Sarah Miller , Senior Product Marketing Manager - Microsoft 365 Copilot at Microsoft, dives into practical applications of Microsoft Copilot Agents The concept of Copilots and the journey organisations take to adopt and integrate this AI technology effectively Real-world use cases, including how Pets at Home are using AI agents to improve operations and efficiency Importance of enterprise security in AI adoption The concept of AI agents, their functions and business value across different indust...
Mar 05, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Matt Sheldrick , M365 Product Designer at Kingfisher, a multi-national retail group with renowned brands including B&Q and Screwfix, shares how the organisation has embraced Microsoft Teams to revolutionise collaboration. How Kingfisher deployed video capabilities in all meeting rooms and even stores The importance of quick, efficient and robust room setups The transition to Teams Phone and streamlining communication, focusing on flexibility and local presence AI adoption and automation enha...
Feb 26, 2025•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mansoor Malik , Principal Group Product Manager - Microsoft Teams at Microsoft, explores the world of Microsoft Teams Premium, a significant focus for Microsoft in 2025. Teams Premium enables organisations to better manage communications and advanced workloads efficiently in a hybrid workplace. Headline features include Intelligent Recap, Queues app and Microsoft Places Find out about lesser-known but still valuable features Realising the ROI for Teams Premium Thanks to Logitech , this episode&a...
Feb 19, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Microsoft Teams Monthly Update - February 2025 Microsoft Teams Rooms Express Install ISE News and New Devices MDEP – New OEMs and ODMs MTRoW Boards + Edge WebApps MTRoW Multiple Camera View Microsoft Teams Super Resolution New Teams Phone Mobile Provider Roadmap Events Thanks to Ribbon , this month's benefactor, for your support of Empowering.Cloud and the community. Note that this is an audio-only version of the update, so if you would like to see the accompanying slides, please watch the ...
Feb 13, 2025•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a podcast crossover, Tom Arbuthnot joins friends Randy Chapman, Mark Vale, and Shawn Harry in episode 65 of the UC Status Podcast, where they discuss all things Microsoft Teams, AI, and future innovations. What were the big Microsoft Teams features of 2024, and a look at the Roadmap for 2025 The impact of Teams Premium on user experiences and how businesses are leveraging its features, including branding, intelligent recaps and integration with external platforms The increasing support of BYO...
Feb 12, 2025•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chandra Chivukula , Vice President of Engineering for Microsoft Teams, talks to Tom about the engineering strategies behind Microsoft Teams and how moving all users to the new client in 2024 has enabled more efficient and agile collaboration and a foundation for future innovation. Evolution of Microsoft Teams and Architecture How Microsoft successfully transitioned over 320 million users to the new Teams client The goal of consistency of Teams features across different platforms, including Windo...
Feb 10, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Olly Henderson , Head of Video Product Management and Portfolio at Jabra, discusses the evolution of meeting room technology and how Jabra is redefining enterprise audio and video conferencing solutions. Launch of Panacast 40 VBS - a new Android bar designed for small huddle rooms The Role of Edge AI in Jabra's video solutions for optimal performance and reduced cloud dependency The Future of BYOD in Meeting Rooms Jabra's partnerships and collaborative efforts to enhance their product ...
Feb 05, 2025•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris A. Johnson , Municipal Cyber Center Manager at the City of Independence, Missouri, shares their journey from an old analog phone system to a modern cloud-based communication infrastructure using Microsoft Teams and Five9 with the help of AVI-SPL. The transition from an outdated Avaya phone system to modern cloud platforms Collaborating with AVI-SPL accelerated the transformation timeline from a multi-year to a 2-year project Automating processes, improving contact center capabilities and b...
Jan 29, 2025•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kathie Anderson, IT Change Manager at Derby City Council, shares the experience of transitioning to Microsoft Teams and meeting the unique challenges faced by local authorities. How Derby City Council transitioned from PBX to Skype for Business and then to Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, condensing the six-month rollout into just six weeks to facilitate remote working Integration of Luware's contact center solution into Microsoft Teams, improving flexibility and efficiency The signific...
Jan 22, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brad Hintze , EVP Global Marketing at Crestron, shares customer stories about how Crestron enhances customer meeting room experiences. Examples from Puma, Fortuna Entertainment Group and Blue Water Financial Services Crestron's wide array of solutions cater to diverse meeting room setups from small huddle rooms to large boardrooms The growing significance of AI features such as transcription in meeting spaces The importance of superior audio quality when it comes to AI Developments coming i...
Jan 15, 2025•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tim Albright , President of AVNation Media, shares his insights into the convergence of AV and IT and the evolving landscape of meetings and video conferencing. Origins of AVNation, an online media platform dedicated to the audio-visual sector The critical role of video conferencing in today's hybrid work models and the importance of standardized solutions How Microsoft certified devices drive quality and consistency in user experiences Emerging trends such as multi-camera setups and the ro...
Jan 13, 2025•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Microsoft Teams Monthly Update - January 2025 SMS in Teams Teams Web chat widget Transcripts on by default Meeting Recap share link Mandatory Android Updates and AOSP MTR Captions additional languages MTR Windows 10 EOL Queues App Roadmap Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat Events Thanks to Logitech , this month's benefactor, for your support of Empowering.Cloud and the community. Note that this is an audio-only version of the update, so if you would like to see the accompanying slides, please watch...
Jan 10, 2025•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eshan Mathur , Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, helps us understand the evolving Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) landscape within Microsoft Teams, focusing on Microsoft's aim to provide seamless user experiences and enhanced manageability for IT admins for BYOD. Eshan's unique career journey from game development, including 'Where's my water', to enterprise solutions Enhancements in Microsoft Teams BYOD experiences, including automatic audio device selection Auto-associ...
Jan 08, 2025•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irwin Lazar , President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy discusses key trends and insights in the unified communications and collaboration space and shares thoughts for 2025 How companies are navigating the complexities of hybrid work Moving beyond the hype of AI to practical deployments and adoption Microsoft Teams' increasing presence in meetings, messaging and as a voice platform How companies are choosing between Teams Phone Mobile, Direct Routing and Microsoft Teams Operator Connect Th...
Jan 06, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emily Kirby George , Microsoft Teams Product Manager at Microsoft, shares her unique perspective on product management in the world of Microsoft Teams Phone, sharing challenges of balancing innovation with fundamental reliability. Emily's path from support Skype for Business to a Senior Product Manager on the Microsoft Teams Calling team How Microsoft prioritizes features, balancing traditional phone system requirements with new AI opportunities The importance of maintaining robust, reliabl...
Jan 02, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Steele , Practice Lead at SOFTEL shares his journey through Microsoft to his current role of SOFTEL, and his thoughts on the ever-evolving UC landscape. The development and scaling of Microsoft Teams in unique scenarios such as global sports organizations during the Covid-19 pandemic Innovations in broadcasting including the use of NDI for creating interactive experiences at events such as the NBA bubble games The challenge small-medium businesses face with integrating Teams Phone How AI c...
Dec 18, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Cobbold , Vice President of Product Management at Ribbon Communications, explores the evolution of telecom networks from hardware to cloud-native solutions. The benefits of cloud-native deployments include reduced operational costs, improved software velocity and robust network security The variety of cloud deployment models and how they cater for different business needs Using real-time insights into network performance to help pinpoint and resolve issues efficiently Ribbon's innovati...
Dec 16, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charles Mason , Head of Digital Workplace at TP ICAP shares insights into the deployment of Microsoft Teams Rooms and Teams Phone, and the impact of Copilot. Selecting and standardizing Teams Rooms equipment across a global office network Complexities of integrating Teams Phone with legacy and trader voice systems in the finance industry TP ICAPs' journey with Copilot, including compliance considerations and how AI is streamlining productivity and innovation Managing fast-paced changes in M...
Dec 11, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 2024 Development of multi-camera and multi-stream technology Logi's new software capabilities, including auto-booking and releasing meeting rooms to combat 'ghost meetings' Future innovations in Logi product offerings, including insights and...
Dec 02, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 needs The transition from Skype for Business to Teams Cloud-based telephony and its cost-effectiveness Standardisation in meeting room technology Best practices for managing complex deployments Thanks to Pure IP , this episode's sponsor, for their c...
Nov 26, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 meetings The significant feature adds over the life of the PanaCast 50 Jabra's Android Bar - features and flexibility Working closely with Microsoft and MDEP Thanks to Jabra , this episode's sponsor, for your continued support....
Nov 20, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 scenarios Internal large use cases for Microsoft Teams include AMA sessions and Town Halls External use cases such as training and product launches Recent key features Future Roadmap for Teams event and AI integration Thanks to Landis , this episode&apos...
Nov 18, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 market Direct routing remains the dominant solution for Teams telephony users Discussing market dynamics and trends in telephony and differences in the enterprise and SMB markets AI is set to transform contact centers Look out for Cavell Enable London in December Th...
Nov 13, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 technology The shift in innovation focus from major updates to software and hardware hardware refinements Exploring AI's role in the meeting room: automatic enhancements vs user-driven experiences Barriers to adoption including IT administration, cyber security concerns and organizational readiness T...
Nov 11, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 services User experience is a key focus in modern office designs Sustainability must also be considered in technology procurement AV design must be integrated early in new builds Interoperability between meeting platforms is crucial in enterprise environments Thanks to Luware , this episode's sponsor...
Nov 06, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 needs Why meeting platform interoperability is becoming essential as organizations use multiple platforms Explaining Pexip ...
Nov 04, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 decisions The transformative role of AI in enhancing meeting experiences BYOD is becoming a significant part of the meeting experience Sustainability is a key consideration in workplace technology Thanks to Crestron , this episode'...
Oct 30, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 efficiency Copilot use cases: summarizing conversations, onboarding new employees and streamlining workflows The potential of AI to revolutionise education Thanks to AVI-SPL , this episode's sponso...
Oct 23, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 deployments The challenge of balancing innovation and maintaining a consistent user experience for organisations Impact of AI in meet...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Microsoft Teams Monthly Update - October 2024 Gartner 2024 UCaaS MQ 3 New Teams Phone Features Operator Connect 100 countries, 103 providers Microsoft Teams New calendar experience Limit Frontline Worker access to Teams when off shift Block the AI bots Voice and face enrollment on by default Microsoft Places - Core and Premium GA November End of Support for Skype for Business Server 2015 and 2019 Microsoft Teams Rooms & Devices News Microsoft 365 Copilot News Events Thanks to Neat , this mon...
Oct 15, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
