Is the future of video conferencing in interoperability?
Cisco, Microsoft, and Samsung have teamed up to offer new meeting room solutions that they hope will attract even more businesses.
The announcement, which is geared toward supporting and improving hybrid collaboration experiences, consists of new integrated video conferencing solutions for Cisco Room Series.
The trio say that the joint effort comes as a response to the fact that an overwhelming majority (98%) of meetings now involve remote participants, a trend that has seen significant growth since the pandemic.Cisco teams up with Microsoft and Samsung
The new collaboration combines Cisco’s RoomOS-powered appliances, Samsung’s Smart Signage displays, and Front Row, a feature that’s supported by Microsoft Teams Rooms certified devices. Together, the companies reckon that the deep integration of software and hardware will “[eliminate] distance between meeting participants.”
Cisco EVP and General Manager for Security & Collaboration, Jeetu Patel, added: “Through our collaboration with these industry leaders, we’re delivering something we call Distance Zero, eliminating second-class experiences no matter where you are working.”
Hardware that works with the new solutions is already available, and the full functionalities are expected to be available in the coming months.
Devices include Samsung’s 5K and 4K UDH displays and the new 105-inch Samsung Smart Signage. Cisco devices and those using Microsoft Teams Rooms will also benefit from camera, audio, and speech-boosting artificial intelligence.
The partnership promises scalable, manageable, and secure solutions for meeting rooms, as well as interoperability between Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams.
However, Cisco isn’t the only company working with others to provide greater interoperability. More than a year ago, but in the wake of the pandemic, Google Meet and Zoom revealed that customers would be able to join calls on the opposing platform from their chosen tool.More from TechRadar Pro

The animated movie is going to be made using Unreal Engine 5.
In 2018 it was confirmed that Duncan Jones, director of Moon, Source Code and Warcraft among others, had a new project in the works and that it would be an adaptation of the comic book Rogue Trooper. Since then it has been very quiet and the project had more or less fallen into oblivion, but fast forward six years and we are there. Rouge Trooper is in production and it is an animated film that is scheduled to premiere next year.
Actors include Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell and Jack Lowden, known for their involvement in productions such as Dunkirk, Captain America and Slow Horses. Barnard takes on the role of the Rogue Trooper, a genetically modified super soldier who becomes the sole survivor of an invasion. He sets out to find out who sold him and his squad out, aided by three of his dead companions whose digital personalities still remain conscious after death and are now uploaded into Rogue’s gun, helmet and backpack.
The film is being shot at Rebellion Film Studios in Oxfordshire, England and the actors’ performances will be brought to life in animated form by Treehouse Digital, using Unreal Engine 5. A choice that producer Stuart Fenegan justifies as follows:
« The advancements in Unreal Engine 5 and the inclusion of MetaHuman rigs mean that it is now possible to achieve a very high standard of animation within an indie budget. Working with our amazing partners at Rebellion, Epic and Treehouse Digital we are pioneering and developing a new creative pipeline that will enable independent production of CG animated films. »
There is no announced release date but sometime in 2025 Rogue Trooper will be released in cinemas.
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