If your business is one of the many using Microsoft Teams, you could easily be forgiven for assuming you’ve also got Microsoft Teams Rooms. But although there are similarities, they’re not the same. In this article, we’ll explain why.
In recent years there’s been a huge shift in businesses moving towards Microsoft Teams, largely due to the pandemic. A decade of transformation happened pretty much overnight in a global migration the likes of which had never been seen before – and hopefully won’t be seen again.
Microsoft Teams is now the go-to choice for remote working, with over 270 million active users around the world. It’s a great tool for collaboration because it makes it easy to share files and ideas with co-workers on the go.
Teams is a chat-based platform that was developed to help people collaborate. You can share files, manage projects and conduct video meetings remotely, which made it ideal during the pandemic. It comes as a standard part of the Microsoft Office 365 suite, but can also be accessed as a standalone application.
So surely if you can conduct video meetings via Teams and do all this other stuff, that’s all you need, right? Not necessarily. If your business is medium-sized or larger, you’ll probably be wise to consider Microsoft Teams Room (MTR) too.
MTR is a meeting room solution that was created to work in harmony with Teams, by transforming any meeting space into a video conferencing room. Teams alone might work fine for small companies and freelancers, but those who need to host larger-scale meetings and presentations will almost certainly find MTR their preferred choice.
MTR is designed for use in a meeting room setting, with a mix of attendees who are both remote and on-site. This helps ensure that everyone gets the best possible meeting experience, whether presenting, collaborating or just listening in. it comes equipped with a list of features including high-quality video and audio, screen sharing and multiple camera support to name just a few.
Microsoft Teams and MTR are also priced differently. Because Teams is part of the 365 suite it’s priced on a per-user basis, which can work out being very expensive if you’ve got hundreds of remote users to cater for. MTR, on the other hand, is priced on e per-room basis, which allows business owners to pay one set fee for each meeting room.
Another consideration is the technology behind each solution. Teams was designed to be used on desktops and mobile apps, while MTR is a set of hardware in its own right, typically involving a combination of computers, cameras, microphones and speakers.
To summarise, if your business just involves a small number of people and you don’t host large scale meetings and video conferences, Microsoft Teams may be enough to suit your needs. But if you employ more people and want to create a first class meeting experience both online and in person, MTR might be a more suitable option. Still not sure? Get in touch with our friendly team of experts for a no-obligation chat and demo.
