Henry Levak, Vice President of Product at Logitech for Business, discusses the company's innovations in video conferencing technology and workplace experiences.The Logi Sight was recently recognised among Time's best innovations of 2024Development of multi-camera and multi-stream technologyLogi's new software capabilities, including auto-booking and releasing meeting rooms to combat 'ghost meetings'Future innovations in Logi product offerings, including insights and analyticsThanks to Logitec...

Paul Cornish, UC Architect at Merlin Entertainment, dives into the unique challenges of deploying communications in large theme parks, hotels and attractions globally. Merlin operates around 140 attractions worldwide, each with unique telephony needsThe transition from Skype for Business to TeamsCloud-based telephony and its cost-effectivenessStandardisation in meeting room technologyBest practices for managing complex deploymentsThanks to Pure IP, this episode's sponsor, for their conti...

Josh Blalock, Chief Video Evangelist at Jabra, discusses the latest developments in Jabra's video solutions, focusing on the PanaCast 50 and VBS.Jabra's PanaCast series includes innovative video solutions for meetingsThe significant feature adds over the life of the PanaCast 50Jabra's Android Bar - features and flexibilityWorking closely with Microsoft and MDEPThanks to Jabra, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support.

Preethi Ramarathinam, Head of Product - Microsoft Teams Virtual Event at Microsoft, dives into Teams capabilities for hosting large external virtual events, webinars, and town halls.Microsoft Teams is expanding beyond traditional collaboration scenariosInternal large use cases for Microsoft Teams include AMA sessions and Town HallsExternal use cases such as training and product launchesRecent key featuresFuture Roadmap for Teams event and AI integrationThanks to Landis, this episode's sponsor...

Patrick Watson, Head of Research at Cavell, discusses the evolving landscape of telephony, the impact of Microsoft Teams, market trends and the role of AI in Contact Centers.Microsoft Teams has significantly disrupted the telephony marketDirect routing remains the dominant solution for Teams telephony usersDiscussing market dynamics and trends in telephony and differences in the enterprise and SMB marketsAI is set to transform contact centersLook out for Cavell Enable London in DecemberThanks...

Mohammed Khalifa, Microsoft Alliance Manager HP Poly and Kimberly Tee, Lenovo Smart Collaboration EMEA join Tom to dive deep into the evolving landscape of collaborative tools and meeting room technologyThe shift in innovation focus from major updates to software and hardware hardware refinementsExploring AI's role in the meeting room: automatic enhancements vs user-driven experiencesBarriers to adoption including IT administration, cyber security concerns and organizational readinessThanks t...

Pardeep Gill, Senior Enterprise Architect at a global legal firm, shares his insights on the role of technology in modern workspaces.Flexible workspaces are becoming essential in professional servicesUser experience is a key focus in modern office designsSustainability must also be considered in technology procurementAV design must be integrated early in new buildsInteroperability between meeting platforms is crucial in enterprise environmentsThanks to Luware, this episode's sponsor, for thei...

Trond Johannessen, CEO of Pexip, discusses the evolution of video conferencing, the increasing demand for interoperability between UCaaS solutions and the customer use case for secure self-hosted meeting.Pexip's Microsoft certified solution connects meeting rooms to cloud meeting platforms, enhancing collaboration and catering for both cloud and on-premise deployment needsWhy meeting platform interoperability is becoming essential as organizations use multiple platformsExplaining Pexip Secure...

Roopam Jain, Vice President of Research, Information and Communications Technologies at Frost & Sullivan, explores the evolution of room video systems, the impact of hybrid work and office modernisation.The influence of the UC/Collab platform on room system decisionsThe transformative role of AI in enhancing meeting experiencesBYOD is becoming a significant part of the meeting experienceSustainability is a key consideration in workplace technologyThanks to Crestron, this episode's sponsor...

Anthony Woodruff, Technical Program Manager at Microsoft, discusses his role working with customers in the Microsoft 365 Customer and Partner Ecosystem Team, Copilot in Microsoft Teams and the wider challenges and impact of AI adoption.AI-powered tools can significantly improve productivity and efficiencyCopilot use cases: summarizing conversations, onboarding new employees and streamlining workflowsThe potential of AI to revolutionise educationThanks to AVI-SPL, this episode's sponsor, for t...

Ryan Herbst, Vice President and Chief Strategist at UnifiedCommunications.com discusses the evolution of the unified communications industry and the challenges and opportunities it presents. He highlights the importance of standardisation and the balance between innovation and maintaining a consistent user experience.The importance of standardisation in customer deploymentsThe challenge of balancing innovation and maintaining a consistent user experience for organisationsImpact of AI in meeti...

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update - October 2024Gartner 2024 UCaaS MQ3 New Teams Phone FeaturesOperator Connect 100 countries, 103 providersMicrosoft Teams New calendar experienceLimit Frontline Worker access to Teams when off shiftBlock the AI botsVoice and face enrollment on by defaultMicrosoft Places - Core and Premium GA NovemberEnd of Support for Skype for Business Server 2015 and 2019Microsoft Teams Rooms & Devices NewsMicrosoft 365 Copilot NewsEventsThanks to Neat, this month's benefa...

Ryan McCarty, Senior Unified Communications Engineer at a legal firm explores the unique challenges of unified communications within the legal sector, the need for interoperability, user education and technology standardisation.Unique challenges of the legal sector presents Interoperability is crucial as clients dictate meeting platformsManaging change and user adoption strategies in Microsoft Teams RoomsThe importance of daily system checks to ensure reliability in high-stakes environme...

Harold Wortman, Senior Product Manager - Mobile Unified Communications at Verizon, discusses the journey of deploying Teams phone mobile, feature development and mobile as a default mode of communication,Teams Phone Mobile offers a seamless mobile communication experience within the Teams platformSignificant, with interest from small to medium-sized businesses, enterprises, and government organizationsWidespread adoption may take time due to the complexity of integrating with different mobile...

Doug Wycoff, Director of Digital Technologies and Innovation at Tampa International Airport, and Rebecca Criswell, Account Manager at AVI-SPL, explain the technological innovations at Tampa International Airport, including use of Microsoft Teams, digital signage, and advanced AV solutions.The rapid technological transformation from pre-Covid to present and the acceleration of Microsoft Teams adoptionImportance of standardisation across different room sizes and configurations in the airport's ...

MVP Ragnar Heil, Business Development Manager Microsoft at HanseVision explores the role of Copilot in governance and compliance, as well as the importance of user adoption and change management in successful implementation of Copilot.The need for organisations to prioritise governance and compliance for CopilotCopilot's role in making governance more accessibleThe role of user adoption and change management in Copilot implementationManaging content freshness and organizing content with label...

Chris Goodwill, Strategic Partner Manager and Solutions Specialist at Symity discusses the evolution of Microsoft's Contact Center and the new Dynamics 365 Contact CenterUnderstanding Dynamics 365 Contact Center, Microsoft's Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)How Microsoft is driving with AI featuresDynamics 365 Contact Center vs Teams Ecosystem solutionsLicensing and pricing considerationsThe future of chatbots and multi-lingual supportThanks to Logitech, this episode's sponsor, for their su...

Shabtai Adlersberg, Co-Founder, CEO and President of AudioCodes shares the fascinating journey of AudioCodes over the past 31 years, from its establishment to becoming a leader in the voice industry and more recent journey into SaaS and AI.Shabtai's background in engineering and digital signal processing, before co-founding AudioCodesAudioCodes evolution from focusing on algorithms to developing chipsets and then progressing to gateways and SBCsThe impact of partnering with Microsoft on Audio...

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update - September 2024No more General ChannelCallback for call queuesMicrosoft Teams Intelligent recap coming for ad-hoc meetings and callsTeams Client Updates Channel Improvements5 Town hall UpdatesAdditional languages - Copilot for Microsoft 365CNS Retirement Updates - old phones will get an update6 Microsoft Teams Rooms UpdatesNew Certified DevicesEventsThanks to Pure IP, this month's benefactor, for your support of Empowering.Cloud and the community.Note that this...

Taimoor Husain, Global Telco M365 GTM Strategy Lead at Microsoft, discusses the Microsoft Teams telephony landscape, the rise of Operator Connect and the future of Teams Phone.The transition from Skype for Business to Teams and the resulting changes in operators' business modelsThe growth of Microsoft Teams Operator ConnectTeams telephony options including Microsoft Calling Plans, Direct Routing, Operator Connect and Teams Phone MobileHow Copilot is set to revolutionize telephony by enhancing...

Brett Johnson, Microsoft 365 Copilot GBB (Global Black Belt), shares his personal and customer experience of how Copilot in Microsoft Teams and beyond is streamlining meetings, communications and workflows. Examples of Copilot for driving efficiency in customer operationsHow Copilot is revolutionising data handlingThe future of Copilot, including agent-based capabilities and customer CopilotsThanks to Jabra, this episode's sponsor, for supporting the community and for helping to make con...

Mahendra Sekaran, Corporate Vice President, Teams Phone, M365 at Microsoft discusses the journey of Microsoft Teams, his role, Understanding IC3 (Intelligent Conversations and Communications Cloud) and ACS (Azure Communication Services) and how they related to Microsoft Teams and leveraging AI in development.The Microsoft Teams journey and Mahendra's perspective Understanding IC3, ACS and Microsoft Teams PSTN connectivityThoughts on Teams Phone MobileThe importance of reliability, securi...

Alan Ross, Partner Group PM Manager, Dynamics 365 Contact Center at Microsoft delves into Dynamics 365 Contact Center and the role of Copilot in improving agent productivity and customer experience.Features and capabilities of Dynamics 365 Contact CenterDecoupling from Dynamics 365 customer serviceHow Copilot enhances the agent experience by providing context-aware suggestions, knowledge search and conversation summariesHow Dynamics 365 Contact Center relates to/integrates with Microsoft Team...

Sherri Pipala, Senior Director Global Alliances at Neat, and Tyler Troutman, Strategic Market Development Team at Shure, discuss the partnership between Neat and Shure and their collaboration which addresses challenges faced in larger rooms with complex audio requirements and the need for seamless integration between Neat and Shure devices. Neat and Shure have partnered to provide audio and video solutions for Microsoft Teams RoomsChallenges faced in larger rooms with complex audio requi...