Videoconferencing: How the Microsoft Teams Experience is Driving Meeting Room Innovation

Hooking-up with the perfect partner: it’s how we all find harmony.

Shared values, a shared vision, a meeting of minds.

In business, those kind of relationships are often the secret to success.

They enable each party to bring something of value to the table which, when combined, can make the magic happen.

Whether it is technological functionality, market penetration or brand awareness, that kind of merged mutuality is a powerful force for good.

In the world of enterprise collaboration, Microsoft Teams packs plenty of punch on all those fronts.

And – for its latest globally-certified videoconferencing solutions and services partner Poly – it is a platform upon which innovative and feature-rich audio-video tools are able to deliver a high-quality user experience.

Together, they provide enterprise customers with a potent ability to leverage the transformational benefits of the ever-evolving digital revolution: exactly the kind of partnership that drives efficiency, growth and, ultimately, profitability.

“Microsoft Teams has become the leading platform for virtual collaboration and engagement and  we are now the vendor with the most Microsoft-certified devices,” says Christophe Herrerias, Senior Manager, Microsoft Alliance at Poly.

“That means our customers enjoy a rich and frictionless Microsoft Teams user experience whilst simultaneously benefitting from Poly’s market-leading functionality, flexibility and reliability.

“Yes, our Microsoft certifications are of course hugely important, but they are massively complemented by the additional features and artificial intelligence technology embedded into our solutions which really differentiate us.”

Perfectly in synch with the Microsoft Teams Rooms layouts, the Poly range of videoconferencing tools are designed to deliver ‘meeting equity’ for all participants, regardless of whether they are in a video-equipped meeting room or working from home or remotely on any connected device.

A choice of different room views, Group Framing, People Framing and ‘speaker tracking’ options enable users to select the optimum experience.

For example, users can leverage clever Director AI-driven ‘Conversation Mode’ functionality to zoom in on primary speakers and have them displayed on a split screen in a way which suggests that two cameras are at work.

Poly users participating in a meeting remotely also see all of the occupants of a meeting room in a grid of individual video vignettes within their display, ensuring all participants appear the same size and with their eyes perfectly aligned to the same level.

“Meeting equality, where everyone is visible and seen in the same way, is vital,” says Herrerias.

“Add to that the fact that our technology and on-screen design complements the Microsoft Teams user experience that everyone has become so accustomed to and it’s easy to understand our solutions’ appeal.”

Not that it’s just about the cleverness of the video.

Poly’s ‘Acoustic Fence’ functionality enables super-sensitive microphones to only pick up sound from inside a selected area – for example, one metre from a table around which meeting participants are gathered.

As well as .Noise Block AI blocking out unwanted background noise in a meeting participant’s home, or in a busy coffee shop where they have chosen to work, it enables organizations to repurpose legacy office space by swapping siloed meeting rooms for airy, open spaces that no longer need actual walls.

With many organizations encouraging a return to the office post-COVID, simplicity is key.

Joining a meeting – even when participants are bringing their own devices – must be quick and easy.

Working remotely, employees have grown used to launching Microsoft Teams and taking part in meetings via their own laptop, tablet or even phone.

Organizations’ new, post-COVID video-equipped meeting rooms must provide that same, slick user experience.

“We are all very much more experienced now after COVID,” says Herrerias.

“We know how to use Microsoft Teams with a USB camera and a headset. However, many people are returning to offices where they do not know how to connect in a meeting room. They come with their own laptop and look for USB and HDMI cables.

“That’s where our collaboration with Microsoft makes it easy for users to return to a Poly-equipped Microsoft Teams Room. There are no cables and there is just one display; just one button to click and they are in.”

To learn more about how Poly’s Microsoft Teams-certified range of videoconferencing solutions and services can help your and your customers’ businesses thrive, visit Poly.