No more escaping Microsoft Teams soon

Microsoft is redoubled its efforts to drive adoption of Microsoft Teams in meeting room settings.

According to two new entries in the company’s product roadmap, users will soon be able to perform a wider range of actions through Microsoft Teams panels, the touchscreen devices mounted outside meeting rooms.

For example, Microsoft Teams users can “check out” meeting rooms if their meetings end earlier than expected, as a courtesy to colleagues who may need the room. In the same vein, it will also be possible to extend existing reservations through Microsoft Teams panels, provided this does not create a clash.

Microsoft Teams in the office

Both updates are currently in development, but should be rolled out to all Microsoft Teams panel users by the end of May.

With the majority of experts predicting a widespread transition to hybrid working once the pandemic is over, Microsoft is also eager to position its collaboration and video conferencing platform as the go-to choice for office deployments.

The company faces stiff competition from the likes of Zoom, which has its own suite of meeting room solutions, but Microsoft is kicking off the work with a series of updates of its own.

In addition to the new functionality that will land in the spring, Microsoft recently announced a feature to help companies monitor and limit meeting room capacity, to facilitate social distancing (if still needed in the future).

The desired space capacity is set by the administrator and overcrowding is detected using cameras with people counting functionality. If a room has overcapacity, a warning will appear on the screen in the room and the Microsoft Teams panel outside.

Microsoft will hope that features like these, in addition to a roster of intelligent meeting room hardware (displays, webcams, microphones, etc.), will help build on the strong foundation built during the pandemic.

source: scssnys