Meeting Rooms for a Hybrid World

Questions to ask yourself before designing and equipping a meeting room​

Here is a list of questions you should ask and answer before planning a meeting room design. The information you gather should help you ask the right questions to your IT support or AV System Integrator to help you make the right decisions.​

  • Do you want a room-based solution or BYOD?​
  • How many meeting rooms do we have?​
  • How many meeting rooms are we planning to have?​
  • What is the size of the meeting room?​
  • How many people are present at a typical meeting?​
  • Will the meeting room be used for a specific type of meeting?​
  • Must the room support different types of meetings?​
  • Do external visitors use our meeting rooms?​
  • Do you have existing equipment that can be reused?​
  • Do all meeting participants bring and use laptops/other devices in their meeting rooms?​
  • How many electrical outlets does the room have and need?​

What is Microsoft Teams Room (MTR)?

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  • Microsoft Teams Room (MTR) is an all-in-one, easy-to-use solution, designed to deliver consistent Teams experiences.​
  • Native Microsoft Teams touch screen UI provides a consistent user experience with simple operation and one-touch meeting joins.​
  • Uses Microsoft-certified hardware created by leading industry partners like Crestron, Logitech, Poly, HP, & Lenovo.

Recommended AV Components

Purchasing AV Components

Things To Consider

  • Consult with your Local IT or an AV installer/integrator before making any purchases​
  • Consider purchasing a support agreement with an AV integrator if you do not have AV support​
  • AV equipment being impacted by global supply chain issues​
  • AV equipment currently back-ordered due to semiconductor chip shortages​
  • Expect lead times of approx. 8-12+ weeks ​
  • Pricing & product availability is volatile ​
  • Crestron most impacted manufacturer

Pros and Cons of Teams Rooms vs BYOD

 

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Microsoft Teams Room (MTR)

Pros

  • Single tap to start meeting ​
  • Easy to use (intuitive UI/UX)​
  • Participant’s device(laptop) is not needed to conduct the video conference.​
  • The Teams Room is a meeting participant and is invited to the meeting. (No need to log in with a personal account)​

Cons

  • Additional annual Teams Room license needs to be purchased​
  • Limited Flexibility – Joining Zoom meetings is possible but with limitations. (Web app)
  • Content/Screen sharing requires meeting participants to bring a laptop or cell phone.​
  • Compute device only runs Teams Room OS – Cannot run windows/O365 applications

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Pros

  • Familiarity – Use the video conferencing applications already installed on your PC.​
  • IT pushes video conferencing software upgrades to users’ managed PC.​
  • Flexibility – Compatible with all video conference software (Teams, Zoom, WebEx, etc.)​
  • Cost Savings – No additional Teams Room license needs to be purchased.

Cons

  • A meeting participant will be required to bring a laptop to run the video conference.​
  • More difficult to use the device while connected to a Video conference.​
  • Lack of Uniformity in Devices – not all employees have the same device​
  • Private email & chat messages could be seen by coworkers when projecting a laptop to a meeting room display.​

Upcoming Training Dates

View the full list of dates on the Connect+Learn page.

Connect+Learn: Updates on the University Mobility Contract (VOR 2.0) with Rogers

Connect+Learn invite you to attend an information session presented by the ITS Telecommunications Department, focused on the recent updates to our mobility VOR contract 2.0 with Rogers Inc. This meeting …

Find out more

Connect+Learn: Updates on the University Mobility Contract (VOR 2.0) with Rogers

Connect+Learn invite you to attend an information session presented by the ITS Telecommunications Department, focused on the recent updates to our mobility VOR contract 2.0 with Rogers Inc. This meeting …

Find out more

View full list of sessions.