Reshaping the Future with a Connected Workplace
Microsoft understands that AI is already transforming work. In Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index this year, we surveyed 31,000 people across 31 countries, analyzing labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn and the productivity patterns of Microsoft 365 customers globally. The findings revealed that AI is not just about automating tasks for those surveyed. It's about empowering employees and organizations, breaking traditional limitations, and providing a competitive edge. The data shows that employees are not waiting for their companies to adopt AI. Of the knowledge workers surveyed, 75 percent say they're already using AI tools at work, with usage nearly doubling over the last six months. And surprisingly, 78 percent of AI users bring their own AI to work.
Simultaneously, many organizations are grappling with the challenge of revitalizing workplace dynamics and team cohesion, with 43 percent of professionals reporting they feel disconnected from their companies. However, the Connected Workplace, powered by AI, offers a promising solution. It's not just about how we work but how we connect, regardless of where work occurs.
Connect with your voice to bring more intelligence into meetings
More than 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using Teams Rooms, and there are over 1 million Teams Rooms worldwide. However, Microsoft customers are not only using Teams Rooms for in-person meetings—many of those rooms host hybrid meetings with a mix of in-person and remote participants. Hybrid meetings are essential but have limitations: With 48 percent of knowledge workers worldwide working from home at least one day a week, customers struggle to capture and act on critical insights efficiently in hybrid meetings.
Microsoft has a solution: enabling intelligent meeting recap and Copilot in every space, beginning with Teams Rooms. Meeting recap and Copilot rely on detailed transcripts with speaker attribution to deliver accurate summaries, insights, and action items. Individuals' contributions are captured, and everyone has a voice.
This technology also helps eliminate distractions during meetings. Teams isolates your voice profile when speaking in bustling airports, cafes, or noisy shared workspaces.
Microsoft has announced that speaker recognition is coming to every team's Room via the cloud. Now, this feature is in public preview. Soon, hundreds of thousands of rooms will be Copilot-enabled. And their timing couldn't be better – Team Copilot, which will take notes during your meetings directly from the Room, even without a scheduled or online meeting, is arriving soon. This means that Copilot will extend beyond online and hybrid meetings, and even impromptu in-person meetings will now benefit from AI assistance. Just walk into a Teams Room and scan the QR code. Then, Team Copilot will automatically be part of the meeting.
AI-enhanced experiences for remote participants
AI isn't just improving work and connections. It's also solving visual challenges for remote participants. IntelliFrame individually frames participants to create more effortless engagement for remote attendees. Automatic camera switching will soon enhance IntelliFrame's capabilities. The feature optimizes views from multiple sources like multiple in-room cameras and laptop cameras, providing remote participants with improved interaction and the best view, making them feel more included and valued.
Soon, remote attendees can manually toggle between the views they want to see with multiple camera views, offering customers flexibility and better engagement wherever they are.
Expanded workplace solutions
Microsoft is leveraging AI and new technologies to enhance workplace efficiency and collaboration from anywhere, not only in traditional meeting rooms. They see an opportunity for a new kind of Connected Workplace: an AI-powered work environment that empowers organizations with great meetings and better ways for people to connect in every space.
Bring your own device (BYOD) rooms
Now, BYOD rooms can enjoy better meeting experiences with features like:
- Shared display mode, which streamlines content sharing and ensures privacy for items on your desktop, is now available for Windows users, with Mac coming at the end of June.
- Enhanced audio, with peripherals like intelligent speakers, enables speaker recognition so Copilot can bring greater productivity to your hybrid meetings.
Bookable desks
There is a growing trend in workplaces. Organizations are moving away from assigned offices and desks to shared and bookable desks. Microsoft Teams brings intelligence to these spaces as well. Now, users can reserve a desk and make it their own by just connecting to a monitor or other peripheral on the desk. The desk is automatically booked for the day (time is adjustable).
To learn more about Microsoft's new BYOD meeting rooms and bookable desk solutions, read their blog article that dives into the solutions they announced just a few weeks ago.
Inform and engage employees with digital signage in Teams Rooms
Microsoft is delivering another way Teams Rooms can help your organization connect with a capability customers have long been waiting for.
Soon, digital signage will enable your Teams Rooms on Windows to become spaces where you can share dynamic content and timely information, allowing you to extend your organization's communications to meeting spaces when your Teams Room devices are not in use. With digital signage in Teams Rooms, you can:
- Configure digital signage settings for your tenant, including enabling third-party digital signage provider integrations and adjusting display period directly from Teams Rooms Pro Management
- Manage content seamlessly using third-party content management systems. Our initial partners include Appspace and XOGO
- Display content from web URLs as digital signage sources in cases where you don't use any of the supported digital signage providers.
While currently in private preview with limited customers, digital signage in Teams Rooms, including integrations with Appspace and XOGO, will generally be available for Windows in the third quarter of 2024. Support for Teams Rooms on Android will follow in 2025.
Intelligence for IT in every space
With the addition of BYOD rooms and bookable desks to the Teams Rooms Pro Management service, IT admins will have more data and insights to help them track inventory and plan spaces intelligently.
- Auto-discovery from Teams desktop or bulk import now enables visibility of BYOD meeting rooms and bookable work desks in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal.
- Devices can be easily associated with rooms or desk pools, making them bookable resources for users.
- Enhance shared spaces with usage reports for data-driven decisions and improved planning, gaining valuable insights for asset management.
Faster, easier deployment
With Windows Autopilot (now available in public preview) and Autologin (general availability starting today), Microsoft is making it more efficient for admins to set up Teams Rooms, reducing the time and effort from hours or days to under one hour.
Enhanced cross-platform meetings via SIP join
With enhanced cross-third-party platform meetings via SIP join, Microsoft is ensuring that collaboration is seamless and intuitive, regardless of the meeting platform, in an experience that feels like a native Teams Room. SIP-based conferencing services such as Google Meet, Zoom, Cisco Webex, Meet, Amazon Chime, RingCentral, and others will be enabled for Teams Rooms on Windows later this year and for Android devices in 2025.
You'll experience the look and feel of a Teams Rooms meeting with access to some third-party platform in-meeting controls (depending on the platform being used). Features include up to 1080p video quality, dual screen support, meeting layouts, and HDMI ingest. This capability requires an SIP calling plan from a Cloud Video Interop (CVI) partner, which is currently available through Pexip.
