Microsoft Teams
Over the last couple of years Microsoft has seen a huge shift of businesses moving to Microsoft Teams due to the pandemic. Satya Nadella says a decade of transformation happened overnight! Which is saying something. Teams is a great tool which allows you to work anytime from anywhere and collaborate with your colleagues, customers and partners all in one place. It allows for easy work collaboration remotely. The ease of calling and messaging will, in my opinion, see a decline in traditional email use as sharing files is not only easier but a lot more secure whilst simultaneously allowing a much better version control over all those documents you work on together.
Teams Space
Microsoft Teams Rooms
Then there’s Microsoft Teams Rooms. A whole new meeting room experience which truly connects the physical and digital worlds, where anyone can connect to the meeting room space from anywhere and collaborate on anything! It is a true game changer in the way we meet, connect and share. It offers the flexibility of either being in the meeting room, at home or whilst travelling. For example, just recently I had a customer call where we also had a partner join us to present their contact centre platform.
I was on the train, the presenter was at home and the customer had a mix of colleagues in the office and at home. Everyone was able to seamlessly connect and participate in the meeting. The presentation deck was shared in the chat for all to see after the session.
The big difference to Meeting Rooms vs Teams is the hardware and furnishings of the actual meeting. The hardware alone has to be certified by Microsoft Teams for the best user experience. This includes screens, speakers, cameras and mics. With these peripherals it means everyone in the room can be seen and heard.
Teams Room Space
The other difference is that whilst you are in the meeting room, everyone can collaborate on any documentation that has been shared within the virtual environment.
Then when you leave the meeting room, everyone can continue to work on those documents and share notes.
So, gone are the days where everyone writes their own notes using a pen and pad, then having to type them all up and send round via email to update and add! Thank goodness for that, because that was painful at times.
The Meeting room space is now somewhere specifically designed to create and help discussions move on rather than just slow things down. Also, with wireless connection and one touch join, you are no longer seen scrambling around trying to connect your laptop to the monitor. Its now a much slicker professional experience.
Front Row
But that’s not all.
Lots of development is going into this new way of hybrid work where the Microsoft team in Redmond ideate and design better meeting rooms experiences for those in the room and those who are not to create an inclusive space like Front Row.
This is where all the meeting participants are featured at eye level on screen to create the experience that everyone is in the room, even though they are not.
A lot more features and experiences are due to be released by the Microsoft Team at The Hive in Redmond so keep watching this space for new updates.
Wesley Budd
Strategic Partner Manager - Microsoft & MTR Vendors
Symity