Reimagining the Executive Boardroom: Microsoft’s Signature Solution for Hybrid Meetings
Executive boardrooms are where critical business decisions are made. With a hybrid work model now commonplace, Microsoft recognized the need to adapt meeting spaces to facilitate seamless collaboration between in-person and remote attendees.
“When you’re upgrading a boardroom, it’s got to look fantastic and you have to get everything just right,” says Matt Hempey, lead principal group product manager on the Digital Workplace Productivity and Collaboration team in Microsoft Digital, the company’s IT organization.
Microsoft’s goal was to create a high-quality hybrid meeting experience, specifically addressing the challenges of executives accustomed to working in a virtual environment. The Signature boardroom experience, built in collaboration with Global Workplace Services (GWS) and the Microsoft Teams product group, directly tackles these issues.
This new solution, built on Microsoft Teams Rooms, incorporates Surface Hub 2S, intelligent cameras, and advanced audio systems. It is designed to create immersive and interactive meetings with enhanced content sharing capabilities.
“Signature Teams Rooms is our base high value product—it’s our regular-size conference room where we create a high-quality experience by controlling elements like furniture, finishes, technology, how people are sitting,” noted Matthew Marzynski, principal product manager in Microsoft Digital. “The boardroom takes that one step further because it’s where the stakes are highest. It’s where you have high-value meetings where you can’t afford for stuff to go wrong.”
The innovative design of the Signature boardroom experience ensures everyone in the meeting, whether in person or remote, feels connected. Key features include:
- Large, Direct View LED Video Wall: An ultra-wide display (nearly 12 feet by 5 ½ feet) allows remote participants to appear life-size.
- U-shaped Table Design: Facilitates inclusivity by placing remote participants at the same level as those in the room.
- Intelligent Cameras: Multiple strategically placed cameras provide a cinematic experience, with one dedicated to providing a whole-room view for context.
- Advanced Audio Systems: Ensures remote participants are heard as if their voices are coming from the screen.
Microsoft’s solution also demonstrates how AI helps reduce operating costs by automating tasks like camera adjustments and sound level monitoring.
Getting Technical
The Signature boardroom experience, designed for 16 to 30 people, required significant technological considerations. The team at The Hive collaborated with top audiovisual partners to select and install Microsoft Teams certified cameras, microphones, speakers, and display technologies. To address the challenge of natural light in boardrooms, a large direct view LED video wall was selected, providing optimal visibility even in bright conditions.
Building the Experience
The development of the Signature boardroom experience was an iterative process. The team started with functional mockups in various spaces, gathering feedback and refining the design at The Hive, Microsoft’s incubation space. This “phygital” approach allows for blending software with the physical world to reduce setup costs.
“We have this unique working area in The Hive that I like to call ‘phygital,’” says Marzynski. “Phygital is about delivering a digitally enhanced experience in a physical location—it’s where we combine meeting furniture, ambiance, and everything you feel in a meeting room with technology.”
The Signature boardroom experience, which took about ten months to develop, has proven successful, with upgrade times reduced to six weeks. Microsoft plans to share the specifications with customers, and has also created a replica in its Executive Briefing Center.
“We always think of the cost of building a room, but you end up paying a lot more to operate the room than you did to install it,” Sherry says. “And that’s important to our customers.”
Key Features and Benefits
The Signature boardroom experience:
- Combines the power of technology and a simple user experience, ensuring a seamless meeting experience.
- Leverages advanced camera and audio systems to create an equitable and inclusive hybrid meeting experience for those present in the room and remote participants.
- Streamlines video conferencing for high-level meetings.
