Microsoft has introduced various Teams Rooms and device updates and improvements at InfoComm 2024.
Teams Rooms and devices are set to gain new meeting intelligence, AI technology for remote workers, and enhanced workplace solutions.
The tech giant also paid homage to its partners and software developers, including its new partnership with Barco, which is planning to use the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) for all future devices.
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InfoComm is North America’s largest pro AV trade show, with products, talks and educational sessions, and networking opportunities for those working in audio, video conferencing and collaboration, learning technologies, events, streaming, digital signage, and enterprise IT.
Kelly Johnson, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft Teams, introduced the latest wave of changes via the Microsoft blog, as well as commenting on Microsoft’s plans to continue modernising the ‘Connected Workplace’.
“As the Connected Workplace continues to evolve, we aim to lead its innovation.
“From coordinating and connecting with colleagues in the office with Microsoft Places to the speaker recognition that gives everyone a voice in a Teams Rooms to the immersive, virtual meeting spaces of Mesh in Teams, we are breaking new ground in finding ways for people to connect at work.
“For IT, we’re delivering valuable insights into space planning, usage, and organisational needs.
“We are excited about the future and committed to seamlessly integrating AI into our solutions, helping our customers become more efficient, creative, productive, and connected.”
Meeting Intelligence
According to Microsoft’s related blog post, authored by Johnson, 48 percent of knowledge workers are now working from home at least one day a week, yet it can still be a challenge to effectively capture hybrid meeting insights.
Microsoft has revealed that it is planning to combat this by bringing intelligent meeting recap and Copilot into Teams Rooms, with a view to ultimately incorporating it into every space.
Meeting recap and Copilot are able to offer users insights, summaries, and action items, based on call transcripts.
Microsoft recommends that you ‘enrol your voice’ in order to ensure that your contributions are captured.
It will also improve Microsoft’s background noise removal technology, which will be made available in every Teams Room and has now entered public preview.
Team Copilot is also on its way to Teams Rooms to take notes during meetings, even if they have not been scheduled or taking place offline. Simply walk into a Teams Room, scan a QR code, and Team Copilot will automatically join the meeting.
AI for Remote Workers
IntelliFrame, a technology that individually frames participants to strengthen engagement with remote employees, will soon include automatic camera switching.
This feature enables an improved view by taking advantage of multiple in-room and laptop cameras.
Remote participants will also be able to manually switch between these multiple camera views, increasing engagement and flexibility.
Enhanced Workplace Solutions
Microsoft is leveraging AI and other technologies to boost workplace efficiency and collaboration from anywhere.
BYOD Rooms will benefit from features, such as shared display mode to streamline content sharing and bolster privacy, plus speaker recognition alongside devices like intelligent speakers.
Microsoft believes there is a rising demand for bookable desks, moving away from the trend for assigned desks and offices.
Teams is adding new intelligent solutions to these spaces as well, in which users can reserve desks and connect their personal computers to a monitor or other peripherals.
Digital signage allows your Teams Rooms on Windows to become spaces where you can share content and information, integrating business communications into meeting spaces when Teams Room devices are not being used.
Currently in private preview, digital signage will be added to Teams Rooms. Appspace and XOGO integrations that will be generally available in the third quarter of 2024, and support for Teams Rooms on Android will come in 2025.
Windows Autopilot and Autologin are making it quicker and easier for admins to set up Teams Rooms, reducing the time spent to get it up and running from hours or days to less than one hour.
IT admins can also now enjoy simplified Teams Rooms and Surface Hubs management from anywhere, which will save on both time and money.
Using SIP join, collaboration can continue to feel like a native Teams Room experience regardless of which meeting platform is being used.
SIP-based conferencing providers, including Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, Amazon Chime, and RingCentral, will be enabled for Teams Rooms on Windows later this year and for Android in 2025.
Partners and Developers
As well as it new partnership with Barco, Microsoft also offered a sneak-peek into future MDEP updates, which it said would be related to zero-trust security, next-level deployment, and premium device management.
