon and
question whether we, as a
society, will ever go back to our
pre-pandemic ways. Remote
workers in most cases are
proving to be as productive as
their in-office counterparts. As
long as there are video solutions
to keep them connected, that
model may be here for the
long haul. I also think schools
will change. With the ability to
teach many from one location,
we may see satellite classrooms
pop up with teachers as a virtual
presence. Of course, we expect
to see collaborative technologies
change and improve as our
society changes and improves.
Custom Computer Specialists
Right People. Right Results.®
Kyriakos is frequently
featured as a speaker and
panelist at conferences and
webinars. He is also the
author of numerous blogs
and can be reached at
kkaimis@customonline.com.
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