Zoom has revealed a number of new updates for its Zoom Rooms video conferencing hardware suite that showcase the company's idea of the hybrid office.
The new features are aimed at businesses that will keep a portion of their workforce remote for some time after offices reopen or on a permanent basis.
Zoom Rooms is a suite of tablets, monitors and webcams that organisations use throughout their place of work to enable staff to schedule, conduct and remotely connect to meetings. The company is now doubling-down on the remote element as businesses look at ways to safely return to workspaces.
"Many organisations will likely take a gradual, phased approach to bring employees back to the office full time," Zoom's senior product manager, Cynthia Lee, wrote in a blog post. "When this happens, IT leaders and line-of-business managers will then face the challenge of supporting in-office and remote workers simultaneously.
"Businesses can use technology to empower workers wherever they are, streamline collaboration between in-office and remote workers, and make the transition back into the office as seamless as possible."
To start with, when you come back to the office you could be greeted by a virtual receptionist. This uses Zoom's 'Kiosk Mode' and a touchscreen device that in-office workers and visitors can operate under the guidance of a remote receptionist.
For meetings themselves, users can now pair iOS and Android mobile devices with Zoom Room meetings. This will include access to room controls and the ability to start and join meetings via the Zoom Rooms Controller app.
Meeting admins will also be able to view more data. They can see how many people are in a room via the dashboard, and both set and police specific social distances measures. There will also be information about the temperature within each room.
There are also collaboration-focused updates, such a shareable whiteboard that can also be put into the chat function and a new meeting toolbar.
Zoom has announced plans to bring voice commands and Alexa into Zoom Rooms, but there is no release date for those features as yet.
-
Bigger salaries, more burnout: Is the CISO role in crisis?In-depth CISOs are more stressed than ever before – but why is this and what can be done?
-
Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25News Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
IT professionals aren’t budging on flexible work demands – and more than half say they’ll quit if employers don’t meet expectationsNews Analysis from Randstad shows 40% of UK-based IT pros have quit over a lack of flexible work options, while 31% of workers globally have done the same.
-
'The tide seems to be turning towards office attendance': 64% of hybrid business leaders want staff back in the office – but many worry that enforcing RTO mandates will drive employees awayAnalysis Many UK business leaders want their staff back in the office more frequently, but they’re scared to implement return to office (RTO) mandates in fear of worker revolts.
-
Employees are dead set on flexible working arrangements – three quarters would turn down a role that didn't offer hybrid options as work-life balance becomes more important than payNews New research shows workers are increasingly demanding flexible working arrangements from employers.
-
Nearly half of tech workers are seeking new roles – declining employee benefits and reduced flexible working options have staff looking elsewhereNews While salaries are rising for tech workers, other benefits are in decline, leading to a fall in job satisfaction
-
Untethered: How CIOs and CISOs are paving the way for the new hybrid workforceWhitepaper Effective techniques to transition from exposed legacy infrastructure to an effective zero trust strategy
-
Unified endpoint management and security in a work-from-anywhere worldWhitepaper Learn how to converge endpoint management and security processes and systems to drive efficiency and reduce risk
-
How to empower employees to accelerate emissions reductionin depth With ICT accounting for as much as 3% of global carbon emissions, the same as aviation, the industry needs to increase emissions reduction
-
Worldwide IT spending to grow 4.3% in 2023, with no significant AI impactNews Spending patterns have changed as companies take an inward focus
