How to Enable Multi-Platform Meetings with Interoperability (and Other Modern Technology Challenges)

• Collaboration Accelerators
• Collaboration Technology
• Hybrid & Remote Work
• Unified Communications & Collaboration

Summary: 

• 80% of enterprises today use at least two collaboration platforms everyday

• Shortened product cycles make it harder to proactively strategize your workplace technology

• Solutions that provide interoperability are a simple but effective way to enable multi-platform workflows and combat AV challenges 

• ET Group can help you determine the best interoperability approach for your business

Modern problems require modern solutions. 

As meeting technology and platforms evolve, it’s not unusual to feel like your head is spinning trying to keep up with the latest and greatest—not just for your own sake but to keep your business competitive as well. 

With so many solutions on the market, IT teams face a higher chance of incompatibility between systems, risks to privacy and security, and not recognizing opportunities to provide a better user experience with all the noise. 

Luckily, there are ways to combat these challenges, and partnering with the right AV integrator can help you. 

What common challenges are enterprises facing today? 

Multi-Platform Requirements
The main challenge most organizations face today is that in order to successfully run their business, their meeting rooms need to be able to join and/or host meetings on more than one platform. In fact, more than 80% rely on a minimum of at least two on a daily basis. 

For example, operationally your team uses Microsoft Teams for internal meetings such as monthly finance updates or marketing brainstorm sessions, but you find yourselves using Zoom to connect with external customers for sales calls or to walk them through a contract.

This should be easy to accomplish, however today, most AV systems are very IT driven, and are typically designed around one specific platform. Continuing with the above example, in order to utilize both Teams and Zoom, it would require you to build separate Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms in your office(s). 

This approach can be both expensive and force unnecessary limits on your meeting experiences and flexibility. 

Shortened Technology Lifecycle
Not only does an IT-led AV approach create stricter boundaries when it comes to platform accessibility, it also means that we are seeing shorter lifespans for meeting room devices as manufacturers try to keep up with the latest software capabilities and security concerns. 

We are seeing some devices announced End-of-Life (EOL) or End-of-Support (EOS) as early as three to five years after they are launched in the market, placing businesses in a position where they have to plan their AV strategy more proactively, and spend money upgrading their rooms far more frequently.  

Today, we are seeing this happen with many Teams Room devices, as many that launched as recently as 2023 have been deemed no longer compatible with the new Windows 11 update. And Cisco Webex users can expect to be in a similar boat as the upcoming RoomOS 26 launch will not be compatible with most legacy devices, forcing teams to decide if they want to update their tech for a modern platform experience, or continue using the more limited RoomOS 11 (which Cisco is still supporting—for now). 

When users fall in love with the experience a meeting platform provides, it’s not ideal when you need to constantly be playing keep up to maintain that desirable experience. 

Room System Migration
Occasionally it happens that organizations decide to pivot their preferred collaboration platform to a new one, whether that be for a better experience, changes to their business strategy, or sometimes it simply just makes better financial sense. 

Regardless of the reason, switching your entire meeting setup to a new platform is not as simple as registering some new licenses and deploying a software upgrade like you might on your personal computer. 

Migrating to a new room system can be slow and expensive, causing more disruptions than expected, due to:

• Rooms being decommissioned for periods at a time as they are upgraded
• Purchasing new equipment that is more compatible with the new platform
• Paying for licensing for both old and new platforms until the migration is complete

This can slow productivity, frustrate end users and lower your real estate ROI.

However, for all of these unique challenges, there is one solution that saves us all: 

Interoperability.

What is interoperability?

Interoperability is like having a universal translator between your meeting rooms and platforms. It enables multi-platform access in your collaboration spaces.

Meaning, you can keep your existing Microsoft Teams Rooms and still easily join Zoom or Google meetings, or vice versa, without the hassle of complex configuration or unnecessary device upgrades. 

Approaches to interoperability 

There are several approaches to interoperability, depending on your team’s workflows, use cases and existing infrastructure: 

Cloud Video Interoperability (CVI)
Cloud Video Interoperability (CVI) empowers Microsoft Teams Meetings or Google Meet Meetings with the ability to connect to devices that leverage SIP and H.323. When someone in a room dials a special address, the CVI service answers the call, joins the meeting on behalf of the room, and interprets audio, video, and meeting controls so both sides work together. 

This approach enables you to continue using most of your preferred meeting room features such as dual-screen, content sharing and chat, but can sometimes limit other functionalities like PowerPoint Live when participating in Teams meetings. 

SIP-to-Web
SIP-to-Web offers access to meetings in Zoom, Teams, Google or Webex as well as Apple Facetime if you have a SIP room system in place. It works by enabling a SIP-based room with the ability to dial into meetings hosted in the aforementioned platforms, intercepting the call via cloud gateway, and joining the meeting on the room’s behalf.

This approach allows you to seamlessly maintain the largest number of native features of the platform you’re joining, while still controlling meetings from your existing in-room control panels and other peripherals. 

The SIP-to-Web approach works with traditional video conferencing devices, such as Cisco and Poly systems.

Direct Guest Join
Direct Guest Join allows for easy access to meetings via Zoom, Teams, Google or Webex, as all sessions are hosted on the web. This approach leverages your room systems built-in web engine to access secure meeting links. Launching a web session on your room system and joining as a “guest”. 

It is important to note however that Direct Guest Join is dependent on the room system’s horsepower and some devices may perform better than others, restricting many meeting features. 

Learn more about the differences between interoperability approaches here.

Other benefits of interoperability  

Aside from enabling multi-platform meeting experiences, interoperability offers many other benefits to businesses. 

• Meeting join simplicity—join meetings in seconds with the tap of only one button, no long dial codes or meeting passwords that cause delays.
• Consistent and seamless interface—regardless of the platform that’s hosting the meeting, end users experience a familiar layout, controls and feature functionalities every time.
• Enable additional platform features—some abilities that platforms offer can be restricted depending on which license model you choose (a.k.a, how much you’re willing to pay), but sometimes interoperability methods can unlock these abilities for free since meetings aren’t hosted natively on your network. 
• Increased privacy and security–since platforms are hosted via web or the cloud, your collaboration sessions will always meet the most up-to-date privacy and security protocols.

How ET Group can help you choose the right interoperability approach

With several approaches to delivering interoperability, it can be confusing to try and determine which type of solution will work best for you and your team. This is where our Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) experts can help. 

Our approach to every design includes an in-depth discovery process where we take the time to truly understand the needs, goals and gaps of your business. This process includes activities such as stakeholder interviews, technology and workflow analysis and end-user observation sessions to give us a full picture of your current infrastructure and experience. 

Once we’ve determined your desired experience and reviewed your current setup, our UCC specialists work closely with our AV Design Team to incorporate the right interoperability workflow into your final system design.

Staying ahead of the game

As businesses struggle to keep pace with evolving platforms and shorter device lifecycles, interoperability offers teams a way to keep everything together and maintain a seamless and consistent strategy. It removes barriers between systems, protects your AV investments, and gives users a familiar experience regardless of which platform is hosting the meeting.

Working with a knowledgeable AV partner ensures you choose the right interoperability solution for your environment that simplifies your workflows and prepares your meeting spaces for whatever technology changes tomorrow brings.

Contact us to start building your multi-platform meeting room experience.

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