Open Interoperability and Joining Microsoft Teams Meetings from Zoom Rooms

When talking about the "new normal" or "hybrid workforce" it is important that first and foremost businesses maintain a high level of contact with key stakeholders and clients. Video Conferencing Technology is making it possible to brainstorm and collaborate in a manner which some argue is more effective than physical scrum or huddles if run correctly, with the added business benefits of saving money on travel, improving attendance and communication.

A significant number of enterprises still find themselves in the experimentation phase of both Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The demand for co-existence and open interoperability is on the rise.

There are many solutions available on the market today, with true Open-interoperability being primarily only possible via USB-Passthrough enabled on devices with Native Zoom or Teams Rooms which are only available with some vendors, to date.

What does this look like?

Let's take the Logitech Rally series with the Logitech TAP as an example, which is available running native Google, Microsoft Teams or Zoom Rooms. All of the normal impressive capabilities are available, from wireless sharing, one-touch-joining, calendar integration, touchless entry and much more.

Dilemma?

A guest comes into the office and wants to connect to a different Video Conferencing/UCaaS platform than what is available in-room.

Solution?

In this instance, let's take the Logitech SWYTCH, which will connect to relevant in-room hubs and bypass the controller and allow you to plug in your device (BYOD) via a unified USB A/ USB C connection. This will allow the user to leverage the in-room Video Conferencing technology, mirror their laptop and allow them to use any video conferencing tool of their choice.

One Solution for All?

One example, a significant number of FTSE100 clients rely on products such as their on-premises Cisco VCS Expressway for registering their Cisco and 3rd party H323/SIP devices to inter-connect offices via VMR's (Cisco TelePresence bridging capabilities). Of which, they have expanded on due to increasing demand for accessing other platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. This is done via Interoperability leveraging services such as Zoom CRC or VRC (Cloud-Room-Connector | Virtual-Room-Connector) and Pexip/Poly RealConnect for Microsoft Teams CVI (Cloud Video Interoperability) which is also available in organisations own private datacenter or chosen public-cloud.

The example below demonstrates a Poly TC8 in Poly Mode, with the ability to call IP/SIP Systems, Zoom (Via CRC), Microsoft (via CVI) and Cisco Webex (via CVI)

Zoom CRC HLD:

Pexip Cloud-hosted deployment HLD:

Summary:

There are various approaches to satisfying user demand for accessing various video-conferencing systems. Traditionally with the above, a more complex infrastructure, additional licensing and third-party interop services are required. Working with Major Zoom and Microsoft Certified Hardware partners, most are ahead of the curve and starting to allow USB-Passthrough on their devices, meaning that users will be able to get the simple and ease-of-use service which is adopted well, with the additional ability to "BYOD" at essentially, no additional cost.

What else is being done between vendors in terms of integration, and technical steps for setup:

Both Zoom and Microsoft have been working in unison since 2019, creating a feature called "Guest Join" which has since been released by Zoom please note, this is currently in public preview

To date, Products such as the DTEN D7 (Running native Zoom Rooms) has the ability to Guest Join, with many vendors the following suit so stay posted for interoperability between major vendors collaborating further in the not so distant future. In addition to PC and Controllers running Zoom Rooms which proves that this can be an incredibly cost-effective solution/break-through to spin up multiple rooms in a quick timeframe without significant IT administrative overheads.

Testing Completed with:

• Intel i7 NUC
• Poly X50 (Can use any webcam & speaker solution)
• 1x Zoom Rooms License (Monthly Subscription)

Prerequisites

• Account owner, admin, or role with edit access to Zoom Rooms
• Zoom Rooms for Windows version 5.1.2 or higher
• Zoom Rooms for Mac version 5.1.2 or higher
• Zoom Rooms controller version 5.1.2 or higher

Enabling Direct Guest Join

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal and click Room Management.
2. Choose Calendar Integration, and connect to Google/O365/Exchange and authorise with EWS/OAuth 2.0 as set out in https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203847179. Access Permission choices are App-Level Impersonation or Full Delegation Access. For this example, we are going with Full-delegation
3. Following Send As, Full Access and resource mailbox calendar being shared to the desired user added to the portal. Proceed to Create Zoom Room.
4. Sync Calendars, and ensure that the Shared Resource is assigned to the newly created Zoom Room

5. Edit the created Zoom Room, and click Meeting.

6. Enable Support 3rd party conferencing dial-in for Zoom Rooms.

7. Enable Support Microsoft Teams web client meeting on Zoom Rooms.

8. On an M365 Deployment, via Powershell, ensure the resource mailbox is visible, and apply relevant calendar processing rules, as below:

Joining a meeting

For this exercise, I have emulated a Zoom Rooms Controller via MS Store

1. Invite a Zoom Room to a Microsoft Teams meeting by forwarding the calendar invitation.

2. Once the Zoom Room receives the meeting invite, a Join Meeting option will be displayed on the Zoom Rooms controller.

3. Click Join Meeting on the controller. You will see the following in-meeting controls: Mute Microphone, Start/Stop Video, Volume, and Leave meeting. (Image below is from Host Point of view with waiting room enforced)

4. Sharing User Content requires access to the Microsoft Teams Client. No wireless sharing is supported through the Zoom Room while in a Microsoft Teams call through Direct Guest Join.

Connectivity successful, directly from a Zoom Room to a Microsoft Teams meeting, without any third-party interop service:

Dan Wordsworth

DNA AV

• Zoom Certified Integrator
• M365 Certified Architect