Verizon Business has announced new BlueJeans Meetings features for iPadOS, iOS and Android to support mobile workforces, as well as new device partnerships and applications to support Verizon Mobile Edge Compute for real-time video collaboration on the go.
To enable a more diverse, dispersed workforce that is less likely to operate a conventional desktop or laptop, BlueJeans Mobile updates are being delivered to iPad, iOS and Android devices to ensure consistency, flexibility and productivity, according to the operator.
Complementing updates made to Apple’s latest iPad Pro models announced this spring, the new BlueJeans Mobile iPadOS updates were designed for business users who require full-featured meeting flexibility and robust meeting performance. New features include layout flexibility, 7×7 gallery view, center screen support and multitasking support.
The newly optimized BlueJeans Mobile system is designed to provide peace of mind for every meeting participant, regardless of their environment, it said. To support Android and iOS mobile users, BlueJeans Mobile will soon include enhanced video layouts with the ability to overlay content with video tiles and quick join options for meeting simplicity.
Available for purchase starting at US $299.99 or free with a Verizon premium Unlimited plan, Verizon also announced that the Motorola 5G phone model available on Verizon now comes ready-loaded with the BlueJeans Meetings mobile app. It provides users with access to Verizon 5G services including upcoming enhancements to 5G Ultra Wideband using C-Band spectrum and the brand new Verizon Adaptive Sound system.
Tarifica’s Take
BlueJeans, a competitor of Zoom, was purchased by Verizon in April 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was causing a gigantic surge in remote working. While Zoom remains extremely popular and is the go-to app for many seeking videoconferencing services, BlueJeans has been favored in particular by large companies—such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Disney—because of superior security features including end-to-end encryption and because of its ability to integrate remote video conferencing with more conventional office-based conferencing solutions.
Verizon’s acquisition of BlueJeans was certainly well-timed, and since remote working appears to not to be going away despite the relaxation of pandemic restrictions in many places, it will continue to be advantageous. Furthermore, it allowed the operator to become a player in a sector that is usually not occupied by MNOs. In the search for value-added services that add relevance, business-oriented videoconferencing fits the bill for mobile operators, especially with regard to their enterprise clients.
The emergence of 5G gives BlueJeans the potential to evolve into an even more desirable service. The greater bandwidth and speed of 5G can make it possible for the service to offer not only enhanced reliability and quality but also more and richer features. The bundling of BlueJeans with a new Motorola 5G phone through Verizon speaks to this potential.
Basically, though, thwe present additions to BlueJeans being offered by Verizon Business have to do not with 5G but with greater flexibility across devices and seem to be motivated by a realization that an increasing number of remote workers, even in large enterprises, use smartphones or tablets rather than laptop or desktop computers to connect. The new updates to BlueJeans, which are intended to provide full access to the service’s features via these handheld devices, should have the effect of keeping the service relevant and desirable in the enterprise remote-working space.