Huddle Room Solutions for Microsoft Skype for Business Environments

April 12, 2017

Small group meeting spaces, also known as huddle rooms, have unique communications needs that are being met by several quality-minded voice solutions providers. With the aim of increasing productivity and lowering costs in a Skype for Business (S4B) environment, these solutions reduce the complexities and pain points normally associated with this type of meeting through high-quality sound, noise and latency reduction, portability, and a wide range of connective possibilities.

How the new business landscape has changed the way we work

Where we work, and the way we work is changing. Huddle rooms, by definition, are smaller meeting room spaces. Meant to accommodate from 4 to maybe a dozen people, they exist within a workspace and may or may not have the kind of connectivity and audio visual amenities you would expect in a standard conference room. Additionally, open workspaces are becoming more common as the workforce is being taken over by millennials. These workers are driven to collaborate, and thrive in a non-conventional office environment. Add to that an ever-increasing need for immediate response to business situations, and the landscape is ripe for technology solutions that meet these demands. Video conferencing is on the rise, as is the need for all stakeholders to collaborate within these meetings, and conferencing technology is evolving to answer the call.

Pain Point #1: setting up a meeting on the road

If your team is on the road, in transit or having to convert a challenging office space, setting up a meeting could be challenge.

The solution: Dialing into S4B and putting your smartphone on speaker would be the ‘in-a-pinch’ solution, but with the portability and plug-and-play features of Jabra Speak, you can set up your huddle room anywhere in seconds. The Jabra features Bluetooth and USB connectivity, and is fully compatible with S4B as well as other major UC platforms, Jabra Speak is totally portable, combining an omni-directional microphone with a high definition speaker that delivers crystal clear audio. Your team can each have their own personal Jabra Speak, or choose from one of several options that will cover from 4 to 15 meeting room attendees. The internal battery lasts for 15 hours on a full charge, making it a business travel essential you won’t want to leave home without.

Pain Point #2: need to quickly convert a room for an ad hoc meeting

You have an urgent need to connect your team, and the only available space is less than ideal.

The solution: AudioCodes Huddle Room Solution is an out-of-the-box interface that does not require a computer for connectivity. Consisting of a touch-screen phone and a high-definition audio speaker, it is fully integrated with S4B, and allows you to set up and manage your call from a simple, intuitive interface. Both local and remote participants can benefit from the high-quality audio, and it is scalable for up to 15 users.

Pain Point #3: poor sound quality

If you are conducting a meeting with a vendor, partner or other important stakeholder, you want to minimize the incidence of communication breakdown. Lulls in the conversation caused by latency, echo, or a poor-quality connection can cause a ripple effect in the meeting, reducing the impact of your dialogue, and causing miscommunications that could result in missed opportunities.

The solution: Polycom Real Presence Trio is one of the highest quality voice conferencing systems on the market today. With room-filling sound, a twenty-foot microphone range, and their patented noise-block technology, any non-speech background noise is eliminated, allowing remote participants to hear subtle inflections of voice that just wouldn’t be possible on a conventional phone or video system. It’s fully W-Fi enabled too, so you can instantly transform any room with an internet connection into a meeting room.

Pain Point #4: rich media settings

The need to provide an integrated, collaborative platform from which to work is an imperative in today’s business landscape. If your meeting requires sharing a range of media, you need a way to accomplish this quickly and easily, and preferably on BYO devices, as most huddle rooms are not inventoried.

The solution: Fully integrated with S4B, the Wi-Fi connected Polycom Real Presence Trio is designed to enable group collaboration possible in any space. Some of the features you will enjoy include being able to join a conference or video call with one touch, make a video call from your conference phone, make voice calls from your video system, or add and share content from any device. Media can be pushed out to a screen, or to your user’s devices with just one click. It’s easy to deploy, easy to use, and delivers a high-quality, feature-rich environment that your workforce and all stakeholders are going to love.

CCG Telecom: powering huddle rooms for the way you work

It’s a fact: time wasted in meetings dealing with technology averages about 10 minutes per meeting. Over time, that really adds up! The solutions we have presented to you today are designed to be plug-and-play, and are just a few of the ways you can start being more productive, empowering your workforce with collaborative tools designed to connect with Skype for Business. Getting started is easy: call CCG today, and let’s talk about your huddle room technology needs.