The Benefits of Smart Meeting Rooms

Last Updated:

April 5, 2024
Meeting Room Tips
Smart meeting room

People want to work better and achieve more, and smart meeting rooms enable your team to do just that.

Smart tech is making life simpler and changing how people meet by bringing together cameras, software, and collaboration tools to create future-focused smart meeting spaces.

These rooms are designed to make collaboration in the workplace simple, enjoyable, and inclusive, whether your team is in the office or at home.

We share even more benefits of smart meeting rooms below.

What are smart meeting rooms?

Smart meeting rooms are powered by intelligent technology that integrates into the meeting space to create a dynamic meeting experience for remote and in-person attendees and is a crucial element of any office set-up.

They are also perfectly suited to hybrid-working businesses with distributed teams or multi-site offices, giving team members the tools and resources to work together productively, regardless of where they’re dialling in from. 

Smart meeting room in use

What are the benefits of smart meeting rooms?

Aside from keeping abreast of the latest tech by creating a ‘smart office,’ investing in smart meeting systems offers many benefits.

Retain Staff

Meeting rooms that utilise the best quality video conferencing systems can help businesses attract and retain the best people.

According to Freshworks Inc.’s latest research, two thirds (68%) of unsatisfied UK employees say their current software makes them less productive. This is why it’s essential to kit your smart meeting room with the best video conferencing technology that streamlines processes and collaboration.

Plus, by implementing advanced technologies, you’ll prevent technical issues that can cause embarrassment for your staff and help meetings run smoothly. New technology, such as wireless presentation systems, removes the need for your team to deal with cables during setup, ensuring meetings start promptly with full focus on the meeting instead.

Include everyone

You can be sure everyone feels included, as having a multi-camera mode allows everyone to be seen and heard during your meeting. Your team can switch between cameras to enhance productivity and collaboration.

For hybrid-working, multi-cameras will also track those who are talking or presenting, allowing everyone to feel included.

Improve engagement

Your team will feel more engaged and a part of the meeting by using tools and integrations that allow them to collaborate more successfully. These include using interactive displays which offer remote annotations and inbuilt editing, so your staff can work together wherever they are.

Plus, if someone from your team isn’t able to attend, you can record your meeting and send the file.

Increase Productivity

43% of people asked in the TravelPerk work trend report said they preferred the work-life balance hybrid working brings.

With smart meeting rooms, people spend less time on trains, planes, and cars so that they can be more productive in the workplace, such as for internal and external meetings.

They also provide an added benefit for those working at multi-site premises – saving time commuting between offices for meetings with other team members.

Maximise office space

Smart meeting rooms allow you to book and reserve the meeting in advance, using tools such as GoBright Room Booking to eliminate room booking issues.

Plus, if a meeting needs to happen last minute, the digital signage outside the room lets everyone know if the space is available.

What equipment is included in smart meeting rooms?

There’s a range of leading video conferencing platforms and smart meeting room systems to choose from, which can be combined with cameras, microphones, speakers, and acoustic solutions to enable even greater collaboration.

Here are just some of the options TecInteractive supplies, with each product having unique benefits.

AV tech used in a smart meeting room solution

Zoom Rooms Smart Meeting Rooms

One of Zoom Room’s key benefits is that it’s one of the easiest video conferencing platforms to use – you don’t need any training, and you can invite anyone to join a Zoom Room meeting.

It can be easily integrated with apps to enhance collaboration and productivity, including:

  • Wireless screen sharing
  • Whiteboarding
  • Room scheduling
  • Automatically generated meeting transcripts.

Zoom offers a flexible and scalable meeting solution, as it can be used on a desktop or in a smart meeting room for a fully configured meeting room solution.

One of our favourite pieces of Zoom Room tech is the Poly Studio X50, an all-in-one premium video bar with a touchscreen computer preloaded with Zoom Rooms.

We love it because it works brilliantly in medium-sized meeting rooms, with users on both sides of the call experiencing great audio. Using room-filling stereo speakers and next-gen microphones, the Poly Studio X50 blanks out distractions, so you can focus on your conversation.

Teams call

Microsoft Teams Smart Meeting Rooms

Microsoft Teams (Teams) uses cloud-based technology to host online audio and video meetings for anyone, anywhere, even if they don’t subscribe to Teams themselves. Its focus is to help bring people together before, during and after a meeting.

Teams provide many additional features to aid collaboration, such as:

  • Screen sharing
  • Meeting note-taking and recording
  • Instant messaging
  • File sharing
  • Meeting scheduling

Teams combine high-quality video and audio with security at the same accredited level as the rest of Microsoft 365.

For the best quality experience away from the desktop (i.e., in a conference room), you will need to buy additional hardware from a certified partner, like Crestron, Logitech or Polycom, to turn meeting rooms into fully integrated video conferencing spaces.

We personally love the Creston Flex B Series, which has been designed specifically for Microsoft Teams. Removing the need for laptops and plugins, the intuitive touch console allows you to streamline your session and provides full control of your meeting.

It has crystal-clear speech during calls and stellar microphone coverage, as well as a 4K high-definition camera that provides auto-zoom, people-counting, and lifelike image quality too.

modern office with video conferencing tools

How we can help you with Easy AV

To help you upgrade your meeting rooms, Easy AV is our straightforward monthly subscription plan that gives you access to the latest smart AV technology and ongoing support from our engineers.

Our friendly team of experts will take the time to understand your business, environment and needs to offer you a bespoke and cost-effective package.

Once we’ve helped you choose the smart equipment best suited to you, we’ll arrange your installation and continue to offer support during your subscription should any issues arise.

With our subscription model, you can easily upgrade your office cost-effectively and hassle-free, allowing you to spread the costs and adjust the plan according to your needs.

Finding the right smart meeting room for you

At TecInteractive, we give teams the tools to work better and achieve more. Making collaboration in the workplace simple, enjoyable, and inclusive – no matter where you’re dialling in from.

We shape smart tech to fit into your business, enabling you to unlock the true potential of your staff and solutions. Everything we do, from smart meeting rooms to interactive displays and presentations, is designed to help you and your team thrive using technology.

If you’re looking to invest in smart meeting room technology, get in touch to see how we can help you create a system that fits into your business, enhancing productivity and collaboration.

First Published:

February 4, 2021