Over the past year, Microsoft Teams has become the digital destination of choice for communicating and collaborating with colleagues, as the world kept working through rolling lockdowns and travel restrictions. Many are craving a return to meeting and working face-to-face once more before long, even if some people remain mostly or wholly remote. Most enterprises are envisioning an environment with much of the workforce continuing to work remotely when engaged on individual deep work, but coming together with colleagues in fluid and activity-driven ways, to spark the creative synergies which many struggle to manifest over distance.
As the world makes plans to return to shared office spaces on a flexible basis, the way those spaces are allocated and used takes on new significance — ensuring social distancing while managing reduced overall accommodation requires a higher level of resourcing, particularly at a time when everyone has become accustomed to the immediacy and flexibility of virtual meetings.
Smart resource management in the real world
One timely solution is Crestron’s new 70 Series touch panels with integrated Microsoft Teams®. They combine the one-touch native software experience of Microsoft Teams with the physical presence required to manage shared meeting space in the ‘real’ world — complete with essential data on room occupancy, cleaning/disinfection status, and the management of offline requirements like refreshments and concierge services.
The compact touch screen can be mounted anywhere from a small meeting room to a conference hall, and the bright colour-coded display offers clear availability and occupancy data at a safe distance, while it reassures all participants that they are indeed in the right place at the right time for their scheduled meeting. Finding an ad-hoc space to gather and work together spontaneously is also made easy, when the booking schedule for the day is clearly visible outside each room, as well as accessible on every individual’s device via their familiar Microsoft tools.
“In the reconfigured workplace, the journey to the room is just as important as the room itself, particularly as we face challenges in re-opening physical spaces post-pandemic,” said Andrew Gross, Sr. Director, UC Enterprise, Crestron.
“Our collaboration with Microsoft represents a step forward in the room scheduling device category, an important component of supporting and building the workplace of the future”
Video collaboration for every space
But the native experience doesn’t end at the door. With Crestron Flex, you can have a native experience, coupled with the ability to connect any laptop or device from a BYOD experience, smoothly blending local and virtual participation, thanks to the powerful integration of digital intelligence and physical technology.
Space management 2021
The Crestron 70 Series Scheduling Panels with integrated Microsoft Teams will support office management and procurement as well as the end users, as we navigate the return to shared workspaces.
With real estate footprints being tightly curtailed, being able to understand space utilisation will be increasingly important, to ensure resources are being used both safely and efficiently. So, the Crestron panels will connect to ceiling sensors within the room itself to manage safe occupancy levels, and also to release rooms to ad-hoc use if a meeting does not go ahead for any reason.
For every enterprise planning and managing the safe return to the office and smart use of shared resources in an uncertain economic climate, Crestron’s scheduling panels will offer the right combination of insight and real-time data, to ensure optimal effectiveness and productivity.
