42 is up without disrupting ongoing meetings. We have also added hot desking capabilities into Teams displays so that employees can reserve working spaces for days they are in the office. How does generative AI and Microsoft Copilot enhance meeting productivity? Generative AI represents the most significant technological shift in my lifetime in terms of its potential to boost productivity in everything we do. It has a two-fold impact on enhancing productivity through Teams. From a calling perspective, it converts call recordings into transcripts and summarises key discussion points. For instance, if an airline receives a customer call about a flight delay, Copilot can distill that call into data, including the customer’s wait time and expected reimbursement. AI is also invaluable when it comes to collaboration devices. Microsoft is developing technologies that leverage Copilot capabilities to transcribe meetings for individuals in shared spaces. It’s easy to transcribe meetings for participants joining from their own devices but it’s harder to separate voices when they’re speaking into the same device. Teams users can upload their voice and video recordings to the cloud, enabling Teams to identify individuals in a meeting room and tag their names to transcripts. This will be a timesaver for those taking notes during meetings. Can you explain the importance of the partner ecosystem and the types of tools it’s helping to develop? Our partners are critical to us. We receive numerous requests from companies to join the ecosystem each week so we must be discerning in selecting the partners we collaborate with. We have a range of partners, from Teams Rooms partners like Cisco, Crestron, Logitech, Lenovo, Neat and Poly, enabling people to fully participate from any location, to great peripherals partners like EPOS and Jabra, providing audio and video devices. Our collaboration with partners is strategic, aiming to provide solutions for every scenario and setting. What should we look out for in the future? We work with customers seeking advice on how best to use their office space. Going forward, IT insight will be more critical than ever. Businesses will need to understand how all their spaces are utilised. Microsoft can assist customers in tracking the use of rooms for Teams meetings via USB points and then make suggestions to enhance the meeting experience in that space. Expect to see multiple new systems launching soon that will guide customers in making informed decisions based on their data and optimising their spaces. EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW Photo: Lenovo Lenovo’s ThinkSmart View Plus is one of a range of partner solutions that enhance the Teams experience
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