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Writer's pictureLewis King

Farewell old meeting rooms, long live collaboration spaces!

AI generated image showing how drab meeting rooms can be transformed to vibrant collaboration spaces

You might be looking at the image above and thinking of that classic meme, “Not another one!” But don’t fret, let’s welcome this update with open arms and embrace what it represents.

Meeting rooms often suffer from a lingering reputation for being drab, clinical spaces filled with overly complicated technology and infrastructure (or sometimes none at all!), making them more of a burden than a benefit for organisations of all sizes.


"Walking into a meeting room to find that the technology won’t let you join the meeting, and then needing to call IT only to be told to 'turn it off and on again' is so frustrating!" - Every customer, ever.


Staff gathered around a Microsoft Surface Hub

This no longer needs to be the case, and taking a modern approach provides an opportunity to transform meeting rooms into attractive, functional collaboration spaces. With advances in Microsoft Teams, sessions now allow for interactive whiteboarding, enabling in-room participants to annotate documents like images, schematics, or even PowerPoint presentations shared with both in-person and remote attendees. Additionally, this supports seamless content sharing, allowing for immediate feedback on documents, in contrast to the traditional back-and-forth of multiple emails and organising costly face-to-face meetings


Vendor Power!

So, how does a company create a collaboration space that’s not only visually appealing but also inspires creativity and collaboration? Fortunately, the vendors have stepped up! Meeting room equipment design has come a long way from the days of bulky units hidden in cupboards due to their unattractive, overcomplicated setup. Now, sleek and modern designs from vendors like MAXHUB, Logitech and Poly, with their streamlined meeting room equipment, AudioCodes for robust audio, and Yealink with simplified components, are transforming these spaces into environments where people can work effectively and creatively.


Thanks to these technological advancements, companies can now choose and install equipment from a single vendor, freeing the IT team from supporting disparate UC, audio/visual, and content-sharing hardware that often don’t integrate well.

A select of meeting room equipment

This results in a significantly improved experience for everyone, from daily users to IT support teams, making meeting rooms easier to use and maintain rather than a constant challenge to keep operational.


No Meeting Room? No Problem!

A portable digital meeting board

So, how can we become more adaptable, especially when no dedicated meeting room is available? Once again, vendors come to the rescue with a range of portable meeting boards that can be moved wherever the meeting is needed, bundling essential equipment into a single unit. Add a mobile trolley, and your meeting space becomes truly flexible, able to go wherever your team is. This not only enhances accessibility and inclusiveness in meetings like never before but also frees us from the constraints of a fixed room, encouraging spontaneous collaboration from team members passing by, or from a wider group that may not have been initially considered or included.



360° Camera Devices

The market is now seeing a surge of 360-degree camera products that bring a fresh approach to quick collaboration, especially for small huddle spaces and 3 to 4 person meetings. These cameras capture the full room, allowing all participants to stay visible and engaged without needing to rearrange seating, or fuss over angles. With a compact setup and intuitive features, they’re designed to streamline collaboration in smaller spaces, creating a highly interactive experience that’s both convenient and effective. This means quicker setup, a more inclusive view for remote team members, and a new level of flexibility for teams looking to jump into productive discussions at a moment’s notice.


A selection of conference speaker devices

How do you modernise?

Modernising doesn’t need to be a hugely costly exercise; gone are the days when you needed an AV expert charging eye-watering amounts to make these spaces functional. Today’s technology solutions are not only more affordable but also user friendly, empowering teams to set up effective collaboration spaces without always needing an external specialist.


With more adaptable and scalable options, businesses of all sizes can now create dynamic, efficient spaces that enhance productivity without breaking the bank.


If you’d like assistance in transforming your meeting rooms, consider the examples shared here and feel free to reach out – we’re always happy to help!


Contact Lewis King (lewis.king@hybrit.co.uk) today to start the conversation about modernising your meeting rooms.

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