Fellow MVP Adam Ball, Co-founder of Cloud Revolution and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the role of AI in contact centers, and the trends in cloud phone migration and meeting room technology. The potential of AI to disrupt the contact center industry The growing trend of cloud to cloud migration for Phone What customers really want from meeting room technology Optimising project efficiency and cost-effectiveness through large scale, fast and concurrent deployments Thanks to AudioCodes , this episode&apos...
May 08, 2024•25 min
May Microsoft Teams Update -all the news and updates you need to know in 15 minutes! Microsoft Teams Rooms 5.0 - new client, QR code join, Autopilot and more 'Follow a meeting' in Outlook Teams voice isolation GA GA Multi-tenant organization capabilities in Microsoft 365 New hardware - Neat Bar Gen2 and DTEN DCR200 Bar Neat and Shure Incorporated partnership Thanks to Neat , this month's benefactor, for your support of the community! Note that this is an audio-only version of the ...
May 02, 2024•16 min
Recorded live at Comms vNext, Luke Kannel, Product Specialist at Neat and Tyler Troutman, Market Development Specialist at Shure discuss Neat's and Shure's new integration and use case. Luke also gives an overview of Neat's newly released products. New Neat and Shure partnership Neat's latest innovations: Bar Generation 2, Pulse and Center Shure's integration with Neat: Enhancing audio in large spaces Shure's diverse portfolio of microphone solutions for Teams Rooms...
May 01, 2024•11 min
Richard Trestain , Product Marketing Manager at Jabra and MVP Tom Arbuthnot discuss the research conducted by Jabra on hybrid work and the preferences of Gen Z employees. They cover current trends in hybrid work, the expectations and challenges faced by Gen Z workers, and the role of technology in creating an inclusive and engaging work environment. Hybrid work is becoming the norm, with around 6% of people working fully remote and 43% working fully in the office. Gen Z employees value flexibili...
Apr 25, 2024•20 min
Jason Moulden , Global Alliances Technical Lead at Crestron and Tom Arbuthnot explore the changing dynamics of the AV industry and the impact of UC and AV increasingly coming together. The continuous interplay between AV and UC/IT domains as they converge with modern workspace Adaptation of AV technology in office spaces The trend of Android-based solutions for simplicity in setup and integration How Crestron address diverse customer needs across room sizes Role of cloud computing and advancemen...
Apr 17, 2024•22 min
Freshly back from Enterprise Connect, Kevin Kieller , Co Founder of enableUC and Microsoft MVP Tom Arbuthnot dive into the current state of AI in the UC and discuss its future impact on UC and how Microsoft Teams might play a central role for many organisations. Thoughts on Enterprise Connect 2024 Understanding AI terminology Importance of user adoption and training in driving the value of AI in UC Role of IT Pros in AI landscape Potential for AI to disrupt the Contact Center space Thanks to Pur...
Apr 10, 2024•25 min
The Microsoft Teams Monthly Update for April 2024 is here, covering the Microsoft Teams news from Enterprise Connect and all the usual updates. Microsoft unbundle Microsoft Teams globally Teams Phone service level agreement 99.999% uptime Survivable Branch Appliance enhancements Intelligent call recap (Premium) New operators for Teams Phone Mobile Operator Connect Updates Queues app Voice isolation Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) RTM Microsoft Teams Rooms Updates Note that this is an ...
Apr 05, 2024•20 min
In this podcast episode, Jason Waite, Digital Technology Specialist at Microsoft, discusses the features, benefits and use cases of Microsoft Teams Premium. 3 main use cases for Teams Premium: intelligent meeting recap, governance, advanced webinar and advanced virtual appointments Value of intelligent recap in Teams Premium for summarizing meetings using generative AI The benefits of applying sensitivity labels to meetings Importance of broad adoption and proper deployment to maximize the value...
Mar 20, 2024•19 min
In this podcast, Tom Arbuthnot interviews Michael Levy, the CEO of Numonix, who offers a Microsoft-certified compliance recording solution but can do much more with the media collection bot. Numonix offers media acquisition solutions for AI platforms, allowing customers to record calls and meetings for analysis and insights using either third-party or in-house solutions. Numonix's bot-as-a-service solution offers simplified maintenance, certification with Microsoft Leverage AI capabilities ...
Mar 17, 2024•19 min
MVP Kevin McDonnell, Copilot Strategy and Modern Workplace AI Lead, Avanade, and MVP Tom Arbuthnot dive deep into Copilot! They discuss its various applications, potential for transforming modern workplaces. Understanding Microsoft Copilot Data Protection and Privacy in Copilot Licensing of Copilot Copilot Real-world Use Cases and Applications Challenges and Opportunities
Mar 14, 2024•23 min
Microsoft MVP Eric Marsi and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the intricacies of E911 regulations and requirements and strict compliance requirements with Microsoft Teams. Understanding E911 E911 Laws and Regulations E911 in Microsoft Teams Phone Determining User Location for E911 Dynamic Emergency Calling in Teams E911 Microsoft Teams compatible Service Providers Thanks to AVI-SPL , this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the Empowering.Cloud community....
Mar 09, 2024•24 min
Stephen McClellan, Associate Solutions Engineering Director, Conferencing at AstraZeneca, and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the technology journey at AstraZeneca, deploying over a thousand Microsoft Teams rooms. The journey from full Cisco to Microsoft Teams Impact of COVID-19 Evaluation and Deployment of Microsoft Teams Rooms Challenges and Successes in Implementing Microsoft Teams Rooms Exploring the Future: AR/VR Scenarios and Mesh Thanks to Ribbon , this episode's sponsor, for your continued su...
Mar 06, 2024•23 min
Greg Jeffreys, co-owner at Visual Displays is back for a second podcast with Tom Arbuthnot, to discuss a holistic approach to room design. The role of user experience in room design The importance of standards in designing meeting spaces to maintain the quality and repeatability of the design process Considering room attributes including lighting and acoustics Performance standards as a guideline to achieve quality and consistent results Current and future trends in room design including multi-c...
Mar 04, 2024•18 min
Tim Banting, Practice Leader, Digital Workplace at Omdia and Tom Arbuthnot discuss key trends in digital transformation, including generative AI, BYOD strategy and the persistence of PBX. The increasing role of AI in meetings and communications The shift in device usage towards mobile phones Persistence of traditional PBX systems in the face of UCaaS Challenges and opportunities relating to hybrid working models Many thanks to Landis , this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of t...
Feb 28, 2024•21 min
The Microsoft Teams Monthly Update for January 2024 is here! Covering the following and much more in only 13 minutes! Teams and Microsoft Apps on Apple Vision Pro Shared Calling now in Teams Admin Center Teams 2.1 Client New Bulk Installer Improved Copilot in Teams and in Windows Microsoft 365 Backup Public Preview Android 9 and Android 10 Device Certification Extensions Pexip bringing a "Teams-like experience" to CVI Thanks to this month's sponsor Luware for your continued suppor...
Feb 26, 2024•13 min
Philipp Beck, co-founder of Luware and Tom Arbuthnot discuss key developments in the world of Microsoft Teams and Contact Center. The journey of Luware from on-premises to the cloud The importance of SOC2 Type 2 Attestation for data security New Luware Nimbus features and omnichannel capabilities Adoption of power platform for line of business automation Impact of AI in the contact center space and training and implementation considerations Thanks to Luware , this episode's sponsor, for you...
Feb 20, 2024•28 min
Zach Bennett , Principal Architect at LoopUp and Tom Arbuthnot discuss Teams Phone options for complex and global organisations. Different options and challenges with Teams Phone deployment Migration from legacy PBX systems to cloud telephony The complexity of certain countries like Dubai, China, and LATAM Usage of analog devices and methods to integrate them with cloud-based solutions, Importance of selecting the right Operator Connect provider based on specific requirements...
Feb 15, 2024•17 min
Tom Arbuthnot and Mark Licinio, Service Owner of Video Conferencing & Teams devices at BP dive deep into Marks' experience with Microsoft Teams Rooms and Digital Workplace. Discussion of transitioning to Microsoft Teams from Skype for business The journey to enabling Microsoft Teams in the meeting room Mark speaks about managing and operating multiple OEMs, BYOD, Android, and Windows. BP's approach to testing, operations and deployment How their teams evaluate and select equipment ...
Feb 08, 2024•26 min
The Microsoft Teams Monthly Update for January 2024 is here! Covering the following and much more in only 13 minutes! Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now available to all user accounts, including business plans, with no seat minimum. This is a big unlock for small businesses and E plans. Copilot Pro is launched for Microsoft 365 personal and family plans, offering AI assistance integration into Office apps. Teams Android Auto integration is coming in February, offering a full Teams client experienc...
Jan 30, 2024•14 min
Rohan Milne, CEO at Switch Connect and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the impact and role of AI in the workspace, with a focus on its potential and limitations in different applications The importance of understanding experience or voice and PSTN within the Managed Service Provider (MSP) community Strategies for optimizing Microsoft Teams as a collaboration platform rather than just a PBX Impact of AI in the contact center space and its potential to disrupt current models Examples of challenges of implem...
Jan 22, 2024•38 min
Greg emphasizes the importance of thinking critically about each component of a room and using standards as a guide The importance of standards and proper room design for Microsoft Teams rooms and technology-enabled spaces The real-world challenges of room design, the need for audio quality and the opportunity for improvement in remote experiences The ROI of investing in technology-enabled spaces Thanks to Crestron , this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the community and fo...
Jan 17, 2024•18 min
Damian Lewis is a digital workplace specialist at a global enterprise responsible for Teams telephony, Microsoft Teams Rooms, and other Teams-related projects. Tom and Damian discuss the challenges of migrating legacy telephony into Teams, especially the porting of numbers, which can be unpredictable and time-consuming. An ideal operational model for telephony in Teams is still being defined, including allocating responsibilities between the network team and the collaboration/digital workplace t...
Jan 10, 2024•28 min
In this podcast episode, Tom Arbuthnot speaks to Vandana Thomas, Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile Product Leader about what we've seen in Teams Phone Mobile throughout 2023 and what we can expect to come in 2024. Thanks to Luware for sponsoring this episode, check out their Microsoft Teams Contact Center solution here: Luware | Contact Center and Routing Solutions Teams Phone Mobile has launched in nine countries with six operators. There are plans to expand the market coverage, aiming for 10 m...
Dec 19, 2023•26 min
In this Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast episode, Micah Singer, CEO of Kurmi Software , and Tom Arbuthnot discuss a range of topics around the future of Enterprise IT: potential impact of generative AI on software development shift towards remote work and how it's driving demand for more IT infrastructure role of AI in IT security the rise of low-code and no-code applications monetisation of cloud infrastructure the need for greater automation in IT management...
Dec 08, 2023•26 min
Michael Tressler is a Senior Solutions Consultant at Jabra, focusing on pre-sales technical support for Jabra products, including audio and video devices. In this podcast Michael explains his journey from early coding, to IT roles to Microsoft and then to Jabra Jabra has also recently launched an Android-based video bar, providing an all-in-one solution for video conferencing. Thanks to Jabra , this episode's sponsor, for their continued support of the community and helping making content l...
Nov 14, 2023•52 min
In this podcast episode, Tom Arbuthnot and Sam Kennedy, discuss Crestron's product Automate VX for outside-in camera views in meeting rooms. The multi-camera solution aims to provide a more equitable meeting experience by intelligently selecting the best camera angle for each moment during a meeting. The Automate VX has also recently been Microsoft Teams certified, making it the first multi-camera solution to have been certified by Teams. Thanks to Crestron , this episode's sponsor, fo...
Nov 08, 2023•26 min
In this podcast episode, Tom Arbuthnot and Chris Goodwill discuss the impact of AI on contact centers and the opportunities it opens up for innovation and improvement in content centers. AI will have a significant impact on contact centers in terms of driving efficiencies and improving customer experience. Quick wins in the B2C space include using chatbots for simple tasks like waste collection or ordering recycling bins. Digital transformation is essential for contact centers to drive better cu...
Oct 31, 2023•33 min
In this podcast, Tom Arbuthnot interviews Alistair Pidd from Pure IP, discussing the maturity and scale of Microsoft Teams in the enterprise market. Thank you to Pure IP, the sponsor of this episode, for helping to make this podcast possible. Microsoft Teams has undergone significant changes and improvements in the last year, such as the introduction of SIP gateway, shared calling with auto-attendant administration, and the migration away from 3PIP devices. Managing the scale and complexity of T...
Oct 27, 2023•17 min
In this podcast episode, Tom Arbuthnot interviews Michael LaMontagne, a Microsoft Teams expert and the creator of TeamsBoss. TeamsBoss a cloud voice admin and voice operations solution for Microsoft Teams that helps organizations simplify and manage their Teams phone and meeting room operations. It eliminates the need for complex PowerShell commands and allows users to easily manage phone numbers, policies, profiles, and resource accounts for Teams. Thanks to Numoix, the sponsor of this episode....
Oct 16, 2023•23 min
In this pod, Vandana Thomas, Product Leader for Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile gives us insight into what Teams Phone mobile is and how it has been going in market
Apr 24, 2023•33 min
