UC Trends 2022: Meeting Rooms Round Table

Meeting Rooms solutions have undergone a transformation over the past two years.  

No longer a mice-to-have for organisations, meeting room solutions are now a necessity for organisations transitioning into  a hybrid working model. They have evolved to incorporate not just the traditional video capabilities they were traditionally know for, but also interactive and engagement technologies, and collaboration features.  

We spoke with executives from Cisco Webex, Yealink, Zoom, Jabra, and Logitech to gather their thoughts on the transformation meeting rooms solutions have undergone, as well as where they see the technology delivering the greatest value going forward. 

What are the most significant customer trends from 2021?

[caption id="attachment_18414" align="alignright" width="200"] Nigel Dunn[/caption]

Nigel Dunn, Managing Director, EMEA North at Jabra:  

Jabra’s Nigel Dunn noted that organisations are operating with distributed teams now “more than ever before”. As a result of this, video collaboration solutions are increasingly being placed at the heart of the company’s digital transformation, he added.   

Dunn also cited Jabra’s Hybrid Ways of Working 2021 Global Report which revealed that 71 percent of knowledge workers view the office as a social hub that enables collaboration, while independent working happens off-site.  

“Businesses have started to plan for a future of hybrid working, assessing whether they are getting the most value from technology investments,” he stated. 

“This means changing the reactive, knee-jerk approach that many were forced into at the start of the pandemic, and now taking a strategic, long-term view.  

“Companies are also reviewing how offices and facilities are being used to optimise space, with the aim of creating workplaces with meeting rooms and collaboration spaces that meet new requirements” 

Sean McCarry, Head of Video Collaboration Europe at Logitech: 

Organisations and their employees are now well-versed in the art of working from home and are now seeking better quality devices that complement both working from home and the office, according to Logitech’s Sean McCarry. 

“With the world, and offices, continuing to open up, businesses have their sights set on hybrid working and the tools that can help facilitate this in the office,” he said. 

“The focus is now to equip offices with seamless technology that ensures a hybrid virtual meeting is just as engaging and productive as meetings face-to-face.” 

What will be the top challenges facing end customers in 2022?

[caption id="attachment_40967" align="alignleft" width="220"] Mark Needham[/caption]

Mark Needham, EMEAR Hybrid Work Lead at Webex: 

One of the main challenges facing businesses next year is getting staff back in the office on a regular basis, said Webex’s Mark Needham. 

He echoed Dunn’s sentiments on the office becoming a social amenity that facilitates collaboration between teams rather than just having workers show up only to work by themselves.  

According to Cisco’s Global Hybrid Work Index, 98 percent of meetings will have at least one remote participant, and its Future of Technology survey also revealed that  47 percent of meeting participants don’t contribute to meetings. Therefore,  meeting room solutions should as inclusive and engaging as possible to encourage contributions from all meeting attendees, said Needham. 

“Yes, you still need an office, but it will have to work much harder to motivate staff to return. It will become a place for the richest level of social collaboration and interaction, not a place to do head down work – an experiential experience far beyond what you have at home. This impacts the technology choices, workplace policies and the physical environment” 

“For remote participants in meetings, there is the opportunity with the right technology choices to make those meetings far more inclusive, and more engaging for the attendees, bringing more intelligence to bear in solving business problems, challenges and innovating with greater velocity.” 

[caption id="attachment_40214" align="alignleft" width="200"] Vincent Gao[/caption]

Vincent Gao, Principle Product Manager – Teams Device Solution at Yealink: 

Yealink’s Vincent Gao believes that in order to ensure efficient remote collaboration, businesses need to recognise what tools they need to ensure productivity and invest in them.  

“It can be tough to share information and coordinate activities when everyone is working remotely,” he said. 

“Therefore, utilising essential tools and devices such as collaboration platforms, file-sharing software, and whiteboarding is critical for teams to achieve seamless collaboration and expected results.  

“Take whiteboarding for example: it breaks the limitation of distance and space, allowing users to jump into a brainstorming, project planning, or problem-solving meeting with anyone by leveraging the advantage of cloud services.”