Hybrid work is here to stay.
Around 90% of companies say they’re investing in hybrid work strategies for the post-pandemic landscape.
What’s more, business leaders increasingly agree hybrid work not only strengthens employee engagement and lowers costs, but it can also improve productivity too. Around 78% of employees now say they’re more productive when they have a choice of where they work.
Microsoft Teams is one of the primary solutions helping to power the era of hybrid work. Used by around 145 million people worldwide, Teams offers all of the software organizations need to connect their team members and enable collaboration. However, companies still need to make sure they’re investing in the right hardware devices for Teams if they’re going to unlock the biggest benefits.
Here’s your guide to selecting Microsoft Teams Rooms devices for hybrid work.
Step 1: Address How You’ll Use Microsoft Teams
The first step in making any major investment in your devices for Microsoft Teams hybrid work strategy, is figuring out how you’re going to be using the technology. For instance, are you more likely to be having ad-hoc meetings between small groups of around 3-5 people? If so, you may only need the basic Focus Room equipment from Microsoft.
Alternatively, if you’re going to be hosting large presentations within Teams, you might want a larger room solution, with more cameras, a whiteboard for sharing visual content, and various other tools. Here are some of the points you’ll need to think about before making purchases:
- Size: How big are your Microsoft Teams meeting rooms going to be?
- People: How many people are going to be using the technology both remotely and in-person, at the same time.
- Existing technology: If you have existing tools you’d like to use in your Microsoft Teams rooms, like cameras or speakers, you might want to see whether you can integrate those into your new Room system.
Keep in mind there may be some specialist requests you have for your Rooms environment too, such as the ability to move your technology from one room to another easily if you need to switch locations for any reason.
Step 2: Explore Deployment Options
Once you know exactly what you want from your Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, the next step is figuring out what kind of deployment strategy you want to consider. First of all, do you want to work with one of Microsoft’s partner brands to purchase an all-in-one pre-built Room kit? This could save you some time on buying mix and match solutions yourself.
Next, think about how you want to pay for your ecosystem. Some providers offer different solutions to make devices more affordable. For instance, “Rooms as a Service”, or “RaaS” options are becoming more common to help teams access technology rapidly, for a more affordable price.
You may also want to consider whether you want to access bonus solutions like Rooms Managed Services, which provide you with access to more in-depth reporting components, as well as help tracking the performance of your device technology 24/7.
Step 3: List all the Devices You Need
Based on your deployment requirements and your goals for how you’re going to be using Microsoft Teams Rooms, you can begin to list the devices and technology you’re going to need most. Typically, your devices will fall into the following categories:
