As companies start to plan how and when they will move back into the office, it will be critical to optimise the functionality of conferencing and meeting spaces for hybrid working to keep in-office employees connected to the remote workforce. Microsoft Teams transforms what were previously unidimensional meeting spaces by providing a rich, collaborative experience through HD video, audio, and content sharing. Crucial to all virtual interactions, Microsoft Teams Room meetings are intuitive to launch and provide for a consistent experience across workspaces.
Below we’ll cover four elements to consider when transforming your meeting space to a Microsoft Teams Room, providing a best practices approach to get it right the first time.
- Room design
First, begin the planning process by understanding what you have today while envisioning what you will need in the future. This is where performing a room design assessment will be key. To do this, you’ll need to look at the size and shape of the room. What is the purpose of the room and how is it being used?
Poly offers a variety of room collaboration options for Microsoft Teams that ensure simplicity and high-quality audio and video experiences – from the personal office to large conference rooms. Solutions such as the Poly Studio X30 and X50 are Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android and are perfect for small to medium spaces, where interaction and collaboration are key. While solutions for larger conference rooms such as the Poly G-Series Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows allow for room AV integrations.
- Network and bandwidth planning
Video traffic requires much higher bandwidth to assure the best quality virtual meeting experience. It’s critical to review existing network capabilities so that you can ensure your network is capable of performing at a consistent and optimal level for carrying real-time media traffic. Consideration needs to be given not just on bandwidth availability, but on packet loss and latency within the network as well. Understanding your network and its capabilities is key to being able to deliver successful video calls.
- Deployment
Resources are limited and the need for the meeting rooms to be up and running quickly is top of mind. Ensuring the correct configuration from account provisioning to device settings and ensuring you have the correct software deployment approach is key to a seamless and trouble-free deployment. This will allow rooms to be deployed quickly and effectively throughout your organisation.
- Adoption
Microsoft Teams Rooms bring new experiences and capabilities to your end-users, and they need to feel comfortable and confident in using them. To encourage user adoption, IT has a key role to play in making it simple for people to use systems by helping them get up to speed and familiar with the technology and ensure they understand its benefits. IT also needs to understand the systems that have been implemented and be knowledgeable to troubleshoot if required.
How Poly can help
At Poly, we understand the value of providing expert guidance to ensure your deployments are successful. Our Room Solutions for Microsoft Teams Assessment and Onboarding Service can help you kickstart your journey from room design, network, bandwidth planning, remote or onsite deployment, and all the way through to day-to-day operations and user adoption. This service has been designed to help you deliver well-performing rooms for your business, enable your IT team, and instill confidence throughout your organisation so everyone is comfortable with the solution from day one.
Getting started is easy – visit Poly.com to learn more about Poly Room Solutions for Teams and our Professional Services for Microsoft Teams. Or contact TeamMicrosoft@poly.com or your Poly partner.