Enterprises Struggle with Meeting Room Utilization and Interoperability

At Enterprise Connect 2026 in Las Vegas, Cisco's Rich Bayes pointed out that many offices still have too few small video-enabled rooms. As a result, meetings often take place in larger rooms built for eight people, with only one or two attendees.

This issue is not due to inadequate hardware, but rather the lack of smaller private spaces. Eric Krapf, who attended the conference, noted that technology exists to solve this problem, but enterprises are still struggling with utilization and getting different room systems to work together.

Cisco's Bayes suggested using AI to track meeting attendance and report on room utilization. While this data can be useful, it only helps if it is used appropriately.

David Danto, an analyst and AV veteran, took the standardization argument a step further. He proposed that microphones and cameras could eventually be embedded in room décor, such as picture frames or ceiling tiles, with AI combining every device's input to produce the best available audio and video.