The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

69 8-10 in-room participants, gives meeting par- ticipants a high-quality speaker that automates live transcriptions. The transcription then ena- bles remote participants to follow what is being said and by whom, for optimal collaboration and communication. Intelligent speakers such as the EPOS EXPAND Capture 5 use advanced voice recognition tech- nology. Powered by Microsoft artificial intelli- gence (AI), the speaker is able to identify each participant by their voice, even in situations where people in the meeting are talking over each other. From there, the speaker automati- cally transcribes a live feed so that participants arriving late to the meeting can easily catch up. This is made possible via a premium speaker and seven-microphone array that altogether enable superior audio and voice recognition to ensure a natural conversation, as if all meeting participants were in the same room. It’s easy for users to set up their personal voice signature in the Teams app. Once set up, all voice data is stored in the Microsoft cloud and protected by enterprise-grade security and privacy. IT admins may modify settings and rules for indi- viduals or the entire organisation. They can also delete some, or all the data, at any time. Once the meeting is over, advanced search options make decision-making and assigning actions easy. Designed with the Microsoft voice assistant Cortana in mind, high-quality speech capture also empowers users to speak to Cortana with confidence. By combining advanced audio with innovative communication, AI and collaboration technol- ogy, intelligent speakers address the varying needs of professionals working together across workspaces, locations and time zones. They ena- ble professionals to meet the reality of the hybrid workplace and unite colleagues efficiently by taking virtual meetings to the next level. Now that we have accepted and successfully transitioned into this ‘new normal’ and the hybrid workplace, it is important to recog- nise that we have reached a critical moment in time. There is a big opportunity for businesses to really rethink the meeting room and adapt it to fit today’s more modern way of working. In doing this, businesses can create an environment where their employees, customers and partners can all be productive, regardless of their loca- tion. The first step? Invest in advanced intel- ligent technology, such as a speaker, to deliver even richer experiences for remote and in-room meeting participants. Theis Mørk is the vice president of product management at EPOS