By Laura Hyde |
Today’s hybrid working set up means reliable, inclusive communication is now an essential component of modern businesses. However, many organisations still face uneven audio quality, complex setups and the challenge of supporting remote participants, who often feel like observers. Additionally, IT teams are under pressure to deliver consistent performance across varied room types.
“Sennheiser helps to address these challenges with Microsoft Teams certified audio solutions that combine simplicity, scalability and natural sound,” says Christoph Härtwig, manager of strategic alliances and business communication at Sennheiser. “Whether through all-in-one collaboration bars, ceiling microphones or wireless systems, our aim is to make every participant feel equally present and every IT manager confident the setup will perform reliably.”
Organisations are also facing the challenge of ensuring meeting spaces are flexible and able to serve many purposes, such as a quick catch-up, a creative workshop or a meeting with in-office and off-site attendees. The Sennheiser portfolio has been created to support meeting space versatility by providing consistent, high-quality audio across all room types.
“For smaller and mid-sized rooms, the TeamConnect Bar S and Bar M combine audio, video and connectivity in one compact solution, making them ideal for quick setup and reliable performance,” explains Härtwig. “TeamConnect Bars utilise intelligent camera framing and beamforming microphone technology – multiple microphones that use signal processing to focus on sound from a specific direction while reducing noise from other directions – to keep every participant clearly seen and heard. Noise reduction and speech enhancement features ensure remote attendees experience the same clarity as those in the room.
“For larger or more flexible spaces, TeamConnect Ceiling microphones use dynamic beamforming to follow the speaker naturally, while SpeechLine Digital Wireless provides a dependable wireless option for presentations and auditoriums. The TeamConnect Ceiling Medium uses intelligent noise control to distinguish between human speech and background sounds, such as air conditioning or projector fans. This allows the system to stay focused on the speaker while filtering out unwanted noise. The result is cleaner audio for features such as real-time transcription and live captioning, which makes the meeting more accessible.”
To create complete and connected room systems, the Sennheiser range can be integrated with products from a wide network of partners to offer interoperability with certified control, processing and display technologies. “An exciting new example is our collaboration with Barco, where the ClickShare Hub, combined with Sennheiser TeamConnect Bars, will be available as one of the first certified room systems built on Microsoft’s Device Ecosystem Platform,” says Härtwig. “When every element of a room system works in harmony, people stop thinking about the technology and start connecting naturally.”
Each product in the Sennheiser TeamConnect Family, which includes collaboration bars and ceiling microphones, can be combined with other compatible Sennheiser or third-party products
Businesses aren’t the only organisations navigating the challenge of supporting communication between on- and off-site participants. When French university Aix-Marseille Université transitioned to hybrid learning, maintaining teaching quality for both in-person and remote students was critical. The university equipped hundreds of classrooms and lecture halls with Sennheiser SpeechLine Digital Wireless and TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphones, all centrally managed through Sennheiser Control Cockpit.
“These network-enabled, touchless systems delivered consistent, high-quality audio across every space, allowing lecturers to move freely while ensuring students joining remotely through Teams could hear clearly and participate fully,” says Härtwig. “The integration of Sennheiser microphones helped extend the one-to-one meeting experience into group learning spaces, so every voice could be heard with the same clarity and confidence. Remote management also simplified upkeep, giving the audio visual (AV) and IT teams peace of mind across multiple campuses.”
With meeting needs constantly evolving, what does Härtwig expect to come next for audio and AI in Microsoft Teams Rooms? “The next stage will focus on creating more adaptive, intelligent and inclusive meeting experiences,” he says. “AI will increasingly support features that remove barriers of language and accessibility, but this begins with clear, reliable audio at the source. In Teams Rooms, we expect to see systems automatically adapt to room acoustics, adjust to participant behaviour and provide proactive diagnostics to help IT teams manage spaces more efficiently. At the same time, responsible innovation will be essential. Ultimately, the goal is not to make meetings more automated but more human, where intelligent audio works quietly in the background so people can focus on understanding each other.”
Discover more insights like this in the Winter 2025 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.