The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

68 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om O ver a year into the pandemic, the world – and workplace – are looking to the future. With offices and businesses start- ing to reopen, the spotlight has shifted to focus on “return to work,” and what exactly that entails. For many, the future of work will be hybrid. According to recent research from Frost & Sullivan, 58 per cent of the workforce expects to be working from home at least 8 days a month. In the last year, businesses and employees around the world have proved that you don’t need to be in the office to succeed. Businesses were able to rapidly adapt to a remote working style and now the previously held stigma of remote and hybrid work has completely dissipated in favour of a ‘work from anywhere’ mentality. While there are many advantages to flexible working styles, no change is seamless. Even remote work has its own set of challenges. Research has found that 98 per cent of the workforce has frequent frustrations with video meetings at home – especially poor audio, too many people talking at once and background noise. Though they may seem small at first, these frustrations can build over time and ultimately impact an employee’s productivity, overall hap- piness and mental wellbeing. And with remote work here to stay, the num- ber of ad-hoc collaboration and video meetings with co-workers, customers and partners will continue to rise. Fortunately, organisations such as Microsoft are taking charge and developing additional features for platforms like Microsoft Teams to enhance the collaboration experience. Today, there are several solutions on the mar- ket that can provide better work environments with advanced workplace technology that will empower users to perform. Research has shown that 96 per cent of compa- nies can provide better work environments with intelligent workplace technology – especially smarter devices that recognise users. One such type of technology is an Intelligent Speaker for Microsoft Teams Room. This new category in the Microsoft portfolio will be a game changer for today’s working professionals across indus- tries such as healthcare, finance, media, human resources and consulting. The use of intelligent speakers levels the playing field and empowers professionals whether they are working remote or from the office. Often remote workers can feel left out of the loop, as not being physically present makes it easier for them to miss out on who is saying what during a meeting. But with an intelligent speaker, both new and existing Teams users can create more inclusive meeting experiences for all. The use of an intelligent speaker, built for mid-sized Microsoft Teams Rooms with Activating the hybrid workplace Businesses can improve the working environment for office-based and remote workers by implementing intelligent technologies such as Microsoft Teams and effective audio solutions THE I S MØR K : E POS V I EWPO I NT “96 per cent of companies can provide better work environments with intelligent workplace technology”