What Small Businesses Need to Know About Microsoft Teams Meeting Room Technology

Printa Williams is a Productivity Ecosystem Solutions Sr. Advisor working within CDW's Integrated Technology Services, assisting customers with Microsoft and Google conversations around licenses, renewals, applications and systems, as well as guiding new SMB customers on their move to the cloud.

The number of Microsoft Teams monthly users has now reached 280 million. Teams Rooms, meanwhile, saw a 70 percent adoption increase from 2022, with more than 500,000 Teams Rooms in use. For small businesses, however, solutions like Teams Rooms may not be on the radar, even if they’re currently making use of Teams collaboration software. Here's a look at how Teams Rooms work, what they can do for small businesses, and what sets Microsoft apart from the competition.

Meeting Rooms require two components: a Teams Rooms license and a Teams Rooms system. The system can fall into one of three categories: Companies can use Teams Rooms on a Windows compute module with an attached touch console; on an Android device and touch console connected via IP or USB; or on a Surface Hub interactive display.

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This system acts as the central control for any Teams Rooms meeting. The features available are determined by the type of license purchased, Basic or Pro:

Both Basic and Pro licenses enable worldwide connections.

READ MORE: Learn how businesses are leveraging Microsoft Teams for their communications.

Microsoft Teams Rooms makes it possible for small businesses to connect remote, hybrid and in-office employees easily. With many small businesses choosing to offer flexible work options in a post-pandemic world, there's a growing need for regular check-in and collaboration beyond simple email messages and texts. Teams Rooms makes it possible for staff to schedule and join meetings where they can easily share and collaborate on content.

While Teams Rooms requires specific system components to facilitate initial connections, attendees can join meetings using the device of their choice. For in-office employees, this might mean connecting via desktop or using cameras and digital displays in a conference room. For staff at home, a Microsoft Surface may provide the easiest way to connect. And for those on the road, an Apple or Android mobile device may be the best choice.

Teams Rooms makes it easy for staff to join using links or phone numbers. Once all participants have joined, the meeting facilitator can create a gallery view of all attendees and provide a chat window to help facilitate the flow of information. It's also possible to create breakout rooms that allow smaller groups to collaborate with fewer distractions, then return to the main group.

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Printa Williams Productivity Ecosystem Solutions Sr. Advisor, CDW

Teams Rooms can also help keep businesses safe. For example, small businesses can implement zero-trust access policies that verify user identities before people are permitted to join meetings or make changes.

Teams Rooms also enables hypervisor-protected code integrity on system devices. HVCI offers Credential Guard, a feature that provides hardware and virtualization security with Windows New Technology LAN Manager and Kerberos. These solutions help protect credentials using secure boot and protected environments that separate access requests from operating systems.

Teams Rooms aren't just for enterprises. With powerful collaboration abilities and robust security backed by system and license flexibility, Teams Rooms are a great choice for small businesses as well.

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This article is part of BizTech's AgilITy blog series. Please join the discussion on Twitter.