Cisco is working with Microsoft and Samsung to launch a new Cisco Rooms solution with Microsoft Teams linked to a Samsung screen.

Cisco, Microsoft and Samsung present a new overall solution for hybrid meetings. To achieve this, the three parties are combining their strengths. Cisco provides the software with Cisco RoomOS. This runs on Samsung digital signage screens and offers this First row-Interface. This is a layout tailored to Microsoft Teams Rooms: the final piece of this collaboration. Since 2022, Cisco and Microsoft have been working together and Cisco hardware is compatible with Teams.

The plan is for companies to combine compatible RoomOS hardware with 4K or 5K smart signage displays from Samsung and Microsoft Teams. The Front Row interface displays important information in a unique way and should be a differentiator from other solutions.

The three companies point to the high quality and resolution of Samsung screens, the practical interoperability of the ecosystem, the management options via both the Microsoft Teams Admin Center and the Cisco Control Hub, and the combination between Teams and WebEx as further advantages.

Any hybrid

Of course, the core of the design remains the same. Cisco, Microsoft and Samsung note that many meetings have at least one remote participant. However, the numbers presented by Cisco seem a bit misleading to us: only two percent of meetings worldwide take place between physical people. There is no source for this, but we assume that the number is based on a survey of very specific respondents. Hybrid meetings have been trending since the pandemic, but many meeting rooms are not equipped with an optimal experience. This new solution aims to provide a solution to this.