On the platform side, Zoom’s big announcements included features like Zoom Docs, an AI-powered workspace for docs, wikis and work management. This is in addition to new Zoom AI Companion features such as the ability to generate ideas on a digital whiteboard and organization them into categories and expanded access to Zoom AI Companion for education and healthcare customers.

However, the company also made several announcements related to hybrid meetings at Zoomtopia, which is especially important to integrators that serve both residential and enterprise markets.

New Zoom Features for Hybrid Meetings

Following Zoomtopia, Zoom will begin rolling out name tags for each in-office meeting participant, so remote users will be able to identify people by name during the meeting and in meeting transcripts.

The company will also be adding a wayfinding feature next year, providing a map showing a route to the seat a hybrid worker reserved in the office.

In addition, Zoom will be rolling out new features next year for its virtual co-working tool Huddles, including “my office view,” which will help workers know when colleagues are in a virtual huddle or in the physical office along with their presence and location.

Zoom will also be rolling out this December Dynamic Layouts for Zoom Rooms, a feature designed to make it easier to follow a conversation between on-screen colleagues. Now available in beta, users will see video frames shift dynamically in real time as participants raise their hands or begin speaking so remote workers know here to focus their attention.

At Zoomtopia, Zoom also announced the general availability of Intelligent Director, a new feature designed to optimize the conference room experience for hybrid work, using multiple cameras to give every participant their own frame and best visual angle in Zoom Meetings. It supports up to three cameras with the ability to set it up for small, medium and large rooms.

Other hybrid meeting features include a new note-taking feature, improvements to continuous meeting chat, asynchronous video clips and a new scheduling tool.

Specific to AV teams, Zoom is rolling out later this year Pro AV for Zoom Rooms, a new tool for AV professionals to manage multiple physical and virtual audio and video streams. It features a wide range of hardware support and partners for cameras and controllers and is designed for AV experts integrating Zoom into large, custom events.

Zoom Partner Program Updates at Zoomtopia

The videoconferencing and collaboration provider also announced updates to the Zoom Up Partner Program while at Zoomtopia. This update adds three new levels to the partner program: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Partners can onboard to the Zoom Up program in just a few hours of training and move up to higher levels by demonstrating knowledge and skill of the Zoom portfolio.

Rewards re-tiered in accordance with the Zoom Up level achieved, the company says.

Zoom is also adding new offerings and resources, such as a partner customer success program, a partner support program, a new partner licensing program and more.

New Zoom Hardware

Meeting room hardware manufacturers have been helping integrators support their customers’ Zoom Room environments for many years, and many of those manufactures used Zoom’s event to announce new products, features and offerings of their own.

That includes Crestron, which announced Zoom certification for the Videobar 70 and intelligent video cameras and a new Zoom Phone Appliance and Scheduling Panel with Zoom Rooms software.

Meanwhile, HP and subsidiary Poly also announced several new offerings and products, including the Poly Studio Bundle, which the company says is designed to leverage the Zoom Rooms Intelligent Director feature by applying AI to create more equitable meeting experiences in large rooms. The bundle includes three Poly Studio E70 cameras, a Poly TC10 controller, and an HP Mini Conferencing PC.

In addition to the recently announced Poly Voyager Surround 85 UC Bluetooth headset, the company also announced two new HP webcams with 1080p resolution, automatic focus, lighting and color correction, two new wireless keyboards and a Bluetooth mouse.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site CEPro on October 10, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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Brad Hintze, EVP global marketing at Crestron, says, “With Crestron and Zoom, our shared customers know they can expect a high-quality and reliable collaboration experience throughout their enterprise, and Crestron continues to evolve our native Zoom solutions to add even more offerings.”

Zoomtopia 2023 News: Crestron Videobar 70 Approved by Zoom Team

Crestron’s all-in-one collaboration bar, the Videobar 70, has been approved by the Zoom team as a high-performing audio and video device for the Zoom Rooms software. Built on Android OS, the collaboration bar packs four high-resolution cameras with intelligent video capabilities, enabling speaker tracking, group framing, conversation mode, and beamforming microphones into one front-of-room solution. The Videobar 70 can detect speakers up to a 30-foot distance, making it ideal for medium and large conference rooms. Paired with a Crestron touch screen native to the Zoom Rooms platform, one-touch meeting joins and in-meeting control are a tap away for users.

For rooms that require optical PTZ cameras for presenter tracking and group framing, the AutoTracker and AutoFramer intelligent video cameras are now certified for the Zoom Rooms collaboration platform. Ideal for training rooms and classrooms, the AutoTracker cameras enable presenters to speak and move around naturally. Remote participants will be able to see them within the frame of the presentation area. The AutoFramer camera automatically adjusts the camera to frame all in-room participants

Within this quarter, Crestron says, Zoom will also certify the Hawk, which features dual 12x optical PTZ cameras that seamlessly show the active speaker by automatically matching audio location to the closest detected face.

Zoom Phone Appliance

Crestron’s phone product line now includes a Zoom Phone Appliance optimized for individual desktop use in the office or at home. Available in 8-inch and 10-inch touch screen models, the display provides a dedicated meeting device with a camera and 360-degree audio pickup, allowing users to keep their desktops available for other focused work. With the rise of hot desk stations and permanent remote workers, the Crestron Zoom Phone Appliance offers both populations a companion device to reduce overloading their PC for task-switching and improve their productivity.

Scheduling Panel with Zoom Software

Crestron will now offer a native Zoom Scheduling Panel for a consistent user experience both inside and outside of the room for organizations standardized on the Zoom Rooms platform. Crestron has historically offered certified scheduling solutions for Zoom, but this new product SKU will simplify and streamline the ordering process, the company says.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on October 3, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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In E2EE for Zoom Phone, once enabled by the account admin in the web portal, users will have a new option to upgrade to E2EE during calls between users on the same Zoom account that occur via the Zoom desktop or mobile client. Zoom says the upgrade takes a second and can help add an extra layer of privacy to calls occurring over Zoom Phone.

Once enabled, E2EE provides that the call is encrypted using cryptographic keys known only to the devices of the caller and receiver. Additionally, users will have the option to verify E2EE status by providing a unique security code to one another.

To use Zoom’s E2EE capabilities, users must have the following in place:

• The account admin will have to turn on E2EE via the web portal
• Callers will need to be on the same Zoom account, and can only make one-to-one phone calls
• Both callers have to use the Zoom Phone desktop or mobile client (PSTN is not supported)
• Both the callers will need to have automatic call recording turned off

In E2EE support for Breakout Rooms, users can break participants into groups for smaller discussions within a hosted E2EE Zoom meeting. Utilizing this feature will provide the same experience as a standard E2EE meeting, says Zoom, except each breakout room receives its own unique meeting encryption key. Users can leverage the feature when they need to add an extra layer of security for important, private, or just want to get certain people together during an E2EE meeting.

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That means Zoom Phone for domestic calling is now available in over 40 countries and territories, the company said in a press release. The release also includes Zoom’s Global Select Plan that allows a company to purchase – for a single price – domestic calling in 40-plus countries and territories where Zoom provides PSTN service.

Zoom’s phone options include connectivity covering the world through its Bring Your Own Carrier model, including in highly regulated markets.

In addition, a Zoom Phone Pro cloud telephony plan for customers that don’t require individual direct numbers for every employee starts at just $8 per user per month.

Read Next: My TechDecisions Podcast Episode 94: Zoom’s Hardware-as-a-Service Plan

In a blog, Zoom product marketing manager Cari Dick said the new offerings aim to simplify an organization’s global phone service with an easy-to-manage plan.

“Gone are the days when you had to manage a fleet of telecom carriers and contracts around the world,” Dick wrote.

“Our new Global Select plan enables companies located in any of the 40-plus countries and territories we serve to pay one flat price per user, with a streamlined process for managing domestic calling plans.”

Benefits include a flat rate of $20 per user per month for unlimited domestic calling, unlimited calling for one flat monthly rate, mix and match calling and unlimited international calling via an add-on service for 18 countries and territories.

“Since we launched Zoom Phone in January 2019, we’ve steadily pushed to expand availability in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and other European markets, providing PSTN coverage to ensure an easy path to cloud phone service for any organization,” Dick wrote.

“Today’s announcement furthers our commitment to creating a frictionless and simplified communications experience for all our global customers.”

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