Microsoft Teams Rooms is an end-to-end meeting platform solution, designed to enable collaboration throughout any workplace. Through the Rooms ecosystem, companies can leverage all of the productivity and conferencing tools offered by Microsoft Teams. The Rooms environment supports audio and video conferencing, phone-line connectivity, file sharing, whiteboarding, and more.
Over the last few years, as Microsoft has continued to invest in becoming the number one partner for remote, hybrid, and flexible work, the Rooms ecosystem has evolved. Today’s Room environments can be equipped with a host of different technology solutions from market-leading vendors and Microsoft partners. They also integrate with a range of existing tools and software options.
Here’s how businesses today can leverage the potential of Microsoft Teams Rooms, to ensure inclusivity and engagement during collaboration with remote workers.
Step 1: Setting up Microsoft Teams Rooms
As part of the Microsoft Teams ecosystem, Microsoft Rooms is a relatively easy-to-access solution for meeting and conferencing requirements. However, there are some basic setup stages involved in getting any Room environment ready for use. Microsoft recommends business leaders start with an evaluation of site readiness, examining network availability, proxy servers, and certificates.
To begin, most businesses will need to ensure their employees have access to Microsoft Teams, with registered accounts within the company’s designated instance. Within the Microsoft Teams admin center, business leaders can purchase “Teams Rooms” to add to their Teams environment, either choosing the “Basic” or “Pro” service. The Basic plan is free to access alongside Microsoft Teams, and allows users to instantly join meetings with one touch, and share content wirelessly.
The “Pro” plan includes access to more advanced features, for $40 per month, per room. Users can leverage advanced meeting experiences like inclusive room layouts, chat bubble alerts, and AI-powered video and audio devices. Users also gain access to ITSM integrations, remote configuration tools, and reporting features.
After purchasing a plan, users will need to add their Teams Rooms to their “resource” account. Users can also define resource account features, enabling dial-in conferencing, outbound/inbound calling for PTSN devices, interactive meetings, and more.
Step 2: Implementing Teams Rooms Hardware
Once a unique resource account has been established for a Teams Room environment, businesses can begin to look into device deployment and software installation options. The easiest way to simplify setup is to choose a Microsoft Teams Room solution from a certified Microsoft partner. Leading vendors such as Yealink, Poly, and Logitech offer a host of meeting room solutions which come with Microsoft Teams already installed, and ready to go.
Companies can also choose whether they want to implement additional technologies alongside microphones, cameras, and speaker systems at this time. For instance, users can implement monitors and control devices, as well as digital whiteboarding tools and AI-enhanced cameras with sensors. Microsoft does recommend leveraging the Microsoft Azure Monitor solution, to track the deployment of hardware, and report on availability, errors, and firmware requirements.
