Zoom Rooms Updates for the Hybrid Workforce and Office Re-Entry

Many organizations will likely take a gradual, phased approach to bringing employees back to the office full time. 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. 

With video-enabled workspaces powered by Zoom, your teams can continue to work safely and effectively from anywhere. Our Zoom Rooms, Zoom Rooms Appliances, and Zoom for Home solutions are jam-packed with features designed to support hybrid workforces and help businesses re-enter the office safely.

Here are the latest features that can empower your happy, enabled, and connected teams to do great work, no matter where they are.

Virtual receptionist

With Zoom Rooms Kiosk Mode, which is now generally available, a virtual receptionist can greet you or your building guests safely using a Zoom Rooms for Touch device.

Pair a Zoom Room with your mobile device

Easily pair your iOS or Android mobile client to join meetings in a Zoom Room, and your mobile client will automatically be placed in companion mode during the meeting. When you download the Zoom Rooms Controller app on your mobile, you’ll have access to all room controls, including the ability to start or join a meeting and full audio, video, and participant controls, eliminating the need for users to share the in-room controller.  

View real-time people count data

With supported cameras, you can see how many people are in a room real time on the Zoom Dashboard and Scheduling Display to ensure social distancing mandates are met and meeting spaces aren’t overcrowded. 

Monitor a room’s environment and air quality

Neat, a manufacturer of Zoom Rooms Appliances, has released Neat Sense, which enables you to continuously manage and monitor air quality, humidity, CO₂ and Volatile Organic Compounds (organic chemicals, odors, scents, etc.), as well as the number of people in the room. All the data and statistics for these will be fully available in the Zoom dashboard on Feb. 11. This environmental data can also be viewed on all Neat devices for real-time feedback on the safety of your meeting rooms.

Share a whiteboard to Zoom Team Chat

Users can now send a Zoom Rooms for Touch whiteboard to Zoom Team Chat or email. If it's a personal Zoom Room, you can also send it to your chat groups. This helps streamline content sharing outside the meeting room, improving cohesiveness in the new hybrid workforce. 

Use Gallery View when content is shared

Zoom Rooms have the option to select Gallery View when content is being shared, which allows Zoom for Home users to share content from their laptop while using Gallery View on their Zoom for Home appliance. This gives the work-from-home crowd the same capabilities and flexibility to share content as in-office workers. 

Control a shared desktop from Zoom Rooms for Touch

Zoom Rooms for Touch Users can control, right from their device, the desktop of the person currently sharing their laptop screen, streamlining collaboration.

Support direct share via ultrasound on Zoom for Home

Users can direct-share via ultrasonic sound proximity detection on Zoom Rooms Appliances and Zoom for Home devices, so you can connect your desktop client and share content.

Join and host OnZoom sessions

Zoom for Home devices can now join and host OnZoom sessions scheduled on the user's calendar, giving those who work from home a safe way to enjoy and host virtual activities. The event must also be scheduled on your device’s calendar. 

New in-meeting toolbar

The in-meeting toolbar and controls on Zoom Rooms for Touch devices have been redesigned for ease of use to ensure a frictionless meeting experience for every user.

Receive reactions

Zoom Rooms Appliances and Zoom for Home Devices, in addition to Mac and Windows devices, can now receive and display meeting reactions right on the screen.

Real-time transcription 

Windows, Mac, and Zoom Rooms Appliance devices can view real-time transcriptions to ensure participants don’t miss a thing, no matter where they are working. 

Disable users from setting up self-managed devices, smart displays

IT managers now have more controls to allow or restrict users from signing into Zoom on self-managed Zoom for Home devices like the DTEN ME, Portal by Facebook, and Amazon Echo Show, allowing your IT team to easily and safely manage work-from-home devices.

Extend any laptop meeting to a Zoom Room

If you don’t want to use a Zoom Room for a meeting but you still want to leverage the Zoom Room’s A/V technology, you can use the Logitech Swytch to take over the Zoom Room A/V on a third-party meeting running from your laptop. Available now on PC-based room systems, support for additional devices will be coming soon. 

Require PIN for Zoom for Home devices 

Admins can require those using Zoom Rooms Appliances and Zoom for Home devices to set up a screen PIN to lock the device to ensure a secure meeting environment wherever people are meeting from.

Additional voice-activated functionality currently in beta:

Enhanced Voice Commands

Voice commands for Zoom Rooms will be supported on additional platforms with an expanded command set to provide a safe and effective hands-free experience.

Zoom Rooms Appliances with Alexa for Business

Enable voice-activated controls for Zoom Rooms Appliances with Alexa for Business. For example, “Alexa, join my meeting” will join the Zoom meeting. You can enable Alexa for Business directly in your Zoom Admin Portal and control advanced settings through the AWS console to give users an intuitive meeting experience without the need to touch the Zoom Room Controller. 

To access these and other amazing Zoom features, update to the latest version of Zoom.

Check out this video to learn more about how Zoom is helping organizations re-enter the office safely:

Or schedule a personalized demo with a Zoom Rooms specialist today!