• Hybrid meetings can leave remote workers feeling excluded, Jabra study finds
• Unsuitable and dated setups cause regular meeting delays and technical failures
• Better meeting room kit and clear meeting purposes could improve engagement

Around half of remote participants say they’re forgotten, talked over or excluded during hybrid meetings, a new study from Jabra has revealed, indicating that hybrid in-person and remote meetings might not be as effective as we’d thought.

The issue is particularly evident when multiple participants are in a physical room, with others joining online. But more than that, women (16%) and junior workers (26%) are more likely to feel they’re being excluded.

But it might not be the concept of hybrid that’s at fault – Jabra argues that dated tech is making it hard for all participants to have equal visibility, and that poor tech is only amplifying existing cultural issues around visibility instead of creating them.

Hybrid meetings are the least effective kind

That much is evidenced in the fact that hybrid meetings are generally worse off than fully remote meetings, with workers more likely to miss content (59% vs. 41%), feel excluded (55% vs. 38%) or need follow-up meetings to clarify details (42% vs. 28%).

Years after workers were sent home at the height of the pandemic, companies are still failing on their meeting tech. Three in four hybrid meetings experience at least one technical failure, and participants often claim difficulties hearing (73%) or seeing (68%) participants.

Jabra even argues that these failures add an average of 11 minutes to every hybrid meeting, and losses can rise further for the biggest companies.

This comes as workers spend an average of eight hours per week in meetings (more than that in Denmark, India and the UK).

With more than half (58%) of that time generally considered unnecessary, 66% leave without clear action items and 59% demand follow-ups to clarify missed points.

Meeting infrastructure and purpose hold the keys to success

As for the fix, many companies have turned to AI to help with things like meeting summaries and live transcriptions, but widespread use remains low. Poor trust and privacy/compliance issues also prevent companies from going all-in on AI.

“AI can enhance a well-run meeting, but it can’t fix a broken one,” Jabra Enterprise Video Business Unit SVP Holger Reisinger said.

To fix the issue, the report urges companies to invest in meeting room technologies like microphones, cameras and connectivity to bring remote participants closer to in-person attendees.

At the moment, 37% use a single laptop as a mic and speaker for the room, 31% revert to audio-only after giving up on video, and 23% have even dialed in by phone for audio. A third (34%) also noted that participants join on their own individual devices, rather than using a central meeting room system designed to capture all participants.

Jabra is also one of a growing number of researchers to find that workers face increased Zoom fatigue (42% of workers hit their energy limit within two hours of back-to-back meetings, 83% within four hours), stressing the need to reframe meetings entirely and only hold calls when it’s necessary.

That way, workers are more likely to be alert and actively collaborate with all colleagues, hybrid or not.

We hear it a lot: there’s a trust crisis because we no longer know whether what we see or hear online is real.

A crisis is a sudden rupture in the ordinary workings of life, during which the mechanisms that keep society coherent are exposed as inadequate or deliberately corrupted.

Crises force individuals and institutions to confront the gap between appearance and reality. They reveal who truly controls the narrative.

But the thing about crises is that you must know you’re in one to call it that. There’s no such thing as an unknowing crisis, unless you count midlife, and then only with the benefit of hindsight.

Right now, most of us are too wrapped up in the demands of our daily lives to second-guess our news feeds, social media timelines, or that voice note from a “work colleague.” Unless we’ve been directly targeted by deepfake technology, we aren’t aware of danger, nor of how quickly that danger is cannibalizing the social contexts we rely on. That unawareness is the point.

The Ship Was Unsinkable, After All

Humans don’t traditionally react until we are gripped by consequence. Consider the Titanic after the iceberg struck: it was business as usual for many on board until the water started pouring in. The Titanic took two hours and forty minutes to sink, and even when the danger had become undeniable, numerous passengers reportedly carried on as normal. They had been told the ship was unsinkable, so it had to be true.

The deepfake threat follows a similar pattern. The technology generating synthetic video, audio, and imagery has evolved far beyond what the public imagines. The deepfakes being produced today are qualitatively different from what existed six months ago, and the pace of that change is accelerating.

Detection capabilities, whether human or technical, are struggling to keep up. Most people are not trained media forensics experts and cannot reasonably be expected to become them. That gap leaves individuals, businesses, and institutions genuinely exposed, whether or not they’ve noticed the water rising yet.

One of the more unsettling features of sophisticated synthetic media is that false content can be more convincing than the truth. A well-constructed deepfake carries none of the visual noise or contextual gaps that might make authentic footage look uncertain.

In early 2024, a finance worker in Hong Kong transferred $25 million to fraudsters after attending what appeared to be a video conferencing call with his company’s CFO and several colleagues. Every face on that call was fake. No one questioned what they were seeing. The ship, after all, was unsinkable.

Doublethink in the Age of Synthetic Media

In George Orwell’s 1984, the Party engineers a crisis by forcing citizens to hold two contradictory ideas at once. Today, anyone paying attention to the growth of AI deepfake attacks is doing a version of the same thing: wanting and needing, as humans, to trust that what they see and hear is real, while simultaneously suspecting it probably isn’t. That cognitive dissonance has a cost. It erodes the basic social contract that allows us to function, to transact, to believe one another.

Governments are not oblivious to this. They talk quietly among themselves about a crisis but rarely use that language publicly. If you call a crisis, you risk a panic. So instead, the conversation happens in policy rooms and industry forums, while ordinary people navigate an information environment that is shifting beneath their feet without anyone telling them so.

What makes the deepfake threat genuinely unprecedented is this: even the worst dictatorships of the twentieth century, those that gaslit entire populations into observing different realities, could not remove the human prerogative of personal perception. Yet AI deepfake technology has managed something those regimes could not. It has instilled doubt into belief itself.

Detection as a Foundation, Not a Fix

Detection technology is no longer optional. In the current digital media ecosystem, it functions as a baseline requirement for any organization operating at scale. As synthetic media grows more sophisticated, human judgement alone cannot be relied upon as a defense.

The important distinction is that detection software is an enabler of trust, not a substitute for human judgement. The goal is not to remove people from the process of verification but to give them something solid to stand on. Trust begins with reliable identification of synthetic content, but genuine confidence grows when people can understand and act on what the technology reveals. A result returned without explanation, a confidence score without context, asks users to place blind faith in a system rather than develop their own informed understanding. That is a fragile foundation.

Transparent, explainable detection encourages healthy skepticism rather than blanket distrust, and the distinction matters. Blanket distrust of all media is paralyzing. Healthy skepticism is empowering. Well-designed tools turn verification into a learning experience, gradually building the kind of pattern recognition that makes future judgments sharper and less dependent on any single piece of software.

Verification as an Everyday Habit

Media literacy has always evolved in response to new formats and new threats. The arrival of synthetic media is the latest chapter in that evolution, and it demands a meaningful update to what digital literacy actually means. The ability to question and verify the authenticity of content is now foundational, not specialist—and it applies even when content seems trustworthy.

The shift that matters is turning verification from an occasional task into an everyday habit. When detection tools are accessible, intuitive and widely available, they empower ordinary users to fact check, rather than outsourcing their judgement to platforms or institutions whose interests may not align with theirs. Widespread access to verification technology strengthens critical thinking at scale and supports well-informed public discourse. Confidence replaces uncertainty, and that confidence is grounded in something real.

From Dialogue to Action

The imperative now is to move from commentary to consequence.

This means immediate legislation that proactively protects people in the age of AI tools. It means a willingness to put humans before profit, to penalize and shut down the companies enabling the exponential growth of the deepfake threat. It means shared responsibility across platforms, organizations and individuals, because no single actor can address this alone.

Trust can be rebuilt, but only intentionally. It will not recover passively as attention moves elsewhere. It requires deliberate investment in the tools and skills that help people to safely navigate the consequences of their own beliefs.

Trust is a skill to be supported, not assumed. The expectation that people will simply know what is real is no longer reasonable. What is reasonable is giving people the means to find out and then making sure those means are genuinely within reach.

Let’s stop commenting on the trust crisis and start helping people survive it.

We've reviewed the best Identity Theft Protection.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Microsoft Teams Together Mode is being officially retired
• Launched in 2020 during the pandemic, it aimed to offer the feeling of "being in the room" with others
• But Microsoft says other features can now do the job better

Microsoft has confirmed it is ending Together Mode in Teams, putting an end to one of its most ambitious video conferencing tools.

Launched in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Together Mode let Microsoft Teams users turn their calls into a virtual keynote, lecture theatre or meeting room, with the goal of “making it feel like you’re sitting in the same room with everyone else”, giving them the chance to better connect with their friends or co-workers at a time when lockdowns were in full force.

But with many offices now back open and in-person meetings sadly becoming more common, Microsoft says it has chosen to end the tool in favor of working on other improvements.

Goodbye Together Mode

"We’re always working to make meetings easier to join, simpler to manage, and better for everyone, regardless of device or network conditions," Katarina Tranker, a Product Manager on the Microsoft Teams team wrote in a company blog post announcing the change.

"As part of that ongoing effort, we’re retiring Together mode in Microsoft Teams."

Tranker noted that the "core need" which Together mode was designed to support can now be fully met by the modern Gallery view in Teams, which is able to display up to 49 participants at once.

The changes will "simplify the meeting experience" and "reduce complexity behind the scenes", she added, whilst also allowing Microsoft to focus its "engineering investments" towards improvements which will benefit every Teams meeting, "such as video quality, stability, and performance".

The blog post also added that Teams has added a range of new meeting layout options over the years, leading to possible choice overload for users, and a possibly fragmented experience across desktop, web, mobile, and Teams Rooms.

Removing Together Mode in favor of a single Gallery view will hopefully make it easier for users to quickly access the meeting they need, and cut down on complexity across the board.

Users will still be able to utilize specialized backgrounds, with companies able to publish branded themes or images for their meetings or town halls.

The news is the latest update to Microsoft Teams as the company looks to ensure its online collaboration tool remains relevant for users.

Among its most recent upgrades are a new feature which will automatically update a user's work location when they connect to an office Wi-Fi network - hopefully meaning less confusion about where workers are situated, but could be bad news for those of us looking for a quiet day in the office tucked into a corner.

We spend a significant part of our working lives video conferencing. Internal meetings, client discussions, board-level decisions, even clinical consultations. These are not casual conversations. They often involve information we would never put in writing, let alone share publicly.

And yet, most of the time, we don't question what happens to that data once the call ends. That's understandable. We shouldn't have to. The platform should just do the right thing.

But in many cases, it doesn't.

Most video conferencing platforms are not designed with privacy as their primary objective. The call itself is just the interface. Beneath it sits an infrastructure built to move, process, and increasingly analyze communication data.

Features like transcription, summarization, and sentiment analysis are useful, but they depend on processing the content of conversations. That content has to travel, be handled, and in many cases be stored.

The assumption is that encryption solves the problem. It doesn't.

Data on the move

When you join a video call, your audio and video don't travel directly to the other participants. They pass through relay servers, signaling infrastructure, and media handling layers, often crossing borders multiple times within a single session.

Each of those steps is a routing decision. In many cases, those decisions are driven by cost or available capacity, not jurisdiction. A call between two people in the same country can be routed through IT infrastructure in another, placing that data under a different legal framework without anyone realizing.

From a technical standpoint, data in transit is encrypted using standard WebRTC protocols such as DTLS-SRTP. That protects the media stream as it moves across networks, and most modern platforms implement this correctly.

But encryption in transit only answers part of the question. It does not address where that data is routed, what infrastructure it touches, or which laws may apply along the way.

Latency tells you more than you think

Latency is usually framed as a quality issue. Nobody enjoys talking over someone because of a delay.

But latency can also be a signal.

When media is routed through centralized infrastructure far from the participants, it introduces delay. That often means the data is being processed or relayed through systems that users have no visibility into, potentially being buffered or handled in ways they do not control.

A lower latency connection is not just about a smoother call. It often reflects a shorter, more direct data path, with fewer intermediaries involved.

For organizations that care about control and predictability, that distinction matters.

Sovereignty is not a checkbox

"Data sovereignty" is now a familiar requirement in procurement processes. It is often treated as a checkbox, supported by contractual assurances about where data is stored.

In practice, it is more complicated.

Where data is stored is only one factor. Where a company is incorporated, and which laws it is subject to, can be just as important. In some cases, organizations can be compelled to provide access to data regardless of where it physically resides.

For example, under laws such as the US CLOUD Act, US-incorporated companies can be required to provide access to data held overseas.

This creates a gap between perceived compliance and actual exposure.

For organizations operating under GDPR, handling public sector data, or working in regulated sectors such as healthcare, legal, and financial services, that gap has real implications.

The shift you might not see

Another change is happening more quietly.

AI-driven features are becoming standard in communication platforms. Transcription, summarization, and action tracking can be valuable tools, but they rely on analysing the content of conversations. By definition, they turn communication into data that can be processed, stored, and potentially reused.

These features are often introduced incrementally, enabled through settings or updates that are easy to overlook. Over time, the platform shifts from carrying communication to interpreting it.

There is a difference between a tool you choose to use and one that is embedded into the infrastructure handling your conversations.

Rethinking the default

None of this means video conferencing is inherently insecure, or that encryption in transit is ineffective. Those elements are well understood and widely implemented.

The issue is that they are often treated as the full solution, when in reality they are just one layer.

A more complete view needs to consider: the full path data takes during a call, the infrastructure it depends on, and the legal context that surrounds it.

Only then can organizations answer a simple question with confidence: where does our communication data go, and who ultimately has control over it?

As video communication continues to replace in-person interaction, that question is becoming harder to ignore.

Because these conversations are not just data in motion. They are decisions, relationships, and sensitive information that organizations are responsible for protecting.

And that responsibility does not end when the call does.

We've ranked the best webinar software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

The Internet has entered an era where businesses and professionals can no longer assume they know who they’re dealing with.

As generative AI tools make impersonation cheap and scalable, trust is becoming harder to establish, and ignoring that is a commercial risk which can show up in lost revenue or reputational damage.

Fake identities, automated scams and manipulated signals of credibility are no longer edge cases; they are scaling alongside the digital economy itself.

For organizations, the impact is tangible. Fraud can cost revenue, fake reviews lose credibility and impersonation erodes confidence between buyers, sellers and partners.

Globally, businesses are already losing billions each year to fraud, and as AI lowers the barrier to deception, that figure will only rise.

The result is a growing trust gap: people want proof that who they are interacting with is real. But the systems designed to provide that assurance are fragmented and inconsistent, causing friction for real users while making it easier for bad actors to exploit gaps.

Verification and trust signals are meant to close that gap. Yet today, proof of identity and credibility remains locked inside individual platforms, with no common standard for what “verified” actually means.

In a digital economy that depends on confidence, this fragmentation is becoming a structural weakness.

The problem with platform trust

People build credibility online in many ways. It might be identity verification on one platform, professional experience on another, or a record of positive reviews on a marketplace or freelancer site. Yet these signals of trust rarely travel together.

That made sense when platforms operated in isolation, but it breaks down in an economy where people and businesses move constantly between services. A freelancer with years of strong reviews on one platform often has to start again from zero when they join another.

As online services become more connected, this model starts to break down. Signals of identity and credibility need to follow users as they move between platforms. If identity and signs that someone is credible are becoming central to how people trust each other online, the next step is allowing this to move between platforms.

For marketplaces, networks and collaboration tools, this reduces fraud, lowers onboarding friction and makes trust easier to scale.

This would allow people and businesses to carry verified information about who they are wherever they operate online, whether that is on marketplaces, professional networks, creative platforms, or video conferencing tools.

Some companies have started experimenting with ways to allow verified information to be recognized across trusted partners. In our own work, we’ve helped bring identity verification to partner platforms, enabling trust signals to be reused in different digital contexts.

These early efforts point to a future where identity verification can follow individuals across much of the internet.

For platforms, this creates a clear dividing line. Services that can reliably demonstrate who their users are will build stronger engagement and safer environments. Those that cannot could risk rising fraud and user skepticism.

The digital economy ultimately depends on confidence between participants. People need to know that a seller is legitimate, that a job offer is genuine, or that the person they are speaking with actually exists. As a result, credibility online is increasingly functioning as a form of currency.

Verifications are becoming core internet infrastructure

Verification is shifting from a ‘nice to have’ feature to a core part of how online services operate. People increasingly expect to know who they are interacting with before making decisions that involve money, reputation, or time.

That expectation now applies across a wide range of services, including marketplaces, professional networking apps, video platforms, and video conferencing tools.

When people can clearly see that an account belongs to a real person, behavior changes. They are more likely to engage, connect, and transact when they feel confident about who is behind the screen.

This is how trust works in the physical world. In everyday interactions, people rely on familiar cues that help them confirm who someone is and whether they are legitimate - like a recognized workplace, introduction from a trusted contact or simply seeing the person in front of them. And they now have the same expectations online.

Building trust as shared infrastructure

As AI continues to blur the line between real and fake, the ability to prove authenticity online will become a defining feature of successful digital services. Trust can no longer be treated as a nice‑to‑have or a platform‑specific badge; it is fast becoming core infrastructure for the internet itself.

The next phase of online trust will not be built by platforms working in isolation. It will depend on shared approaches that allow verified identity and credibility to move with people and businesses as they operate across the digital economy.

When trust remains siloed, attackers move faster than defenders. When authenticity is visible and portable, confidence follows.

The platforms that thrive in the years ahead will not simply be those that connect the most users. They will be the ones that help users prove who they are, wherever they go online. In an AI‑driven world, credibility is no longer just a signal of trust, it is becoming a form of currency.

We've ranked the best identity management solutions.

• Microsoft Teams offers users the chance to delete meeting-generated content
• Organizers can delete call recordings and transcripts, as well as generated AI summaries and notes
• However shared files can't be deleted, so be on your best behavior

If you've ever made an embarassing error or mis-spoke in a meeting, and are worried about AI tools recording everything for wrap-up notes fear not - a new Microsoft Teams update is set to make it easier for all this to be quickly forgotten.

The online collaboration platform is working on a new feature which allows users to quickly delete content generated in a meeting, meaning your slip-ups can easily be removed from memory.

The tool will allow meeting organizers to delete content such as call recordings and transcripts, as well as generated AI summaries and notes, offering an easy get-out.

Microsoft Teams content deletion

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the news, the company notes the feature will be available via a new delete button included in the recap page generated after a meeting ends.

The tool is listed as being in development for now, but has an expected release date of April 2026, so users should not have too long to wait.

Upon release, Microsoft says the feature will initially be generally available for Teams users on Windows across the world.

The launch will be the latest in a series of recent releases aimed at making Microsoft Teams users more productive when using the service.

This includes adding the ability for users to save messages in their conversations and chats, meaning users no longer have to trawl back manually through long conversations to find the message they need.

The company also revealed configurable keyboard shortcuts are finally coming to Microsoft Teams soon, giving users quick and easy access the symbols, icons, and others they may use regularly on a daily basis, but sometime are not close at hand when typing in a work environment.

• Microsoft Teams profiles can now show specific skills
• Show off your attributes with an expanded profile

Finding the right person for a specific task at work could soon be a lot easier thanks to a new update for Microsoft Teams.

The online collaboration platform is working on a new feature which will let users promote their vital skills and attributes directly within Teams via their Microsoft 365 profile.

Workers will now be able to list their skills on their Microsoft 365 profile card in Teams, giving colleagues and managers a quick view at exactly why they would be good (or bad) for a certain job

Microsoft Teams Wi-Fi connectivity

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the news, the company notes it will, " make it 'easier to learn about colleagues, build meaningful connections, and manage their own skills profile right from within their everyday flow of work."

The tool is listed as being in development for now, but has an expected release date of March 2026, so users should not have too long to wait.

Upon release, Microsoft says the feature will be available for Teams users on Windows and Mac across the world.

The launch will be the latest in a series of recent releases aimed at making Microsoft Teams users more productive when using the service.

This includes adding the ability for users to save messages in their conversations and chats, meaning users no longer have to trawl back manually through long conversations to find the message they need.

The company also revealed configurable keyboard shortcuts are finally coming to Microsoft Teams soon, giving users quick and easy access the symbols, icons, and others they may use regularly on a daily basis, but sometime are not close at hand when typing in a work environment.

If you think your company hasn't been spreading the love quite enough recently, get ready - a new Microsoft Teams update might be about to change all that.

The video conferencing service has revealed it is working on giving users the opportunity to add branded reactions, extending your company's reach into meetings like never before.

The addition of custom icons and images could allow users to really show their enthusiasm when in that next Town Hall or end of year meeting - if that's what you really want.

Branded reactions in Teams

In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company noted the feature will mean, "organizations can now extend their visual identity directly into meetings," and can be, "a simple way to create more cohesive, on-brand meeting experiences."

The entry notes IT admins will be able to upload custom reaction icons reflecting a company's brand elements, or the theme of an event, which will instantly be available to meeting participants.

The feature is currently listed as being "in development", with an expected release date of March 2026.

The news is the latest in a series of recent updates and upgrades to Microsoft Teams as the company looks to make it more engaging for users everywhere.

Recently, it revealed users can now have the option to select their preferred skin tone for Microsoft Teams reactions and emojis as it looks to offer a more inclusive environment for workers everywhere.

Elsewhere, a "unified fun picker" brings together stickers, GIFs and more into a single location, hopefully making it a lot quicker to bring some joy to your Microsoft Teams calls and meetings, meaning you will no longer need to search around for the best reaction or emoji to brighten up a meeting.

• iOS and Android devices will listen for ultrasonic sounds to know if they're in a meeting room
• Companion Mode pops up as the favored joining option
• It's also easier to share audio on calls

Google Meet has been updated to automatically detect meeting rooms, making Companion Mode the priority joining method to reduce echoes and audio feedback associated with multiple active mics in close proximity.

With this meeting room detection, Google Meet will also automatically check users in to the call in question so admins can track attendance.

The feature works on Android and iOS devices, perfect for secondary devices, and supports both the Meet and Gmail apps.

Google Meet makes it easier to join via Companion Mode

The system works when the primary device or conferencing hardware in a meeting room emits an ultrasonic sound that's silent to the human ear. Compatible devices can hear this, and know to serve up the Companion Mode option by default as well as check you in.

"To automatically check you in, the green room uses your phone or tablet’s microphone to detect an ultrasound signal from the conference room hardware, streamlining the process and eliminating unnecessary steps."

Admins can enable or disable this proximity detection at room level, but Google didn't make it clear whether end users can opt out of using the feature.

Automatic room check-in with Companion Mode support has already started rolling out to all Google Workspace users, including individual account holders, but some domains may be slower than others in getting it.

And separately, for the times you need to share audio, Google has made it easier to share audio directly from third-party media apps when using Chrome on the desktop to further reduce the chances of hearing echoes. Now available to all users, Google admitted this long-missing feature was "highly requested" by its users.

• Zoom CEO Eric Yuan believes AI will help reshape the future of work
• AI assistants could help reduce workloads and give people shorter workweeks
• Zoom has a new partnership with Nvidia which aims to make its AI tools faster and smarter

For many people, Zoom first became part of daily life during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when video conferencing calls replaced in-person meetings and remote work became routine.

Now Zoom’s founder and CEO Eric Yuan says we can soon look forward to having our working life reshaped yet again, this time by AI tools giving us shorter weeks.

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Yuan said AI assistants could eventually reduce the need for five-day work schedules.

Three-day working week

“Today, I need to manually focus on all those products to get work done. Eventually, AI will help,” Yuan said.

“By doing that, we do not need to work five days a week anymore, right? … Five years out, three days or four days [a week]. That’s a goal,” he said.

Yuan’s optimism centers on Zoom’s growing integration of AI. The company is developing features like “digital twins” - virtual avatars that can attend meetings or calls on a person’s behalf.

Earlier this year, Zoom demonstrated the technology with Yuan using his own AI avatar during an investor earnings call. He said the system showcased how far AI can push “the boundaries of communication.”

Yuan said Zoom spends a lot of time discussing AI strategy. When asked about where he’s investing most heavily, his answer was simple: “AI, AI, and AI.”

Zoom’s broader AI push also includes work with Nvidia to improve performance across its AI Companion features.

The partnership focuses on speeding up reasoning and automation tools designed to help users spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on creative or strategic work.

The potential, according to Yuan, goes far beyond virtual meetings. He described scenarios where AI companions could handle negotiations or preliminary planning between business leaders, saving human participants from lengthy calls.

He also suggested that AI could review emails, highlight urgent messages, and assist across other parts of Zoom’s online collaboration platform, including whiteboards and collaborative documents.

For a platform that defined remote work during the pandemic, Zoom’s next evolution appears to be less about connecting people and more about standing in for them.

• Google Meet is adding waiting rooms for calls
• Hosts can admit participants, or kick them back out into rooms
• Only certain Business, Enterprise, Education and Workspace users get support

Google is finally adding waiting rooms to its video conferencing software in a bid to give hosts more control over who enters meetings and when.

With the new feature, Google Meet participants will be placed into a waiting room before they can join the call to prevent interruptions, and to give the host more time to set up the call with tools like screen sharing and recording.

Those joining via the waiting room will see a confirmation message to let them know they’re in the right place to save confusion.

Waiting rooms come to Google Meet

Google explained hosts can enable or disable waiting rooms before the meeting starts, so smaller catch-ups can proceed straight to the main ‘room’.

Hosts and co-hosts will be able to admit or deny participants, send one-way announcements such as information of delays, and move main room participants back to the waiting room when needed.

Being a business-centric feature, it’s no surprise that this will not be coming to individual account holders.

Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus/Essentials/Essentials Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning add-on and Workspace Individual subscribers will be eligible for the waiting room addition.

Though this may be big news for Google Workspace customers, it’s a feature that’s been missing for a long time. Zoom already has the ‘waiting room’ since 2020, when the platform saw huge pandemic-induced successes, and Teams already has the ‘lobby’.

Further improving Meet, Google is now bringing Ask Gemini in Meet to Enterprise Standard and Plus users. A sidebar panel uses AI to summarize ongoing discussions, identify takeaways and action items, and catch users up if they joined late.

Earlier this month, the company also added “AI-powered makeup” to make sure that participants are looking their best with zero effort.

• Microsoft Teams will use Wi-Fi networks to detect where users are
• Location will automatically update upon connecting
• Windows and Mac Microsoft Teams users set to benefit

Trying to get some peace in the office to get some work done might soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new update for Microsoft Teams.

The online collaboration platform has revealed it is working on a new feature which will automatically update a user's work location when they connect to an office Wi-Fi network.

This should mean less confusion about where workers actually are situated, but could be bad news for those of us looking for a quiet day in the office tucked into a corner.

Microsoft Teams Wi-Fi connectivity

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the news, the company notes, "when users connect to their organization's Wi-Fi, Teams will automatically set their work location to reflect the building they are working in.

The update post does not go into a whole lot of detail about exactly how the feature will work or what benefits it will bring - or disadvantages.

The tool is listed as being in development for now, but has an expected release date of December 2025, so users should not have too long to wait.

Upon release, Microsoft says Chat Notes will be available for Teams users on Windows and Mac across the world.

The launch will be the latest in a series of recent releases aimed at making Microsoft Teams users more productive when using the service.

This includes adding the ability for users to save messages in their conversations and chats, meaning users no longer have to trawl back manually through long conversations to find the message they need.

The company also revealed configurable keyboard shortcuts are finally coming to Microsoft Teams soon, giving users quick and easy access the symbols, icons, and others they may use regularly on a daily basis, but sometime are not close at hand when typing in a work environment.

• Cisco announces new task and notetaker agents, and many more
• Businesses can also employ a new AI receptionist
• RoomOS 26 adds even more AI features

Cisco is adding AI agents into its Webex platform to take care of automating tasks, summarizing meetings and handling workflows in a bid to keep up with industry giants like Zoom (which recently reinvented itself as an AI-powered productivity ecosystem, not the video conferencing platform we got to know during the pandemic).

The company revealed the new tools at its WebexOne 2025 conference, calling the changes ‘Connected Intelligence’ and stressing humans and AI agents must work together for maximum productivity.

Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel made big claims, stating 'Connected Intelligence' will “fundamentally improve how people connect with each other, how they interact with AI, and how AI agents themselves collaborate.”

Cisco adds new AI agents to Webex

Among the new agentic technologies are the task agent (generating meeting action items), notetaker agent (transcribing and summarizing meetings), polling agent (gaining participant input) and meeting scheduler (proposing schedules based on availability).

Cisco also added a new AI receptionist, which it described as an “always-on virtual receptionist” capable of responding to customer questions, scheduling and transferring calls.

General availability for the new agentic tools is set for Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, with Cisco also working on integrations with Amazon Q Index, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Salesforce and Jira to improve the value of its tools for more customers.

The company is also making improvements to its RoomOS 26 operating system, allowing Cisco Collaboration Devices not only to access some of the new agents, but also to launch audio zones which use the AI-powered Ceiling Mic Pro to only pick up sound within predefined boundaries.

Cisco has also worked with Nvidia to create digital twins of users’ meeting rooms so that IT teams can optimized configurations. These new RoomOS 26 features will be generally available before the end of 2025.

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In today’s work-anywhere culture, people are more connected than ever. As work becomes more mobile and meetings more virtual, one form of cyber threat is quietly becoming more common: audio surveillance.

Cybersecurity now extends far beyond protecting email accounts and stored files. In a hybrid working environment, where conversations happen over video conferencing, voice messages and shared screens, it’s not only your data that is at risk. The conversation itself can become a target.

And here is the reality, according to Forbes, an overwhelming 95% of all cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error. This includes everything from sharing sensitive information without proper safeguards to joining calls over unsecured networks.

It doesn’t always take a sophisticated hack to cause real damage. Sometimes, the risk comes from the tools we trust, the places we connect from or the assumptions we make about who’s listening.

The illusion of safety

Imagine opening your laptop at a coffee shop, putting on your headset and jumping into a client meeting. The connection seems strong, the audio is crystal clear and everything feels just right. But what if someone else is eavesdropping?

In hybrid work, we often step outside the secure walls of the office and into environments we can’t control. That flexibility is a defining feature of modern productivity, but it also opens the doors to silent risks. An unsecured café Wi-Fi network, for instance, can make it remarkably easy for malicious actors to intercept audio streams or access shared content without detection.

Every call, screen share and calendar invite can include sensitive materials, such as financial data, customer details, upcoming campaigns, or internal strategy. A breach of confidential information could result in serious consequences, including regulatory penalties, disciplinary action, financial and reputational liability, or even job loss.

Recent research published in ScienceDirect highlights just how vulnerable virtual collaboration can be. A comprehensive review of video conferencing platforms revealed persistent security flaws, including weak encryption protocols and insufficient access controls, that leave meetings open to unauthorized access and potential surveillance.

For hybrid professionals working from hotels, shared spaces or home networks, this means even the most routine call could be silently compromised if the right safeguards aren’t in place.

More than just a call

In hybrid work, our headsets, webcams and conferencing tools have become the new endpoints of trust. But here’s the uncomfortable truth; a headset isn’t just a device, it’s a data hub that carries voice, client queries, business sensitive information and, in many cases, biometric data like tone, speech patterns and emotional cues.

The risks aren’t just external either. With the rise of AI, even internal tools are learning from the voices of everyone in a company. If not built securely, they could share that information with more than just your team. We live in a world where what we say can be stored, analyzed and even weaponized.

That’s why companies are rethinking how they protect their people, not just their files. Security isn’t just about firewalls anymore, and IT teams need to consider about everything from what a headset hears to how your video bar streams to the cloud.

The quietest threats are the loudest warnings

It’s easy to spot a phishing email or a suspicious link. But the more subtle threats, like unsecured pairing between a headset and a laptop, or a public connection masking malicious intent, are the ones that slip through the cracks.

Imagine walking into a crowded room and announcing your company’s quarterly results out loud. You’d never do it. But working unprotected in a public space can be equally as revealing.

As reported by Comparitech, cybercrime is projected to cost the global economy $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025. Businesses need to think beyond whether they will be targeted or not, it’s an inevitability.

Raising the Standard

Business leaders need to adopt the ethos that the only individuals who should be on a call are the ones who’ve been invited. That’s why all devices need to have an emphasis on security.

This includes encrypting conversations, implementing secure device pairing and building-in automated defenses against man-in-the-middle attacks. And implementation alone isn’t enough, IT teams need to stress-test solutions with in-house and contracted ethical hackers. This ensures customer trust is built into the very fabric of the tools we use.

Hybrid work is here to stay, and that’s a good thing. It gives workers freedom, flexibility and balance. But with that freedom comes a new kind of responsibility: to protect the digital spaces businesses occupy, the voices employees share and the people they connect with.

The next time you plug in your headset, ask yourself “who else might be listening?”. The biggest risks don’t always come with red warning signs; sometimes, they arrive quietly, just like a spy among us.

We list the best business phone systems.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Microsoft Teams adding new Chat Notes feature
• New addition should help users collaborate better
• Only desktop Microsoft Teams users will initially get the new tool

Your workplace Microsoft Teams chats could soon actually be productive, thanks to a new service coming to the video conferencing platform.

The company has announced Chat notes, a "new collaborative space" where users will be able to share ideas and collaborate on work without having to leave Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft says the new feature will allow not just real-time online collaboration, but also will help keep your communications in check, and increase productivity across the board.

Microsoft Teams Chat Notes

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the news, the company says Chat Notes will be all about, "enabling real-time collaboration, organization of key information, and streamlined communications."

The tool will be available in group chats along with 1:1 conversations, with the ability to add in extra team members when required.

The update post does not go into a whole lot of detail about what Chat Notes will look like, but does mention a few features, including the ability to add images, format text, share Loop components, and mention chat members when you require their attention.

Chat Notes is still listed as being in development for now, but has an expected release date of September 2025, so users should not have too long to wait to super-charge their productivity tools.

Upon release, Microsoft says Chat Notes will be available for Teams users on Desktop to begin with, with users across the world able to access it.

The launch will be the latest in a series of recent releases aimed at making Microsoft Teams users more productive when using the service.

This includes adding the ability for users to save messages in their conversations and chats, meaning users no longer have to trawl back manually through long conversations to find the message they need.

The company also revealed configurable keyboard shortcuts are finally coming to Microsoft Teams soon, giving users quick and easy access the symbols, icons, and others they may use regularly on a daily basis, but sometime are not close at hand when typing in a work environment.

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• Google makes it easier to join Meet calls on Companion mode
• Laptops listen out for hardware via ultrasound signals
• It only works with Chrome and supported hardware

One of the biggest pain points for Google Meet users joining video conferencing calls could soon be solved after the company by adding a new Companion Mode feature to automatically allow users to join a call.

In a blog post, the company unveiled its new automatic room check-in feature, which uses ultrasound proximity detection to streamline the process of joining meetings in Companion mode.

Users' laptops will leverage the built-in microphone to detect an ultrasound signal from Google Meet hardware, making it even easier to join in with multi-person calls - and hopefully putting an end to annoying or jarring echoes for good.

Google Meet gets even easier in Companion mode

"To simplify joining meetings from a conference room and prevent disruptive audio feedback, Google Meet now intelligently guides you to the best joining option," Google noted.

When a laptop detects nearby Google Meet hardware, it will switch from highlighting 'Join now' to 'Use Companion mode', which allows them to join into a call without duplicating audio or video in a shared room.

Already a useful feature, Companion mode disables the mic and camera by default to prevent audio feedback or echo, allowing users to view presentations, use the in-meeting chat, participate in polls, share their screen and use captions.

"This wayfinding feature helps ensure a seamless, echo-free start to your meeting," Google added.

Proximity-based Room Check-in replaces the manual check-in prompt shown after clicking 'Use Companion mode'.

The tool will be available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware, but could take up to 15 days from August 4 to show up for all users. For now, the feature is only supported on Google Meet web via Chrome, together with certified Google Meet peripherals.

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• Trump says this was the second time AT&T was responsible for a disruption
• AT&T says it was the video conferencing platform that was at fault
• We don't know which platform Trump was using - is he a Zoom or Teams man?

US President Donald Trump has criticized AT&T on Truth Social, claiming its network failed during a major conference call with faith leaders.

"I’m doing a major Conference Call with Faith Leaders from all over the Country, and AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly," the leader wrote in an online post.

Trump added this was the second time AT&T had caused disruptions to a video conference, calling for improvements to be made to the network's stability.

Trump blames AT&T for video call disruption

"If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved – it would be good," the President added, while mentioning that "tens of thousands" of participants were also on the line.

Responding to US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, AT&T wrote: "We've reached out to the White House and are working to quickly understand and assess the situation."

However, in a follow-up reply to the thread, AT&T disclosed the issue was "caused by an issue with the conference call platform, not [the AT&T] network."

Neither AT&T nor the White House have disclosed who the video conferencing provider was in this instance, and Trump is yet to publicly acknowledge AT&T's response. There are no details on the earlier disruption Trump associated with AT&T, either.

In a follow-up post, Trump "apologize[d] for the long wait on the Faith Leaders Conference Call," adding he may have to reschedule the call using a different provider.

TechRadar Pro has asked AT&T for more details on the incident and the results of its investigation, but the company did not immediately respond.

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• Microsoft Teams will soon let users save messages in chats
• New addition should help users quickly find important messafes
• All Microsoft Teams users should benefit upon launch

Finding that vital message to check your working (or win an argument) in a Microsoft Teams chat should soon be easier than ever thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing platform has revealed it is working on adding the ability for users to save messages in their conversations and chats.

This tool should mean users no longer have to trawl back manually through long conversations to find the message they need - something that has definitely frustrated me in the past.

Microsoft Teams notification sizes

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post, the company noted how the new feature will allow users to, "quickly get back to important information without scrolling through long conversations."

Users will be able to save messages, covering not just posts, but also any replies or chat message, and be able to find them later in the Saved view in your Chat or Teams list.

Simply click on a saved message to open the full conversation in the right pane, where you can review or reply directly to whichever message you choose.

The feature is listed as being "in development", but has a scheduled rollout start date of August 2025, so users don't have too long to wait. When released, it will be available to users across the world using Teams on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to improve the experience for users.

This includes adding noise suppression for participants dialing in to a call, which should spell an end to potentially ear-splitting call interruptions, or participants being deafened by background noise from another person on the call.

The platform also revealed it is rolling out "enhanced spell check", giving users the tools to make sure their messages are as accurate as possible.

It also recently announced it would be adding a tweak to will allow multiple people to control slides being presented in a meeting or call.

Users will also finally be able to minimize or shrink the size of Teams notifications, meaning they are safe from having distracting pop-ups catch the corner of their eye when working.

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• The new addition should hopefully minimize disruption while working
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Being distracted by unruly Microsoft Teams pop-ups could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new update coming to the service soon.

The video conferencing platform has revealed it is working on adding a feature which will allow users to tweak the size of Teams notifications.

Once released, this tool should mean users are safe from having distracting pop-ups catch the corner of their eye when working - something I know I've definitely fallen victim to in the past.

Microsoft Teams notification sizes

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post, the company explained the feature will, quite simply, give users the chance to "change the size of Teams notifications".

This includes a new "compact" size, which the company says, "takes up less space on the user's screen and offers a clean, minimalist design."

That's all the detail we currently have on the feature itself, which we're guessing will be accessible from the Settings menu or preferences list.

The feature is listed as being "in development", but has a scheduled rollout start date of July 2025, so users don't have too long to wait. When released, it will be available to users across the world using Teams on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to improve the experience for users.

This includes a tweak that will allow multiple people to control slides being presented in a meeting or call.

Microsoft says the addition will mean that presenters are able to maintain "a smooth flow during meetings or webinars" - hopefully meaning the end of manual slide changes - and hopefully, the phrase "next slide please".

It also recently announced it would be adding noise suppression for participants dialing in to a call, which should spell an end to potentially ear-splitting call interruptions, or participants being deafened by background noise from another person on the call.

The platform also revealed it is rolling out "enhanced spell check", giving users the tools to make sure their messages are as accurate as possible.

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• Microsoft Teams rolling out keyboard shortcuts for users
• New addition should mean faster and more effective typing for all
• All Microsoft Teams users should benefit upon launch

Unlocking true productivity on your morning Microsoft Teams calls should soon get a bit easier thanks to a new update rolling out now.

The video conferencing platform has revealed it is working on adding configurable keyboard shortcuts for users.

Once included, this should mean users can quickly and easily access the symbols, icons and much more more they may use regularly on a daily basis, but sometime are not close at hand when typing in a work environment.

Microsoft Teams keyboard shortcuts

Microsoft says the new addition will allow users to, "set your own keyboard shortcuts to match your work preferences."

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post, it noted the feature can be found by clicking on the ellipsis in a Teams chat window, and selecting "Keyboard shortcuts" from the menu. Users will be able to create and customize their own shortcuts, and edit them once completed.

The feature is rolling out now, and will be available to users across the world using Teams on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to improve the experience for users.

This includes rolling out "enhanced spell check", giving users the tools to make sure their messages are as accurate as possible.

It also recently announced a tweak that will allow multiple people to control slides being presented in a meeting or call.

Microsoft says the addition will mean that presenters are able to maintain "a smooth flow during meetings or webinars" - hopefully meaning the end of manual slide changes - and hopefully, the phrase "next slide please".

And the platform also revealed it is working on adding noise suppression for participants dialing in to a call, which should spell an end to potentially ear-splitting call interruptions, or participants being deafened by background noise from another person on the call.

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• Microsoft Teams working on adding noise suppression for calls
• Should cut out background noise like traffic or typing
• All Microsoft Teams users should benefit upon launch

One of the most painful issues when dialing into a Microsoft Teams call could seen be a thing of the past thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing platform has revealed it is working on adding noise suppression for participants dialing in to a call.

Once included, this should spell an end to potentially ear-splitting call interruptions, or participants being deafened by background noise from another person on the call.

Microsoft Teams noise suppression

Microsoft says as well as improving the user experience for everyone on a call, the new addition will also "enhance clarity and reduce distraction for all meeting participants".

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post, it noted the feature will automatically filter out background noise (such as traffic, typing) for users who join meetings via phone (PSTN).

The feature is listed as being "in development" for the time being, with an expected rollout start date of September 2025.

When launched, Microsoft says it will be available for users across the world using Teams on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS - as well as Teams and Surface devices, and Teams on Web.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to improve the experience for users.

This includes a tweak that will allow multiple people to control slides being presented in a meeting or call.

Microsoft says the addition will mean that presenters are able to maintain "a smooth flow during meetings or webinars" - hopefully meaning the end of manual slide changes - and hopefully, the phrase "next slide please".

It also recently launched of real-time text (RTT) capabilities, allowing participants to type a message while someone else's speech is being transcribed, giving users who prefer typing to speaking another way to make sure their voices get out there.

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• Google Beam's first compatible hardware comes from HP, and it costs $25k
• You'll still need to pay separately for a license from Google
• HP has new mics for your everyday video calls, too

HP has shared more details of the first-ever 3D video communication solution for enterprises, co-developed with Google Beam, as it looks to make holographic video conferencing calls a reality.

Formerly known as Project Starline, the newly-named 'HP Dimension with Google Beam', utilizes Google's platform, which promises life-like 3D video calls with no glasses or headsets needed.

HP says workers could see a 28% increase in memory recall when talking to colleagues using Google Beam, while benefitting from 39% more non-verbal communication.

HP Dimension

HP says the technology delivers realistic depth, colour and presence in one-on-one virtual meetings.

The hardware consists of six high-speed camera, adaptive lighting and spatial audio to create life-size imaging with natural eye contact on a 65-inch light field display – it means that users won't need to use headsets or glasses, as they would with an Apple Vision Pro.

From launch, the technology supports Zoom Rooms and Google Meet, but it also offers interoperability with Microsoft Teams and Webex, covering most bases.

There are some limitations, though, for example Google Beam requires a plain, white background for optimal performance and life-like projections.

Then, there's the price. At $24,999, it's not a cheap piece of kit, and enterprises will require separate licenses for the Google Beam technology – an essential tool to unlock the hardware's capabilities. Salesforce and Deloitte are among the early enterprise customers committed to HP Dimension with Google Beam.

A launch later in 2025 will see units arrive in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and Japan.

In the same breath, HP also lifted the wraps off its new Poly Studio A2 Audio Bridge and Table Microphone for improved communications and interactions across more conventional video calls.

Featuring daisy-chain support for up to eight mics, NoiseBlockAI for smart background sound suppression and simple integration with other Poly Studio hardware, pre-orders open this month for shipping in September 2025, with prices starting at $549 and $329 respectively.

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Is the conversation around remote work models finally petering out? Data suggests a shift in focus, with many firms reassessing their approach to the modern workplace. The reasons for these changes are myriad and nuanced. But while businesses and employees adapt to new ways of working, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as the crucial factor that could actually shape the future of hybrid work.

Its application holds the potential to shift the focus away from location to how employee experience can be optimized and unlock new levels of efficiency and productivity. Our recent research highlights this shift, noting that 70% of businesses have integrated AI to enhance communication and workflows.

AI is driving the evolution of hybrid work, from intelligent workspaces to enhanced collaboration and personalized work experiences. As organizations move beyond traditional models, AI is enabling a workplace that is more dynamic, efficient, and ultimately, more human-centric.

The rise of intelligent workspaces

As hybrid work has become an established norm, many workplace tools have struggled to keep at pace with its demands. Standard video conferencing struggles to create truly inclusive meetings between office and remote participants. Calendar systems can also fail to account for complex hybrid schedules. Communication platforms often create information silos between in-office and remote teams, while productivity tools lack the intelligence to adapt to different working environments.

The challenge isn't just about managing hybrid schedules, but creating consistent, engaging experiences for employees splitting their time between home and office. Our research shows that AI is becoming a key focus for businesses looking to improve hybrid work, with a significant majority experimenting with or fully utilizing AI to enhance communication and workflows.

Rather than enforcing rigid systems, AI-powered platforms are introducing new levels of personalization. These systems learn from individual work patterns, automatically adjusting to personal preferences and optimizing workflows based on when and where employees are working. Data indicates that 88% of teams are already using AI tools at least weekly, demonstrating widespread adoption and reliance on AI to improve working practices.

The implications are far-reaching. AI can now predict when employees are most productive, suggest optimal meeting times that respect work-life balance, and even pre-emptively organize digital workspaces based on upcoming projects. For organizations embracing hybrid work policies, this level of intelligent adaptation is proving transformative.

Breaking down collaboration barriers

Business leaders and employees often share a common challenge: making collaboration work seamlessly across dispersed teams. Many employees in hybrid settings often struggle with feelings of disconnection and unequal participation between in-office and remote workers.

AI is helping address these challenges head-on. Advanced communications solutions provide real-time translation for global teams, intelligent meeting scheduling accounting for time zones and personal preferences, and automated note-taking that ensures everyone stays aligned regardless of location.

These tools are transforming how teams interact, making file sharing, team messaging, and real-time document editing more intuitive and accessible. Further, our research indicates that businesses are recognizing the value of these AI-driven solutions, with an overwhelming 97% of leaders anticipating increased investment in AI tools.

More significantly, AI is levelling the playing field between remote and in-office workers. Leading platforms can now analyze meeting dynamics to ensure equal participation, automatically enhance video and audio quality for remote participants, and even suggest optimal times for in-person collaboration based on team patterns. For global operations and mobile workforces, these capabilities are essential for maintaining productivity and team cohesion within a flexible work environment.

The benefits aren’t just limited to improved efficiency. AI is also helping managers and HR teams better support employee wellbeing. By analyzing communication patterns and workload distribution, AI can identify potential burnout risks before they become serious issues. These systems can recommend breaks, suggest more efficient working patterns, and help managers better understand their teams' needs.

Embracing the shift with AI

In short, the binary in/out debate is becoming less relevant. Organizations preoccupied with tracking office attendance have missed the bigger picture: AI is fundamentally changing how teams work together, regardless of the location.

Modern workplaces use intelligent systems to eliminate the mechanical aspects of coordination, allowing teams to focus on creative problem-solving and meaningful collaboration. A workplace with AI at its core removes the traditional tension between flexibility and productivity, between remote efficiency and in-person connection.

A future in which intelligent agents empower individuals to shape their workday is close. Our collective evolution towards agentic AI means work becomes less about rigid mandates and more about personal agency. By removing friction and enhancing individual experience, AI can foster the next era of work, where even the decision to go to the office is less about obligation and more about genuine choice.

As we embrace this shift, the workplace of tomorrow will be defined not by where we work, but by how effectively we can work together, augmented by the intelligent systems that empower us.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Project Starline becomes Google Beam, and will be for enterprises only
• AI turns feed from six cameras into 3D video, while AI translates from supported languages
• We'll see the first HP hardware to support Google Beam at next month's InfoComm conference

After around four years of very few apparent developments, Google confirmed that its Project Starline is still going ahead at its annual developer conference, I/O, in 2025.

This time under the new and public-facing name of Beam, the concept revolves around life-like video calls that use advanced hardware, computer vision and machine learning to create 3D video conferencing experiences with no glasses or headsets needed.

Rather than gathering data from tens of cameras (it still uses six), Beam will use a state-of-the-art AI volumetric video model to convert 2D video into a realistic 3D feed.

Google's Project Starline becomes Beam

Besides six cameras, Google has confirmed that Beam will use a light field display for true depth and a sense of dimension. The AI merges the six video streams, tracking head movements and rendering the video call at 60fps. Beam can also support natural eye contact and subtle expression recognition to make the video call hyper realistic.

Being a flagship video conferencing tool, it should come as no surprise that this 3D holographic platform will get the same real-time speech translation that Meet gets, with the system able to maintain voice, tone and facial expressions for natural multilingual communication.

However, there's a big catch, and it's not the price (which is unconfirmed). It's that general consumers won't get to experience the tech unless they work for one of Google's enterprise clients. It'll launch to select customers later this year, with the first HP hardware devices being showcased at InfoComm next month.

For context, Logitech's Project Ghost, a similar pod-based system that aims to curb Zoom fatigue with a slightly less advanced 2D system, costs around $15,000-$20,000 per booth.

Google confirmed that Deloitte, Salesforce, Citadel, NEC, Hackensack Meridian Health, Duolingo and Recruit have all already registered their interest in Beam. Google Beam General Manager Andrew Nartker added: "We’re working with industry leading partners like Zoom and HP to bring Google Beam to enterprises."

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While hybrid work models have helped teams collaborate across locations, persistent challenges remain with teams still wrestling with misalignment and communication gaps that slow progress and delay achieving notable outcomes.

To build more adaptive, high-performing teams—regardless of where they work—organizations are turning to Agile practices. Agile's emphasis on continuous feedback, quick adjustments, and strong collaboration makes it an ideal framework for bridging the gaps that often arise in hybrid work environments.

But embracing Agile isn’t a one-and-done fix. As work evolves, so should the way we apply these methods. The real opportunity isn’t just about keeping up, it’s about using these changes as a launchpad for better ways of working.

Breaking free from inefficiencies

According to a recent survey by Lucid Software, nearly half of UK businesses report that teams can take up to three hours to decide on how to move forward on business goals, highlighting that meetings may drag on and clear next steps often don’t follow.

The survey also revealed miscommunication and poor planning are significant barriers to productivity, with 41% of respondents citing unclear project requirements, scope changes and miscommunication with colleagues as the top reasons for redoing work. These issues not only demand extra time and effort but also leave 1 in 5 of workers feeling that their team’s plans rarely align with the company’s strategic goals.

While 45% of workers believe that adopting new collaboration tools could significantly cut decision-making time, tools alone won’t solve the problem. To truly address communication challenges, a shift in mindset is crucial.

Agile frameworks offer exactly that. By breaking work into smaller, manageable increments and fostering regular feedback cycles, Agile enables teams to adapt quickly to change, clarify goals, and align efforts more effectively across stakeholders. This approach reduces wasted time, minimizes costly misalignments, and accelerates progress towards strategic objectives.

Agile in motion

Agile practices have been gaining popularity, with 51% of respondents indicating their organizations actively use Agile to organize and deliver work. Yet, despite its growing presence, only 49% of UK businesses have adopted Agile and even among those that have, the benefits of Agile aren’t consistently felt across teams. One big reason? Resistance to change.

Much of that resistance often stems from middle management. Middle managers are often caught between evolving expectations from leadership and long-standing habits rooted in traditional management practices. The shift to Agile requires more than just new skills, it’s about evolving how we perceive, interpret, and respond to the complexities of work and leadership.

This resistance is often driven by fear of losing control or uncertainty about how to navigate this shift, making it crucial to provide middle managers with the right tools and support to embrace the new Agile mindset.

This is where mindset matters. Adopting agility requires both horizontal development (e.g. learning a new topic or tool) and vertical development (e.g. holding a new perspective). The concept of vertical development, popularized by researchers like Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, expands a person’s ability to lead amidst complexity. It enables them to interpret shifting conditions, not just follow a fixed playbook. For agile to stick, organizations must invest in both forms of development for those involved.

To enhance the effectiveness of Agile, leaders should work to create buy-in from all team members and ensure that Agile practices are consistently applied across the organization with meaningful training and solutions that facilitate successful implementation. This can start by identifying key change agents within teams who can help model and reinforce Agile principles, while also setting up regular feedback loops to accelerate progress and address any obstacles. When done right, Agile isn’t just a framework—it’s a foundation for better, faster, more human ways of working.

The power of a common visual framework

Too often, traditional methods persist simply because ‘it’s the way it’s always been done.’ But as work grows more complex and distributed, those default approaches, especially meetings, aren’t enough to keep everyone aligned.

Team meetings remain the go-to methods for tracking progress, with 74% of respondents relying on them. However, this approach doesn’t work equally for all roles. Only 53% of entry-level employees report having high visibility into their work, indicating that even regular stand-ups may not provide everyone with the clarity they need. This highlights a critical need for more effective approaches to decision-making and alignment — ones that don’t depend on everyone being in the same room.

That’s where visual collaboration solutions come in. Agile teams are already ahead of the curve here — 69% report using visual tools as opposed to only 41% of general knowledge workers. Visual collaboration supports Agile by providing a shared, always-on workspace that enables teams to track tasks in real-time, visualize workflows and adjust priorities as needed.

What excites me most is seeing how these tools are transforming team dynamics. Team members who might stay quiet during video conferencing calls now actively shape ideas and decisions through visual contributions, creating a stronger sense of ownership and alignment. This visual engagement fosters a more collaborative and responsive environment, key principles of Agile practices.

Forging ahead with a united workforce

Even if teams interpret and apply Agile practices differently, the underlying principles can still guide better ways of working. Leaders may feel confident in their team’s direction, but when newer employees don’t understand the direction or feel misaligned with the company’s values, that misalignment can ripple across the organization. In fact, what those employees experience often reveals how well Agile is truly being lived—not just implemented.

For example, if a team struggles to prioritize or frequently misses deadlines, it may signal that Agile practices aren’t being fully integrated, even if they’re technically in place. For any organization, bridging these gaps is essential. Leaders should lean on shared tools and frameworks that promote clarity, build skills and foster better communication. A visual roadmap, for instance, can make abstract goals clearer by laying out specific, achievable steps, showing progress, and aligning team efforts.

Addressing these challenges early helps prevent problems like misalignment and employee burnout, ultimately enabling teams to accelerate work and drive efficient outcomes.

Start here: a low-barrier entry point to agility

Not every organization is ready for a full agile transformation. That’s okay. You don’t have to adopt every practice to benefit from agile thinking. Start small by using a shared visual board to clarify weekly priorities. You can also replace a long meeting with asynchronous feedback using sticky notes or comments. Most importantly, ask your team what’s blocking progress and listen.

Agility isn’t the goal. Value is. But agility is how you get there, consistently, sustainably, and together. Instead of trying to replicate the office in a hybrid model, it’s time to rethink how work can happen more intentionally and effectively. The future belongs to those who can align quickly, learn continuously, and move forward with shared purpose. That’s how agile teams stay aligned, fast, and focused.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Project Starline launched in 2021 and is now Google Beam
• It's rolling out this year, adding 3D to video calls
• There's also a real-time translation component to the tech

You may have already seen Google's Project Starline tech, which reimagines video calls in full 3D. It was first teased over four years ago, and at Google I/O 2025 we got the news that it's rolling out in full with a new name: Google Beam.

Since its inception, the idea of Google Beam has been to make it feel like you're in the same room as someone when you're on a video call with them. Rather than using headsets or glasses though, it relies on cameras, mics, and AI technology.

"The combination of our AI video model and our light field display creates a profound sense of dimensionality and depth," says Google. "This is what allows you to make eye contact, read subtle cues, and build understanding and trust as if you were face-to-face."

Beam participants need to sit in a custom-made booth, with a large, curved screen that's able to generate a partly three-dimensional rendering of the person they're speaking to. The first business customers will get the equipment from HP later this year.

Real-time translation

There's another element of Google Beam that's been announced today, and that's real-time translation. As you might expect, this is driven by AI technology, and makes it easier to converse with someone else in a different language.

As per the demo that Google has shown off, the translation is just a second or two behind the speech, and it works in the same way that a translation might be added afterwards on top of someone speaking in a video recording.

It's another impressive part of the Google Beam experience, and offers another benefit for organizations with teams and clients all across the world. According to Google, it can preserve voice, tone, and expression, while changing the language the audio is spoken in.

This part of the experience won't only be available in Google Beam though: it's rolling out now inside Google Meet now for consumers, though you are going to need either the Google AI Pro or the Google AI Ultra plan to access it.

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Well, there goes Skype. Bye-bye, you garbage piece of software. I'm surprised you managed to hang around for as long as you did, frankly.

Okay, I’m being a bit mean here; the impact of Skype on the global tech ecosystem shouldn’t be downplayed, as it effectively brought video communication to the mainstream - something that previously was the domain of corporate execs with money to burn on expensive early video-conferencing solutions. For a wonderful, all-too-brief period in the early 2010s, Skype was everywhere: a way to chat face-to-face with distant relatives or schoolmates who were just beyond the reach of an after-class bike ride.

But I can’t pretend Skype was all sunshine and rainbows, even before the pandemic lockdowns and the rise of its chief competitor, Zoom. I remember sitting for ages waiting for a call to connect, frequent audio dropouts, and sometimes struggling to log in at all. Sure, internet connections are faster and more consistent now than they were when Skype was first conceived back in 2003, but that’s not an all-encompassing excuse for the app’s many failings.

The Microsoft problem

See, Skype’s greatest victory was also a sword of Damocles hanging over its head: its 2011 purchase by Microsoft. A multi-billion dollar deal that positioned Skype to replace Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as the ever-iconic MSN), the purchase proved to be an immediate boon for Skype, as it was widely inserted into Windows devices over the following years, thus reaching a massive global audience.

Unfortunately, this deal also meant that Skype was owned by Microsoft, which is rarely a safe position to be in. Remember Zune? Yeah, me neither. The list of products and services killed off by Microsoft over the years is long and storied, and many - including myself - saw the writing on the wall long before serious external competition arrived on the scene.

A key issue was Microsoft’s long-running and ill-placed desire to make Teams work. I’ll be honest: as someone who was, in a previous and much worse place of employment, forced to use Microsoft Teams, I can say with conviction that it sucks. Rigid settings, feature bloat, and an inexplicable ravenous hunger for RAM make it a frequently painful piece of software to use, especially on an outdated work PC.

But Microsoft wanted - and still wants - it to be a Thing People Want To Use, which ultimately led to Skype taking a back seat as its features were gradually cannibalized to improve Teams. In fact, now that Skype has officially been taken out back with a shotgun, Microsoft is actively encouraging users to port their accounts over to Teams.

And what did Skype get in return? A drip-feed of features that nobody asked for, most of which did little to improve the core video-calling functionality. The interface became more cluttered, frequent UI redesigns left users confused, and yet there was a paradoxical feeling of stagnation; meanwhile, the meteoric rise of social-media-driven video calling across platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp offered a far more streamlined and pleasant user experience.

Impacts of the pandemic

Zoom has been around since 2011 (ironically, the same year Microsoft acquired Skype) but you’d be forgiven for thinking that it just popped into existence at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When we were collectively displaced from our offices and had to construct impromptu workspaces inside our homes, video conferencing became an everyday necessity - and as we all know, this was where the cracks in Skype’s facade really started to show.

Technical debt is never an easy hurdle to overcome, and Skype’s aging software architecture - while cutting-edge back in 2003 - gradually became a weight chained around its ankle. With Teams at the forefront, investing in updating Skype never seemed like a priority for Microsoft. The app didn’t even change over to a centralized system from its outdated peer-to-peer networking until more than half a decade after Microsoft bought it.

One of the worst blunders was Microsoft’s insistence on keeping it partially anchored to actual phone numbers (with a dial pad feature, no less) in an era when interlinked accounts are king and phones are more than just phones. It was no doubt a move intended to retain the crop of older users who were unaware of the alternatives, but the 100-user call capacity and streamlined interface of Zoom made it an easy choice for professionals who needed to keep their careers afloat while the world screeched to a halt outside.

Long live Zoom

It’s certainly not a universal truth that Microsoft ruins everything it touches - the Surface tablet line is finally good now! - but the tech giant has something of a reputation for enshittification. I’ve been following the gradual decay of Windows for years now, and looking at how Microsoft treats its most widely known product makes understanding the fall of Skype very easy.

I’ve settled into a belief that Microsoft isn’t able to just let things be what they are. Everything had to be more! More features, more information, more settings, more AI! Forget what consumers actually want; the line must go up, the goalposts must keep moving, everything must be constantly changing and innovating or it’s worthless. Once you start to see Microsoft as a tech company incapable of sitting still, its successes and failures all start to make a lot more sense.

What people needed for the remote working shift during the pandemic was an effective, straightforward video conferencing tool. They didn’t find that in Skype, which had already become a bloated shell of its former self after years of ‘innovation’ at the hands of Microsoft. So I say this now, to the creators of Zoom: if it ain’t broke…

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• Bad equipment is more responsible than chaotic conversations for misunderstandings
• One in four say they spend extra time clarifying their points on video calls
• AI might have a role, but we need the foundation of clear video and audio

Danish video conferencing equipment company Jabra has blamed bad microphones and webcams on poor interactions, leading to reduced productivity, particularly among hybrid workers who rely on the tech.

According to the company’s research, one in four workers regularly feel misunderstood due to insufficient communication tools, which is impacting productivity, wellbeing and career prospects.

More than one-third (35%) of UK knowledge workers agree that poor audio or video quality is to blame when it comes to misunderstanding, ranking it even more highly than chaotic conversations with multiple people speaking over each other.

Poor video and audio quality is bad for productivity

Jabra EMEA North VP and MD Nigel Dunn explained why bad mics and webcams can be bad for productivity: “Too many UK workers are still being held back by poor-quality audio and video – spending valuable time clarifying conversations, second-guessing what was said, or worse, missing key details altogether.”

Even though the speaker might not be battling with the result of poor audio or video themselves, 24% agree that they spend extra time clarifying their point, which takes additional time.

More than one-fifth (22%) also feel embarrassed or lose confidence after being misunderstood, with 14% believing that being misunderstood could cause them to miss out on professional opportunities.

Many workers agree that AI’s transcription abilities can be extremely beneficial post-meeting, but despite this recognition there remains some reluctance, with most British workers trusting humans over AI.

“We need to start with the basics and enable employees to communicate clearly with total confidence that they can be heard accurately, whether speaking to a colleague, a virtual assistant or relying on transcription tools,” Dunn continued.

Although many tech giants have implemented now-standard three-day working weeks from the office, and some are taking it even further by implementing full-time office working mandates, hybrid and remote work continues to be far more prevalent than it was prior to the pandemic. Having effective communication platforms and systems in place is now a must.

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• Microsoft Teams adds "enhanced" spell check feature
• Users will be alerted to issues as they type in Teams
• Multi-language support means users can switch between up to three languages

Making embarassing spelling mistakes in crucial work conversations or Microsoft Teams calls could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing service has announced it is rolling out "enhanced spell check", giving users the tools to make sure their messages are as accurate as possible.

Microsoft says the addition, "will help ensure that your messages are clear and professional" - something I'm sure we've all worried about in the past.

Microsoft Teams spell check

In a Microsoft 365 updates blog post, the company outlined how the feature will work, spotting any issues in the Teams compose box and marking or highlighting the problem immeidately.

Users will then be able to choose a correction from a dropdown menu, ignore the suggestion, or add a word to their dictionary.

The new spell check feature will also offer multi-language, support, with users able to switch between up to three languages. It isn't mentioned exactly which languages are supported at launch, but we'll hopefully get more information on this soon.

The feature is listed as rolling out now, and is generally available for all users on Windows desktop and Mac devices, across all platforms.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to make the platform more intuitive.

This includes the recent launch of real-time text (RTT) capabilities, allowing participants to type a message while someone else's speech is being transcribed, giving users who prefer typing to speaking another way to make sure their voices get out there.

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• Microsoft Teams adds slide control feature for multiple users
• Should allow for smooth running of presentations and calls
• Set to release in May 2025, but only on Windows to begin

Taking control of presentations on a Microsoft Teams call may finally be a smoother process thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing service has announced it is working on a tweak that will allow multiple people to control slides being presented in a meeting or call.

Microsoft says the addition will mean that presenters are able to maintain "a smooth flow during meetings or webinars" - and honestly, I can't believe it has taken so long for such a tool to be introduced.

Microsoft Teams slide control

In a Microsoft 365 updates blog post announcing the feature, Microsoft notes it will mean meeting or event hosts can now share control of slides with their fellow presenters.

This should mean the end of manual slide changes - and hopefully, the phrase "next slide please", which I think we've all heard too much over the past few years.

The blog post doesn't exactly go into a lot of detail about how the feature will actually work in practice, so we'd have to guess it will be added to the meeting host abilities.

The fact it will allow multiple presenters to have the ability to control slides should probably mean it will require some kind of authentication when joining a call, or having these members manually selected by the person setting up the call - we'll just have to wait and see.

The feature is currently listed as being "in development", but Microsoft has targeted a release rollout date of May 2025, meaning users won't have too long to wait. Upon release, the company says it will be available for all users on Windows desktop to begin with.

The launch is the latest in a series of recent improvements to Microsoft Teams announced by the company as it looks to make the platform more intuitive.

This includes the recent launch of real-time text (RTT) capabilities, allowing participants to type a message while someone else's speech is being transcribed, giving users who prefer typing to speaking another way to make sure their voices get out there.

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As the latest member of the HP Poly Studio family, the X52 video bar delivers an advanced all-in-one solution for medium-sized meeting rooms. Taking over from the Studio X50, it features an uprated 20MP 4K UHD camera, a more powerful Qualcomm 865 CPU, improved dynamic framing algorithms, advanced microphones and Wi-Fi 6 support.

Apart from the larger camera there’s little to tell the two models apart but at 95°, the X52 has a narrower FoV (field of view) than the X50. This is because the X52 is designed to deliver a higher resolution when zooming in to participants at the far end of the meeting table.

Its mic array claims a six-meter pick-up range, while sound output is handled by two 20W ported speakers. You have two HDMI-out ports for dual monitor support, HDMI-in and USB-C for host connections, a gigabit network port and a port for Poly’s optional extension mic. All are easily accessible at the rear.

The X52 runs Poly’s Android-based VideoOS software, which supports BYOD (bring your own device) mode and includes built-in video apps. The guest list is impressive, and includes Microsoft Teams, Zoom Rooms, Google Meet, GoToRoom, RingCentral Rooms and BlueJeans Rooms.

Deployment is simple: you connect power and network, wait a minute while it boots up and point a browser at its IP address. The web interface presents a system status dashboard with the active video app and you move to the Provider section to choose another app from the drop-down list.

You can swap between them as required and, although a reboot is necessary, it only takes two minutes to regain access. BYOD mode is always available with the X52 automatically swapping to it when it senses a USB connection and, once you’ve finished, you can exit back to the app.

We had no problems cloud-managing the X52 by registering it with our Lens portal account. You can remotely manage all your Poly devices, assign them to sites and rooms, run remote firmware updates and upgrade to the premium Lens service for detailed meeting analytics.

We tested with Microsoft Teams and used the registration code presented on the screen to assign it to our Microsoft 365 account, where the X52 appeared as a new Teams Rooms on Android device. We also paired the X52 with Poly’s TC10 PoE-powered controller tablet and used the same registration process.

Our Teams console showed both devices as online and paired, after which the tablet moved all meeting controls to its own display. We had no problems creating and joining Teams meetings using the tablet’s 10in touchscreen, and in BYOD mode we could use its menu to manually control the camera and create up to ten presets for specific camera positions.

Video quality is excellent, and we noted the camera’s focus is markedly sharper than the Poly P15 we use in the lab. The mics worked well, as remote participants could hear us clearly when we were 4.5 meters away, while the dual speakers delivered a clean sound quality that easily filled our 24m² meeting room at a 60% volume level.

The X52 gets the benefit of Poly’s NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence technologies, which remove annoying background noises, while the DirectorAI feature handles group and speaker tracking. Also accessed from its web console, the DirectorAI Perimeter option allows you to define a custom tracking zone.

Although still in a preview testing phase, the X52 offers people framing, which shows all participants using up to six split screens. Whichever mode you choose, you’ll be impressed with its speed as the camera snaps to active speakers in no more than two seconds.

Poly’s Studio X52 is perfect for businesses that want a professional video conferencing solution for their medium-sized meeting room. Video quality is excellent, speaker tracking is impressively fast and the big choice of built-in VC apps makes it incredibly versatile.

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• Microsoft Teams adds Real-Time-Text (RTT) to meetings and calls
• Feature gives users a way to comment and message even when others are speaking
• RTT set to launch in May 2025 across Microsoft Teams on Windows and Mac

Making sure your words are heard on a Microsoft Teams call could soon be easier than ever thanks to a new update.

The video conferencing service has announced it will be adding real-time text (RTT) capabilities, meaning users will have another way to put their message out.

The system allows for participants to type a message while someone else's speech is being transcribed, giving users who prefer typing to speaking another way to make sure their voices get out there.

RTT in Microsoft Teams

In a Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the feature, the company noted it could enable "effective collaboration for all users", adding it could be "especially useful in situations where speaking is difficult or not possible".

The company clearly sees RTT as an option for busy calls or meetings, where lots of opinions or thoughts are being thrown around, adding the feature will allow "seamless instant communication for everyone", adding it could also be a useful accessibility tool.

The feature is currently listed as being "in development", but has an expected rollout date of May 2025, meaning users won't have too long to wait to use it.

Upon release, it will be available across Windows and Mac platforms, to users across the globe.

The news is the latest addition to Microsoft Teams as it looks to be more useful and intuitive for users everywhere.

The company recently revealed it will be introducing transcription for multi-lingual meetings, supporting more languages than ever, even when it comes to meeting recaps.

The news will also see an improved version of document summaries, generated and supplied by Copilot, to help users stay on track with their chats.

However it also announced a new Copilot feature which will be able to suggest follow ups to, "keep the conversation going", when responding to a prompt, whether you like it or not, the company has revealed.

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As finance functions have become increasingly automated, the CIO and CFO have been bought into closer collaboration than ever before. However, this partnership often faces friction. A CFO that focusses on margins and cost control closely might view technology investments as a luxury rather than a necessity, while conversely, a CIO prioritising innovation without regard for finances can alienate F&A teams.

Ultimately, this tension arises from a misalignment of priorities; while the CIO sees technology as a strategic enabler of growth, the CFO’s lens is often shaped by immediate financial outcomes. These differences in approach, if left unaddressed, can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a fracture in alignment at the highest branch of the business.

Both roles need to meet in the middle – acknowledging each other’s value and creating a shared vision for leadership that will align their teams and build the most productive partnership possible.

Striking the balance between cost-cutting and innovation

Balancing cost-cutting with innovation calls for a mindset shift. It’s not about one approach trumping the other; it’s about finding harmony between the two. For example, CIOs should frame tech investments in terms that resonate with CFOs: cost savings, operational efficiencies, and measurable ROI. CFOs, on the other hand, must embrace a forward-looking perspective, recognizing that innovation often requires upfront investment in order to deliver long-term value.

Practical steps are key to bridging this divide. Joint workshops or strategy sessions where both executives can evaluate tech plans through a shared lens – discussing both financial viability and business potential – can encourage alignment. In addition, breaking down large-scale projects into smaller phases with measurable milestones can allow both sides to see tangible progress without overcommitting their resources.

Business leaders need to reframe technology as an enabler of financial discipline, not as an expense. For example, automation tools in F&A can reduce manual workload while improving accuracy and auditability – delivering measurable benefits both in the office of the CFO and in IT teams.

The importance of communication, trust, and shared accountability

A strong CIO-CFO partnership hinges on three core elements – communication, trust, and shared accountability. Regular and transparent communication ensures that both leaders are on the same page when it comes to priorities, risks, and goals. This requires a shift away from siloed decision-making towards a collaborative approach.

Building trust takes time but pays dividends. CIOs can demonstrate credibility by presenting clear, data-backed cases for technology investments while delivering on promised outcomes. CFOs, in turn, should acknowledge and celebrate successful technology implementations, reinforcing their value.

Shared accountability is also critical. Both leaders must view technology investments as a joint responsibility rather than an IT-only initiative. This means incentives and KPIs need to be as aligned as closely as possible. For example, measuring the success of a digital transformation initiative based on cost savings alone might miss broader benefits such as enhanced customer experience or improved scalability. By co-owning metrics for success, both business functions can work towards the same goals.

The impact of a thriving CIO-CFO relationship

When the CIO and CFO operate in harmony, the effects ultimately impact the entire organization. A united front sends a powerful message to other departments – and so ensures a culture of collaboration and shared purpose.

For example, a CFO who publicly supports an IT-driven initiative fosters buy-in across the company, while a CIO who consistently delivers value ensures that IT is seen as a strategic partner rather than a business unit of high costs. Together, they can drive enterprise-wide transformation, uniting the Offices of both the CIO and CFO to make the organization more agile, competitive, and resilient.

Take digital transformation in F&A as an example. When CIOs and CFOs collaborate effectively, they enable smarter resource allocation, faster decision-making, and better risk management factors that are critical to ensuring financial resilience in today’s business environment.

Driving growth

The partnership between CIOs and CFOs will only grow in importance as businesses continue to navigate economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and shifting market demands. To succeed, both roles must evolve, with CFOs becoming champions of strategic innovation beyond traditional F&A, and CIOs deepening their understanding of financial principles.

The goal is the same – to drive sustainable growth by fostering mutual respect, maintaining open communication, and aligning on shared objectives. CIOs and CFOs can transform their relationship from a potential battleground to one striving for joint success at the very top of a business.

Collaboration isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ anymore – it’s a necessity for thriving in business. The question isn’t whether CIOs and CFOs should work together; it’s how they can work better together.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

If I close my eyes, I can hear the once iconic Skype ringtone: "Da DA-da, do-do DO do." It was the sound of communication and possibility. Who knows what would happen during that video call, what I would learn, what I would say? Now, as we prepare for Skype to wind down in May of this year, I want to reflect on what it's meant to you and me.

Where would we be without Skype? I know most of you no longer use the OG video calling platform, but there was a time when Skype was so popular it became a verb: 'I'll Skype you, okay?'"

Almost 25 years ago, Skype was part of the peer-to-peer (P2P) decentralized revolution. Like the music-sharing platform Napster, Skype lets you connect directly between two systems over the internet to conduct video calls, and, like Napster, it was a bit of a sensation.

By 2005, unlikely suitor eBay bought it and then sold a majority stake to an investment group. Two years later, Microsoft paid $8.5 billion to acquire the by-then wildly popular video communication platform. I'd say it was attractive because Skype was being used by consumers and businesses, including broadcast outlets that liked to conduct Skype-based on-air interviews.

A sound like no other

By that time, I'd been using Skype for years and worried that Microsoft might ruin the service (I guess, ultimately, I was right). I'd dallied with using it to call friends and family. After all, FaceTime didn't arrive until 2009, and at the time, most people didn't own an iPhone, but they did have Windows PCs.

Most of my Skype calls were with broadcast studios who appreciated Skype's remarkable network management, which usually ensured clear audio and video that nearly rivaled what they could get via satellite feeds. Naturally, they also liked it because it was cheaper than those satellite hookups and then sending out an entire film crew.

Skype was where I learned to half-dress for television: If I wasn't going to a studio and only needed to show 50% of me to the Skype camera on my PC, then it was business on top and party (or at least casual) on the bottom. I mastered this look years before I would repeat it for countless Google Meet, Cisco Webex, and even Microsoft Teams video conferences.

Building on Skype

Microsoft's interest and devotion to Skype waxed and waned over the years, but for a time, Skype was a hub of development. It was an early home for Cortana, Microsoft's first digital assistant, and was the first place where I saw real-time translation at work.

That's right. Skype was translating the spoken word in real time long before Google and Samsung brought the feature to phones.

If we hadn't trained on Skype, would we have been truly prepared for remote work and all those video meetings? I know so many video conferencing platforms showed up in the years before the pandemic when we were all shuttered at home, but which one showed us the way? I'd argue it was Skype.

Eventually, broadcasters and most of my Skype buddies moved away from Skype. Media companies started using Zoom and the aforementioned Cisco. Businesses adopted Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft's newer and more preferred platform, Teams, which is better integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite.

Gen Z might point to Zoom as the platform that made video conferencing cool, but aside from being free, widely available, and supporting large group video conferences, it didn't do anything that Skype hadn't done first. But digital memory is short, and I'm sure they'll tell their grandkids, who'll use brain chips to send video streams to friends and social media, that when they were kids, they used to "Zoom."

In announcing the change, Microsoft included this in a blog post, "Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey. "

It's true: Skype, the unruly and sometimes unloved communication platform, made it possible and okay to communicate with anyone via video on a PC. It was the realization of a dream that stretched back to 1927's Metropolis and the 1960s cartoon of the future The Jetsons.

I'll miss Skype, its dial-in sound, and even the name. Maybe Microsoft will find another use for it, though I struggle to imagine what that might be.

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Microsoft has confirmed that Skype, the iconic video conferencing program, will shut down in May 2025. That means you've only got three months left to swap over - if you haven't already jumped ship already.

As reported by XDA Developers, a hidden message inside the HMTL code for the Skype for Windows program reads: "Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams." The statement is definitive, capping off the program's two-decade-long run by saying: "Move to Teams today" and "{userCount} of your friends have already moved to Teams".

Since its launch in 2003, Skype has been the de facto way of messaging, video conferencing, and audio calls across computers, later adopting mobile platforms, too. It was purchased by Microsoft in 2011, replacing some of the company's services for Skype, such as Windows Live Messenger and others. The program was later attempted to be integrated directly into Windows in 2015, a plan that was never fully realized.

However, Skype ran the risk of being cannibalized alongside Microsoft Teams, the company's newest communications venture, which debuted in 2017. Since its release, Teams has been heavily promoted by the company as the new way to communicate casually and professionally, with a lighter user interface and seamless integration between devices. As a consequence, Skype for Business was officially retired in 2021 after Microsoft announced it would be sunsetting the service in 2019.

The final nail in the coffin for Skype was its steep decline that happened during 2020. Despite a rebrand and a facelift from Microsoft, the Zoom alternative saw its numbers slipping significantly from the most popular conferencing program a decade prior, to only around 36 million monthly users, a decrease of 75% percent. While these numbers sound impressive, that's before realizing that Microsoft Teams was averaging anywhere from 250 to 300 million users a month from 2020 onwards and has remained steady since (via CNBC).

The end of Skype has finally arrived

The news of Skype's closure should not be surprising for many, as the bulk of its users had already long since transitioned to a newer (and likely faster) alternative that could do more. Skype was primarily billed around one-on-one communication, which is now something we've been able to do through Apple's FaceTime, WhatsApp, Discord, Facebook Messenger, and dozens of other programs for desktops and smartphones for a while now. Skype simply has not been needed for a long time, especially once the cracks in its functionality began to show.

Microsoft purchased Skype for $8.5 billion in cash with a 300% markup from its original valuation in 2007, when eBay purchased the program for $2.6 billion back in 2007. The service was thought of as the next big thing, which was later integrated into the company's ill-fated Windows phones and was even (briefly) a mandatory part of Windows 10. However, 2011 was a lifetime ago in the age of social media, where so much has arrived to replace it.

For all its faults, Microsoft Teams is a frontrunner for professional business use alongside the likes of Zoom and Google Meet. If you're having a video meeting in 2025, it's almost a certainty that you'll be using one of these three instead of booting up Skype, which feels primitive by comparison. Retirement for the program was a long time coming, and frankly, it's surprising that it even lasted this long in the first place.

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• Zoom's new Workflow Automation looks to save you time on repetitive tasks
• It won’t cost you any more, and is available now
• Zoom AI now alsosupports even more languages

Zoom has lifted the wraps off a new AI-powered tool designed to assist workers with repetitive and administrative work, freeing them up more time to produce meaningful outcomes.

The new Workflow Automation service centers around no-code automation templates that users can select and tweak to get certain tasks done for them, promising support for third-party apps as well as the company’s own software.

Head of Team Chat, Wei Li, described the feature as easy to use for workers who aren’t technically minded, adding: “Empowering people with AI to help them get more done is core to what we do at Zoom.”

Zoom on AI-powered productivity software

In its announcement, Zoom described how Workflow Automation could be used to generate summaries after meetings, and have that summary added directly into a Zoom Doc, Google Doc or Word document, before automatically sharing that document in a Team Chat channel, all without the involvement or direction of a worker (beyond the initial setup).

Zoom slated its competitors for requiring workers to possess a certain amount of technical knowledge, adding that its no-code technology can be used by virtually anyone for pretty significant productivity boosts.

At the same time, the California-based company previously known for its video conferencing software – which now wants to be known for its AI-enhance Workplace software – added new features to its AI Companion tool.

With hybrid working still commonplace in many industries, companion audi in Zoom Rooms promises to enhance the experience by using workers’ individual laptops as additional microphones for clearer audio, rather than requiring companies to invest in multiple in-room mics.

Zoom is also adding a YouTube app within Zoom Meetings “soon,” promising native and lag-free video sharing for each individual participant rather than a cumbersome screen sharing experience.

Furthermore, support for Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Indonesian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese and Dutch (Netherlands) have all been added to extend the company’s reach into many of the world’s most populous countries.

Paying Zoom subscribers can now access Workflow Automation at no additional cost with versions 6.3.10 and above of the desktop app.

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• AWS is no longer accepting new users for its Chime service
• The business communications service launched in 2017
• Existing subscribers have one year to find an alternative

Amazon has revealed it is shuttering its in-house business communication services Chime.

In a blog post, AWS Technical Senior Product Manager Beth Styles confirmed the company will be ending support for Chime within one year.

Amazon’s in-house business communication services stopped accepting new users on February 19, 2025 – the day of the announcement, however, existing users have a full year, until February 20, 2026, before they will no longer be able to host meetings or use Business Calling features.

Amazon to discontinue Chime

Previously described as a “flexible communications service with pay-as-you-go pricing,” Chime had desktop, web and mobile clients and worked on major operating systems, including Linux.

A relatively new piece of software, when Chime launched in 2017 it cost from $2.50 per user per month.

“Features that will no longer be supported include scheduling and hosting meetings, adding and managing users, and other capabilities available using the Amazon Chime console," Styles explained.

To be considered an existing user, account holders will need to have created a Team or Enterprise account before February 19, 2025. Users are being advised to delete their data and set up accounts elsewhere, but Amazon’s Support team are on hand for anybody struggling with data deletion.

Amazon has a dedicated guide for transitioning to other providers. Styles said: “We know that you may need support to transition to other collaboration solutions.”

Recommended systems include another in-house solution, AWS Wickr, as well as third-party software like Zoom, Webex and Slack.

AWS VP of Enterprise Applications Gene Farrell said the software was designed to give workers something that was easy to use and affordable to run, however around three years later when workers were sent home at the height of the pandemic, it was the likes of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet that got the world’s attention – struggling with intense competition could be partly to blame for Chime’s demise.

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The need for human connection has never been more pronounced. According to data from the American Psychiatric Association on the ‘loneliness epidemic’, 30% of adults said they experienced loneliness at least one day a week over the past year, mostly felt by those aged between 18-34. In this context, the workplace plays an essential role in fostering relationships. Yet, the shift to remote work has introduced a new dynamic to team interactions that virtual tools alone cannot fully address.

While virtual tools have provided crucial support, they cannot fully replicate the depth of in-person experiences. Insights from our 2025 Meetings & Events Forecast reveal that meeting planners overwhelmingly agree in-person meetings are far more effective for fostering collaboration, strengthening relationships, and building engagement. These findings highlight the challenges businesses face in bridging the gap left by reduced face-to-face interactions, where virtual formats often fall short in creating the same sense of connection and communication.

Meeting attendee expectations

Attendees are now approaching in-person meetings with heightened expectations. The shift to hybrid and remote work has made these gatherings more intentional, and as a result, they come with a higher bar for quality. Whether it’s the time invested in travel or the desire to make the most of face-to-face interactions, attendees expect events that feel purposeful and rewarding.

Key factors that contribute to memorable meetings include compelling content, unique venues, and desirable destinations. According to the event professionals we surveyed, these elements rank as the top priorities for creating a successful event. However, the challenge lies in delivering these experiences while navigating budget constraints and logistical hurdles, particularly as travel and accommodation costs remain high. Planners must balance creativity with cost-effectiveness, ensuring venues are accessible, welcoming, and capable of delivering an exceptional experience. Unlike virtual meetings, where information is just a click away, in-person events require thoughtful orchestration to leave a lasting impression.

Technology for connection

Hybrid events have introduced a whole new set of opportunities—and, let’s be honest, some logistical hurdles—when it comes to engaging attendees. We’ve all experienced the cumbersome pauses as remote participants try to jump into a lively in-room discussion, or the muted enthusiasm of those watching from a laptop at home. When done well, however, hybrid formats can create an inclusive and seamless experience, allowing remote attendees to feel just as involved as those in the room. Technologies like advanced live-streaming, real-time translation, and even augmented reality are helping to level the playing field. By closing the gap between virtual and in-person participants, these tools are transforming hybrid meetings into platforms that foster equal engagement, no matter where attendees are tuning in from.

Mobile apps, real-time engagement tools, and AI-powered solutions are also quickly becoming the backbone of modern meetings, allowing organizers to elevate experiences while addressing logistical challenges.

For instance, AI is transforming attendee matchmaking by ensuring the right people are connecting, while also providing actionable insights on content effectiveness and engagement levels. Meanwhile, mobile apps have become essential for streamlining check-ins, sharing personalized agendas, and facilitating real-time feedback. Live polling, QR codes, and virtual reality tools are making meetings more interactive, dynamic, and responsive to attendee needs.

According to Forrester’s 2024 State of B2B Events Survey, organizations that integrate their event technology platforms into broader marketing stacks report a 31% higher satisfaction rate with their events. However, Forrester also highlights that only 20% of enterprises have achieved this level of integration, underscoring a significant opportunity for teams to harness technology to craft events that feel seamless, tailored, and memorable.

Why meetings still matter

While technology enables us to make meetings better, the irreplaceable value of human connection remains the core of why they matter. Face-to-face interactions are consistently seen as more effective for activities like brainstorming, team building, and onboarding—those moments that require rapport and trust to truly succeed.

The most successful meetings embrace innovation but remain rooted in their purpose: to bring people together in meaningful ways. It’s this dual focus that defines the future of meetings and events.

In a world where the office is no longer the default space for collaboration, strategically planned meetings have become the key to maintaining strong team dynamics. As companies navigate the complexities of hybrid work, it’s these meetings—amplified by technology but rooted in human interaction—that will define the future of work. By combining thoughtful use of technology with the irreplaceable value of face-to-face interaction, we can ensure that meetings continue to unite teams and propel businesses forward.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• More revealed on Microsoft Teams "Storyline" feature
• Facebook-esque news feed would let co-workers share updates
• Likes, shares, and more could all be coming to Microsoft Teams

Keeping up with all the latest updates from your colleagues and co-workers could soon be a bit more difficult to avoid thanks to a new addition apparently coming to Microsoft Teams.

A report from The Verge has claimed a full social media news feed-esque feature is coming to the video conferencing platform soon, letting users post updates, news and more, with the ability to like and share.

"Multiple sources" at Microsoft have apparently confirmed the plan, the report says, with the feature, called Storyline, currently undergoing testing within the company.

Microsoft Teams Storyline

Storyline is not a new idea, having been quietly announced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2024, with echoes actually calling back to summer 2022 as an identically-named part of Viva Engage, but the report now offers a bit more clarity on how it will actually work.

Housed within the Chat section of Microsoft Teams, users will now see the option to add a "new storyline post" alongside creating a new message or channel post.

Posts will be shared across the new Storyline tab, accessed via a user profile, with users able to follow and subscribe to updates from their co-workers, along with the ability to write comments or react using emojis.

Microsoft says the new function can be used to celebrate or recognize particular work events or anniversaries, as well as major updates from employers and co-workers alike.

“Employee communications are often scattered across multiple locations, leading to frustration, delays, and overload," Microsoft had said about the feature at Ignite 2024.

"Storyline in Teams empowers leaders to share communications with an entire company, and simplifies the ways you and your colleagues share and connect. The Storyline integration provides a new way to discover content, contribute your ideas and perspectives, and express yourself while staying in your flow of work in Teams.”

Storyline is expected to launch for a public preview in Q1 2025, but there's no concrete release date just yet.

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TelephoneSystems.Cloud stands out from the crowd of VoIP providers as its automated quote system lets you set your entire business service up without having to speak to any representatives. We tested this by visiting the main website (given away by the company name) and clicking on the “Get Quote” button, after which we were guided through a set of questions asking about our requirements.

For our VoIP testbed, we requested four users, chose to use our own internet provider, opted for softphones and our existing desk phones, skipped the optional Webex Teams+ and Presenter, asked for new UK phone numbers and selected the automated installation service. TelephoneSystems.Cloud presented us with an itemized bill showing a £60 setup fee and monthly charges of £11 per user, which we agreed to by completing the transaction with our banking details and setting an admin account password.

You’re nearly there now; the next web page asks for a preferred area code, details of the services required such as call groups and queues, plus auto-attendants and the MAC addresses of existing desk phones. Lastly, you add details of your users, provide passwords and choose their extension numbers.

On completion, we received an email and SMS advising us the account was being created. It was ready for action two hours later, and at no time during this process did we speak to anyone.

From our account dashboard, we saw that all our users had already been assigned a direct inbound dial (DID) number from the block we’d requested. Onboarding is simple: you issue an email invitation from the dashboard that provides a link to the Webex client and mobile apps, along with instructions on setting them up.

After installation, users sign in with the Webex email address and password the system assigned to them and they’re ready to start making and receiving calls. This is the standard Webex app so it offers plenty of useful features, including personal contact lists and a quick access dial pad. Integral videoconferencing lets users make video calls with consummate ease.

Pre-configured desk phones can be ordered online, with choices including Yealink, Jabra and Polycom. For our own Yealink T42S models, instructions were emailed to us so we just entered the supplied provisioning URL in their web consoles and, after a firmware upgrade, they were automatically assigned to each user.

Voice prompts for services such as the auto-attendant, voicemail, holiday greetings and on-hold messages can be added, and TelephoneSystems.Cloud goes a step further than many providers with its AI text-to-speech service, which costs £10 per message. Alternatively, you can upload your own audio files to an online library, and the company even offers professional voice actors to create them for you, with online quote services provided.

The dashboard presents plenty of account information and a call history graph for the past six months, while the billing section keeps you posted on the latest invoices and upcoming payments. All the action takes place in the account portal, which lists your sites, assigned numbers, all users and associated devices such as desk phones and mobile apps.

An incredible range of call-handling services are available and include an auto-attendant, call center, call parking, groups for ringback, hunt and pickup and much more. Rules control the numbers and countries to which outbound calls can be made, while group contacts are synced to Webex so they appear in the apps.

TelephoneSystems. Cloud is a great choice for businesses that know what they want from cloud-hosted VoIP services. The quote process is impressively smooth, and it offers a wealth of easily accessible call features at a competitive price.

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UK-based Gradwell has been in the communications business for over 25 years, and its Wave cloud VoIP service will appeal to SMBs seeking a smooth transition from their legacy analogue systems. Deployment is a breeze. Gradwell manages the process for you, and pricing is easy to understand as you only need to concern yourself with the number of monthly call minutes to landlines and mobiles that you require.

Wave comes in three packages, and they all offer the same call-handling features along with the Wave desktop and mobile apps. The Wave 100 package costs £7.50 per user per month and provides 100 monthly call minutes; Wave 1000 starts at £10.50 and allows 1,000 minutes; and Wave 3000 costs from £15 and, you’ve guessed it, offers 3,000 minutes.

Reliability is assured since Gradwell hosts Wave on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and will create new instances as needed to cope with increased demand. Redundancy is covered, too, with Wave being deployed across three geographically diverse AWS sites.

Gradwell handles all on-boarding by creating your main admin portal account, assigning phone numbers and adding a base set of users if you’ve requested them. Desk phones can be added to your order and will arrive pre-registered to your account so you only have to plug them in.

The Wave administration portal presents an account usage overview and provides easy access to all the core features and call-routing services. To add new users, you simply enter an email address to send their invitation to, set a password and decide whether to give them admin privileges or just make them Wave users.

Direct inbound dial (DID) numbers and available desk phones can be assigned to each user, and you have options to enable voicemail, activate inbound and outbound call recording and set up call diverts to an external number or another Wave user. Multi-factor authentication can be enabled, and when users activate their account they receive a personal web portal and download links for the Windows, macOS, iOS and Android softphones.

The Wave user portal is a simple affair, with options to withhold their outbound CLI, access voicemail, assign busy lamp fields (BLFs) to their desk phone screen menus and view a contact list. A softphone is required to make and receive calls, and we had no problems installing it on Windows 10 and 11 desktops along with iPads.

The softphone offers the same features as the web portal and adds a dial-pad, a recent call list and access to settings such as notifications and sounds. Gradwell removed videoconferencing from the softphone a couple of years ago, and this is now handled by its separate Teams+ service, which costs £2.50 per user per month and allows users to make and receive calls and run VC sessions directly from the Teams desktop app.

As you’d expect with such a mature product, call-handling features are abundant and include hunt groups with multiple routing steps, call conferencing, pick-up groups and automatic routing based on calendars or bank holidays. Call queues advise callers that they’ll be recorded, play music on hold and present them with a range of custom messages, while Wave’s interactive voice response (IVR) service allows you to record custom voice prompts, upload a WAV file or use the Wave default prompts.

Gradwell’s Wave provides an easily deployed cloud-hosted VoIP solution with sophisticated call handling features. Its flexible price plans are very affordable, and micro-businesses will find Gradwell’s new PSTN replacement bundle appealing as this starts at £9.50 per month and provides everything you’ll need, including a broadband connection, for a pain-free move to VoIP.

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In today’s increasingly connected world, the need for reliable, high-speed internet connectivity is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for both organizations and consumers alike. As more individuals and businesses continue to rely more heavily on digital platforms and technologies, the demand for seamless, secure and robust connectivity has never been so important. For many businesses, connectivity is not just about operational efficiency, it is at heart of business operations, innovation, and security in an age where even minor outages can cause significant disruptions.

This landscape highlights the important role vendors play in ensuring businesses have access to the necessary IT infrastructure and tools needed to succeed. Through focusing on inclusive policies, implementing advanced technologies, and offering tailored solutions, vendors can empower businesses to meet the challenges today’s digital world brings.

Bridging the digital divide for a more inclusive society

Delivering good connectivity for all is vital for fostering a more inclusive and safer digital society. The digital divide – the gap between those with access to reliable internet and those without – still remains a pressing issue globally. For organizations, this divide can translate into unequal opportunities, limited innovation, and reduced competitiveness in underserved regions. Addressing this issue requires a united effort among governments, industries, and internet service providers (ISPs).

Governments play a key role in facilitating widespread connectivity through funding infrastructure projects in underserved regions and establishing policies that incentivize private sector participation. Programs aimed at rural broadband expansion and low-cost internet services ensure that businesses in remote areas can compete on an equal footing with their urban counterparts.

Beyond access, connectivity must be affordable and environmentally sustainable. Vendors and ISPs need to have a bigger focus on low-cost, energy-efficient technologies, providing technology that can stand the test of time as networking continues to get more advanced, whether that’s through utilizing scalable solutions that doesn’t require costly replacements. These collective efforts foster a more inclusive digital society, ensuring businesses across the UK have the tools needed to succeed in today’s modern digital landscape.

Unlocking opportunities for ISPs and vendors

With increased innovation and advanced technology across a number of sectors, this presents a number of opportunities for ISPs and vendors to delivery comprehensive and advanced solutions that are tailored for the evolving needs of many businesses. Through adopting and implementing emerging technologies and enhancing service offerings, ISPs can strengthen their role in enabling businesses to succeed. ISPs and vendors can offer a number of benefits for businesses, including:

Premium services and tiered packages: Businesses often have varying and evolving needs when it comes to connectivity. Large organizations may require ultra-fast speeds and robust cybersecurity, while smaller businesses may prioritize affordability and reliability. ISPs can offer tiered service packages ensuring that businesses of all sizes can access the right level of support.

Enhanced network management: Advanced tools for network monitoring, optimization and management allow ISPs to adjust performance in real-time. For businesses, this translates to offering minimal downtime and consistent performance, which is essential for organizations to stay competitive.

Scalable solutions for growth: ISPs and vendors can provide businesses with flexible and scalable connectivity options that grow alongside their needs. Whether expanding to new locations, onboarding more users, or adopting cloud applications, these solutions ensure businesses maintain optimal performance and seamless connectivity as they evolve.

These tailored offerings not only benefit businesses but also enhance the ISP's reputation and customer loyalty. By positioning themselves as reliable partners, vendors and ISPs can secure long-term relationships which helps to drive mutual growth.

Transformative power of advanced technologies

The rise of technologies like Wi-Fi 7 represents a dramatic shift in the way businesses operate. These advancements go beyond offering fast connections, but address critical needs for stability, security, and scalability in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Wi-Fi 7 introduces groundbreaking features such as multi-gig connectivity and improved latency. For businesses, this offers a range of benefits, from uninterrupted video conferencing, smoother data transfers, to enhanced support for IoT devices. These capabilities are particularly important for verticals like education and hospitality, where unstable connectivity can cause significant disruption and financial loss.

Having reliable and seamless connectivity has never been more important. Next-generation technologies enable fast and efficient communication through advanced networks and optimized access points, empowering businesses to stay connected and operating. By leveraging these innovations, organizations can enhance collaboration, streamline operations, and adapt more effectively to today’s demands.

A collaborative path forward

For businesses to thrive in a digitally driven economy, robust and reliable connectivity is vital. The role of vendors and ISPs in delivering this connectivity is at the centre, but success requires a collaborative approach. Governments, industries, and technology providers must work together to bridge the digital divide, unlock the potential of emerging technologies, and create a sustainable and secure digital ecosystem.

By focusing on inclusivity, innovation, and tailored solutions, vendors can empower businesses to achieve their full potential. In turn, businesses can leverage these robust solutions to drive growth, foster innovation, and navigate the complexities of an ever-evolving digital world. The future of connectivity is not just about speed or reliability; it is about creating opportunities, ensuring equity, and building resilience in a world where technology is at the heart of business operations.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Zoom Team Chat is now smarter with AI Companion integration
• The AI upgrades are free of charge for paying customers
• Zoom Chat also has improvements for developers

In its effort to become the go-to “AI-first work platform for human connection” – a term coined by the company in its Zoom 2.0 rebranding in November 2024 – Zoom has introduced a series of new AI tools to its Team Chats.

The redesigned Team Chat sidebar includes new organization functions like drag-and-drop tab arrangement, advanced sorting and filtering.

Key to the updated Team Chat sidebar are the new AI Companion enhancements, which include conversation summarization in select chats and channels, action item identification and information retrieval through an improve search feature.

Zoom overhauls its Team Chat sidebar with AI

“With Zoom Team Chat, you can do cross-product work and be more productive with Zoom Workplace’s AI-first products like Zoom Docs, Zoom Meetings, and Zoom Whiteboard," Zoom CPO Smita Hashim commented.

In a bid to cater to its developer users, Zoom has also added code block and in-line code support to help users format and share code from within the application.

“Our new Team Chat sidebar design takes this to the next level by empowering users to collaborate smarter and customize their workspace to fit their preferred workflow," added Hashim.

"With AI Companion… users can triage and track their messages more easily, saving time and allowing them to focus on what matters most.”

The redesigned sidebar and AI Companion are available to paying Zoom Workplace subscribers for no additional charge.

The new changes are part of CEO Eric Yuan’s plan to make Zoom 2.0 a “fully customizable digital twin” that can save employees an entire working day each week in unproductive time.

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• Copilot and Microsoft Teams get new features
• Copilot will now suggest follow-up questions in meetings
• Extra questions could be on meeting topics, clarification or other areas

Wrapping up your Microsoft Teams meetings on time may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new Copilot feature.

Microsoft's AI tool will now be able to suggest follow ups to, "keep the conversation going", when responding to a prompt, whether you like it or not, the company has revealed.

This could mean your video conferencing calls drag on a little longer than expected - or you and your colleagues are able to stumble on some previously unknown insights.

Microsoft Teams and Copilot

News of the update was revealed in a post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, where it was simply entitled "Copilot in Meetings will suggest follow up questions to ask it".

The post noted that the feature will consist of Copilot in Teams Meetings suggesting follow ups when it answers a prompt from a user.

Microsoft says these follow-up questions will "generally" be based on the response Copilot has given in the past, meaning they could focus on a particular topic, asking for more details, or clarifying what a particular person has said during the meeting.

The feature is still listed as being in development for the time being, but Microsoft has listed an expected rollout start date of March 2025, meaning users won't have too long to wait.

When released, the feature will be available to users on Windows and Mac, on desktop, across the world.

The news is the latest in a raft of additions and improvements to Microsoft Teams in recent months as the service looks to stay useful for users across the world.

Most recently, Microsoft Teams revealed it will be introducing transcription for multi-lingual meetings, supporting more languages than ever, even when it comes to meeting recaps.

The news will also see an improved version of document summaries, generated and supplied by Copilot, to help users stay on track with their chats.

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• New Microsoft Teams Rooms features transform meeting spaces into communication hubs
• Flexibility for hybrid meetings with third-party platform integration
• IntelliFrame technology optimizes remote attendee engagement and visibility

As the demand for hybrid work solutions grows, Microsoft Teams Rooms is adding digital signage and advanced AI tools aimed at fostering greater collaboration in the workplace.

The new features allow for displays to function in signage mode when not in active use for meetings. It also enables organizations to broadcast company information, announcements, or multimedia content, transforming meeting spaces into hubs for communication.

Furthermore, it integrates two content management systems (CMS), Appspace and XOGO, which allows for streamlined onboarding and management of Teams Rooms devices within these CMS platforms.

Microsoft Teams Rooms digital signage

In a blog post, Microsoft outlined how it released signage mode to boost communication. When a display is not in use, it can be set to signage mode which enables it to intermittently display specific information like upcoming events, company news, internal campaigns etc.

Also, through the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal, users can configure digital signage settings, select preferred CMS providers, and manage content from a central location. For organizations using different CMS systems, custom web URLs can be added as signage sources, providing flexibility beyond the pre-integrated solutions.

Additionally, the signage mode can be activated based on a timer, which specifies idle display time, automatically switching off before scheduled meetings to prepare for use.

Microsoft is also rolling out new AI-driven features designed to enhance online collaboration in Teams Rooms, using Copilot to will provide intelligent meeting recaps and action items, aiming to improve information retention and foster productivity for in-person, remote, and hybrid meetings alike.

Teams Rooms will use Microsoft’s speaker recognition technology to isolate individual voices, even in noisy environments, allowing participants in busy or shared workspaces to communicate more effectively. These Copilot capabilities will eventually even extend to impromptu meetings held in person, allowing users to activate the assistant even without a formal meeting set up.

To ensure an inclusive experience for remote attendees, Microsoft has implemented IntelliFrame, a feature that individually frames participants to improve engagement and visibility, including automatic camera switching, selecting the best view based on multiple in-room camera angles, promising a more immersive experience for remote attendees.

Recognizing the evolving nature of the workplace, Microsoft has introduced improvements for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) meeting rooms and bookable desks. New updates, like shared display mode, allow users to easily share content while preserving privacy for desktop items, and also add intelligent audio features including speaker recognition.

Furthermore, IT administrators can gain access to valuable data for inventory management and space planning through the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. The portal’s new remote management features provide a centralized solution for overseeing Teams Rooms and Surface Hub devices, enabling IT staff to configure software, troubleshoot issues, and maintain system performance remotely.

For cross-platform collaboration, Microsoft is expanding SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) compatibility, enabling Teams Rooms to connect seamlessly with third-party conferencing services like Google Meet, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and others.

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• Microsoft wants to sell you a subscription to use Skype
• You can no longer buy Skype Credit to make phone calls
• Custom phone numbers have been discontinued, no replacement

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft Teams fully replaced Skype when it launched in 2017, but its video conferencing predecessor is still going strong, and has jumped on the subscription train.

In a major change for the platform, Microsoft has quietly removed two of its key premium features – Skype Credit and custom phone numbers.

Instead, Microsoft is pushing Skype customers towards subscriptions for calling plans, ending the flexibility that one-time credits previously offered and potentially proving more costly for irregular users.

Skype goes subscription-based

The change was first noticed by a moderator on Microsoft’s Skype forums, who stated: “Skype has stopped purchase of Skype Credit for all users. The only option available now are monthly calling subscriptions.”

Microsoft later confirmed the changes in an email to TechCrunch, adding it, “continuously evaluate(s) product strategy based on customer usage and needs.”

Anybody with credit already applied to their account can continue to use it, so long as they use it once every six months to keep it active, however new purchases for credit are no longer possible.

Calling landlines and mobile numbers now requires a subscription, and Skype-to-Skype calls remain free and unaffected. However, users of Skype’s virtual phone numbers for international calls or outbound SMS messaging have been most affected, because Microsoft has not confirmed a direct replacement.

In the years following its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype in 2011, Microsoft has slowly deprioritized the platform and largely replaced it with Teams. The company no longer shares its user base in earnings reports, however increased competition from the likes of Zoom and Cisco have put pressure on Skype in a post-pandemic world where video conferencing remains a staple of hybrid working.

In the meantime, Skype’s interface still suggests that users can buy credits, leading to failed payments. Microsoft acknowledged inconsistency in its messaging, and promised to update it accordingly.

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UK productivity has suffered in recent years, often described as ailing or in crisis, and the Labour government has made improving productivity levels central to its new agenda. The consequences of ‘ailing’ productivity for the UK is far-reaching, from lower wages, to job losses and reduced economic growth. All of which are placing a strain on businesses, individuals and communities alike.

The productivity puzzle is further complicated by the lingering impact of the seismic shifts the world of work went through during the pandemic. Recent trends have seen a desire for flexibility battle with corporate mandates on returning to the office. Amazon’s recent shift to a full time office mandate was met with uproar from employees, but bosses remain insistent that this is the best move for the business. And, they aren’t alone, in the UK, the finance industry is rumored to be eyeing a full time return to the office. Such mandates have sparked all sorts of criticism about employee morale and productivity.

The problem is clearly a complex one, but its solution is hardly likely to lie in employee effort alone. In fact, the key may potentially lie in an expected place - it may sit in the technology we all use everyday.

It can happen from anywhere

There is plenty of evidence that when done right, hybrid working doesn’t impact business productivity. In fact, many of the trends out there suggest that it is when technology fails employees that they feel disconnected, unmotivated, and unproductive.

This is hardly surprising when 93% of communication is nonverbal, from body language to facial expressions and tone of voice, we absorb a multitude of external signals every day that lead to deeper relationships, collaboration and improving overall productivity.

For businesses, it is effective use of technology that can help the divide between home and the office to disappear. Video conferencing solutions allow that allow all team members to be equally seen and heard, can help build a sense of connection and collaboration, even when team members are physically separated.

The AI behind the connection

Consider for a moment, the frequency of your meetings nowadays where the split between home and office can often leave remote participants relegated to a few tiny pixels on a screen, unable to participate in the in-room dynamics.

AI-powered framing tech solves this issue by automatically framing everyone in the space, brining them up close so that remote participants can see and understand everything that’s going on. It’s a minor change, but one that can transform morale and engagement.

It’s not just what you see, but what you hear too. Advanced audio technology is vital for establishing a focused and productive meeting atmosphere. Background noise is a common challenge in remote working, disrupting communication and distracting others. By filtering out unwelcome sounds, AI-driven noise cancellation enhances audio clarity, thereby boosting engagement, contributions, and, naturally, productivity.

Additionally, audio technology that resolves 'double talk' issues—allowing multiple speakers to be heard clearly during dynamic discussions—is crucial for supporting productivity in hybrid meetings.

Reimagining the workplace

Embracing a technologically advanced and truly hybrid approach to work can be the real different between a productive and unproductive team. These days, a traditional office spaces are increasingly seen as barriers to productivity. To thrive in this new era, organizations must embrace innovative approaches to work design and technology.

Philip Ross, a leading expert on workplace transformation, argues that we need to "unwork" our current practices. By questioning outdated assumptions and habits, we can create more flexible, efficient, and fulfilling work environments.

Technology, when used strategically, can be a powerful tool for boosting productivity. AI, automation, and collaboration tools can streamline tasks, enhance communication, and create a sense of community. However, it's essential to remember that technology is not a silver bullet. The human element remains crucial - business should see the two as intertwined not mutually exclusive.

A future of human-centric technology

A truly productive workplace is one where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered. By prioritizing human-centric design and investing in innovative office technology, employers can create a future where productivity and wellbeing thrive.

To achieve this vision, businesses must adopt a holistic approach to workplace transformation. This involves not only investing in technology but also encouraging a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. By embracing the power of technology and human ingenuity, the UK can unlock its full potential and emerge as a global leader in productivity.

Building a competitive edge

People need to feel connected in order to do their best work. They like to feel confident in meetings and want authentic ways of communicating with each other. They want to add value; to be seen and heard.

This feeling of connection – boosted by technology that is inclusive of everyone in hybrid and office settings – will inspire a new age of productivity in businesses. And who knows, with the right investment in people through technology, we might be able to solve this productivity puzzle once and for all.

Working remotely? We list the best iOS productivity apps.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Zoom reveals rebrand, says it has achieved what it wanted in terms of its video conferencing platform
• The company is now going all-in on its Workplace office software
• Quarterly revenue growth is slowing down

Zoom has rebranded itself in a major shift away from the video conferencing solution that we’ve all come to know and "love" – and the company now wants you to know it as an “AI-first work platform for human connection.”

In a blog post entitled “Allow us to reintroduce ourselves,” CEO Eric Yuan recalls the founding of the company in 2011, when its goal was to become the “best video conferencing solution on the market,” a target it certainly delivered on during the pandemic when the rise of video calling allowed it to become synonymous with both personal and workplace communications.

The so-called “Zoom 2.0” now wants to be so much more than just a video conferencing solution, but don’t worry, video calls aren’t going anywhere just yet.

Zoom 2.0

Speaking about advances in artificial intelligence, Yuan now describes Zoom as an “AI-first company,” and key to this is AI Companion which is integrated throughout the Zoom Workplace portfolio.

In a bold statement, Yuan proposed: “Over time, we believe these capabilities will translate into a fully customizable digital twin equipped with your institutional knowledge, freeing up a whole day’s worth of work and allowing you to work just four days per week.”

Previously a 48-hour affair, the CEO recalls Henry Ford’s work in automation to bring the typical working week down to 40 hours. He now wants to bring back another eight hours to everyone’s lives.

“Zoom is now about so much more than video meetings,” said Yuan, who has removed the ‘Video’ from the company’s formal name – ‘Zoom Video Communications, Inc.’ The company hasn't shared details of where it's heading in terms of new product launches, but the newly added Zoom Docs and the upgraded Zoom AI Companion 2.0 suggest it could be looking on to take more established giants like Microsoft and Google.

The firm also announced that third-quarter revenue stood at $1.177 billion, marking a 3.6% year-over-year growth. Fourth-quarter figures aren’t predicted to be so healthy, with anticipated revenue of between $1.175 billion and $1.180 billion.

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• Automatic framing is coming to all Google Meet users
• The Feature will automatically position you in the center of the video frame
• Framing can be adjusted at any time, and will even work with virtual backgrounds

Looking your best on the morning team video call could soon be a lot easier thanks to a new update coming to Google Meet.

The video conferencing platform has revealed its automatic framing tool will be coming to all Google Workspace platform tiers, giving more users a better depiction of themselves whilst on a call.

The tool helps automatically center users in the middle of the screen when joining a video call or meeting, meaning they are properly framed and as visible as possible.

Google Meet framing

Automatic framing was launched by Google Workspace back in 2022, but until now has only been available on selected tiers. Going forward, it will be on by default for all users, and there is no admin control required.

"Depending on their camera placement, some meeting participants might be less visible than others," the company noted in a Google Workspace update blog post. "With automatic framing, Google Meet will automatically center your video before joining a meeting to help ensure equal visibility for all participants."

The feature kicks in before a user joins the call, but can be re-adjusted at any time during a meeting by the user if they want to refresh how they look, by hovering over the video tile and clicking reframe.

The tool will also now work better with virtual backgrounds, which previously may have affected how a user is framed while on a call. Google says Meet will, "continuously keep you centered when using a virtual background, ensuring your background is fixed and not constantly reframing which can be distracting."

The news is the latest in a series of recent updates for Google Meet in recent weeks as it looks to become more helpful and intuitive for users everywhere.

This includes a new picture-in-picture feed, which automatically opens when navigating into a different tab - useful for those who may have to search for relevant information or data from different sources.

Google's Gemini AI platform will also now automatically take notes during a meeting, letting users "drop the pen" and focus more clearly on the meeting instead of splitting focus between listening and taking notes on video conferencing calls.

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• Messenger has rolled out video and audio improvements for video and voice calls
• You can now leave voicemails on Messenger, much like on FaceTime
• There’s also a deeper integration with iOS that enables Siri support

Meta has unveiled plans to turn Messenger into a more capable video conferencing solution as it looks to keep up with other advanced work-based alternatives.

Key to the enhancements are a series of upgrades designed to improve the video calling experience, and unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence makes a guest appearance.

The new features is designed to grow the over seven billion minutes of Facebook and Messenger calls that the company already hosts every single day.

Meta upgrades video calling experience

Adding to existing Meta AI features within the Messenger app, users will soon be able to use AI-generated backgrounds to personalize video calls. Users can ‘Describe an image’ and pick from a selection of examples.

More important to those spending a lot of time conversing online, Meta is adding HD support for video calls together with background noise suppression and voice isolation. Wi-Fi connections will enable HD calls automatically, and users can choose whether to continue using HD quality over mobile data.

Audio and video voice messages now allow users to leave messages for contacts who don’t answer, much like a traditional voicemail. The social media platform likened the new feature to a “fully outfitted phone, plus some extra features,” but the feature comes a year after Apple introduced similar functionality to FaceTime.

In an era of constant investigations into anticompetitive business practices, the final feature is a welcome move that will see iPhone users make the most out of the app. Messenger now integrates with Siri, so users can ask the voice assistant to “send a message to” a contact and then dictate the content of the message.

The company proudly boasted the new feature rollout was the result of feedback from users, and that Messenger would become “easier, more reliable and more fun.”

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