In a recent interview, Andy Elliot, VP Marketing EMEA, AudioCodes, familiarized me with the various enhancements to the company’s Room Experience (RX) suite. The suite of meeting room solutions designed for Microsoft Teams environments has evolved since its launch back in October 2019. And as today’s business meetings transition from office-based staff to a mix of smaller groups in the office and an increasing number of remote-workers, the AudioCodes RX suite is evolving to deliver a ‘high-quality, immersive experience for all participants,’ he told me. Elliot continued:
“Anyone who thinks increased homeworking is a short-term fix is kidding themselves. The challenge for IT departments, as some workers return to the office, is how to ensure that office and home workers can collaborate effectively, long term”
The enhancements relate to the RXV80 audio/video bar, the Meeting Insights meeting productivity tool, and a new suite of Microsoft Teams video solution bundles for medium and large meeting rooms. The RXV80 audio/video bar, which delivers high-quality video conferencing capabilities for small and medium meeting rooms, is undergoing Microsoft certification and will be made generally available during the last quarter of 2020, according to Elliot. Its also set to feature some key enhancements to the Teams meeting experience, including:
- A Bluetooth remote controller (the RXV80RC) for ease of use
- Simple out-of-the-box deployment with wired or wireless networks
- Features including click-to-join and ‘proximity join’ for Microsoft Teams meetings
Elliot added: “The RXV80 is a high-quality, cost-effective, and an easy to operate video solution for smaller meeting rooms. It enables office-based workers to meet in smaller groups and comply with COVID-secure practices such as social distancing while collaborating with remote colleagues.”
AudioCodes is also set to expand the RX suite with the RXV100-B video solution bundles for Microsoft Teams Rooms. These incorporate the Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 (and in future the Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub) as the video conferencing control device designed to provide powerful and flexible video conferencing capabilities for medium and large meeting rooms.
Elliot further added, AudioCodes will introduce a wide range of RXV100-B Microsoft Teams Rooms solution bundles, including audio and video peripherals – AudioCodes network and device management tools, and Meeting Insights – a meeting productivity tool to capture, organize, and share meeting content, now integrated into the Teams client for more streamlined user experience. As Microsoft Teams’ popularity grows worldwide, Elliot said that AudioCodes plans to continue stepping up its collaboration with Microsoft. Albert Kooiman, Director of Microsoft Teams Devices Partner Engineering and Certification, commented:
“Microsoft is pleased that AudioCodes, along with its partners, will deliver a portfolio of quality, easy to use devices that enterprises demand to ensure that meeting spaces offer the best experience for all participants”
Microsoft Teams has seen a wider user adoption during the COVID-19 period, and that is only expected to grow as enterprises shift toward a hybrid work experience. We’ve yet to get an update on Microsoft’s most recent usage figures, but one can reasonably assume that number is much higher than 75 million daily active users as we reported back in May 2020.
