Discover Microsoft PowerPoint Live feature within Microsoft Teams, which allows you to share your presentations interactively during video meetings without needing to share your screen. By using this application, you gain access to a wide range of engaging features, including real-time transcription and translation, audience participation tools, and the ability for viewers to navigate through the presentation at their own pace.

In this article, you will delve into the mastery of PowerPoint Live, not only in meetings with other Teams clients but also in video conference meetings with SIP systems like Cisco and Poly.

Seamlessly Connecting SIP Devices to Modern Meeting Platforms

😀 The only service with emoji feature parity in all meetings. 👍

In today's hybrid work environment, virtual meetings have become the cornerstone of collaboration. While video conferencing keeps us connected, the lack of in-person interaction can sometimes make it harder to fully engage. That’s why non-verbal cues like emojis have become an important part of digital communication, helping to express emotions, agreement, or humor.

But what if you're using a SIP-based video conferencing device? Until now, that meant you were limited when joining meetings on popular platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet. Synergy SKY is changing that. 

Seamless Emoji Support—No Matter the Meeting Platform

Synergy SKY is excited to announce a groundbreaking new feature: the ability to send emojis from SIP video conferencing devices into Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google meetings. As the only vendor offering this capability, Synergy SKY bridges the gap between traditional SIP-based systems and modern web conferencing platforms, ensuring that everyone can participate in the rich, interactive experience that emojis provide.

Why Emojis Matter in Meetings

Emojis have become a universal language in digital communication. Whether you're giving a thumbs-up👍 to show agreement, clapping👏 to acknowledge a good point, or sending a smile😀 to brighten up the conversation, emojis can help convey emotions instantly, without disrupting the meeting flow. Now, with Synergy SKY, even users on SIP video conferencing devices can fully engage with the meeting experience, no matter which platform they're using.

Breaking Down Communication Barriers

This new feature exemplifies Synergy SKY’s commitment to interoperability and user experience. As meetings become more cross-platform, it’s essential that all participants—whether they’re using Cisco or Poly SIP devices, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet—can interact seamlessly.

With Synergy SKY, there’s no need to worry about missing out on interactions just because of the device you're using. We’re making video conferencing more inclusive, fun, and engaging for everyone.

How it works

For Cisco video device buttons will appear on Cisco Touch 10 after installing Synergy SKY. See picture.

For all other SIP devices there is an option to use DTMF. AV Integrators will then be able to program room controllers like Crestron. Learn more here

Get Ready to Express Yourself

Emojis are more than just fun—they’re an integral part of modern communication. And now, with Synergy SKY, you can express yourself freely from any device. Whether you're using a SIP-based video conferencing system or a web platform, your meeting interactions just got a whole lot more dynamic.

Compare and Contrast: Synergy SKY vs. the Competition

Synergy SKY has 3 gateways in 1

Synergy SKY CONNECT: A Viable Alternative to the Sunsetting Poly RealConnect

Poly RealConnect, a video conferencing interoperability gateway for standards-based video systems to connect to Microsoft Teams and Skype meetings, is nearing its end of life. This leaves many businesses scrambling to find a suitable replacement.

Synergy SKY CONNECT will support Apple FaceTime, making it the world's first integration between SIP video devices and FaceTime. By adhering to standard interfaces, CONNECT ensures reliability, future-proofing, and broad support across all major meeting platforms.

In the evolving landscape of digital collaboration, seamless integration between video conferencing tools and web applications is essential for productivity and efficiency. SYNERGY SKY CONNECT has emerged as a game-changer by offering a robust solution that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom and Apple FaceTime. By adhering to standard interfaces, SYNERGY SKY CONNECT ensures reliability, future-proofing, and broad support across all major meeting platforms.

Empowering VTCs for Active Participation in Video Meetings

Beyond all the given features the number one video conferencing manufacturer provides, such as a 4K intelligent camera, integrated microphones, and auto noise reduction speakers, it also has smart IoT sensors that provide Presence Detection and People Count. 

Synergy CONNECT is a video conferencing interoperability gateway that connects SIP and WebRTC/HTML protocols together, allowing users to join web browser-based meetings from SIP devices. This interoperability is achieved through adherence to industry standards:

•    SIP: An open standard ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), ensuring compatibility with various SIP-based video conferencing systems.

•    WebRTC: An open standard supported by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, enabling seamless web browser-based meeting participation.
  

There are 3 crucial factors you need to have in order to achieve a frictionless meeting experience across technologies and generations of products: Compatibility, Interoperability,  and Consistency. 

Synergy SKY CONNECT offers an award-winning interoperability gateway that connects Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and Webex meetings to existing video conference devices such as Cisco and Poly.    

How do you schedule and start meetings when you have six platforms to choose from?

Register your video endpoints with Synergy SKY - it's the only service your video devices need

Synergy SKY CONNECT is an award-winning, multi-vendor gateway that connects any Cisco and Poly SIP video endpoint to Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom meetings. Here are seven unique benefits:

We are excited to announce the launch of SIP to Zoom interoperability support in Synergy SKY CONNECT! This new feature allows users to join Zoom meetings from any SIP video endpoint, without the need for any additional hardware or software.

Whether you want to admit it or not, throughout our working lives, many of us have bent the rules when it comes to business meetings.

Making it easier for Cisco Webex devices to connect to internal and external Microsoft Teams meetings with support for One Button To Push (OBTP) Easy Join Services for WebRTC Guest Join.

The New SIP to Teams Interop, is a better approach for most - but the workflow in this blog might still be relevant for some

Video meetings have become an essential part of our professional lives. However, they often come with their fair share of complexities and challenges. Sean Lessman from Synergy SKY discusses how to solve some of these problems with an easy-to-use, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution.

Synergy SKY was recently featured in a blog post on the Cisco Webex website. To learn how we together connected 120 Cisco video rooms to Zoom and Google - read the full blog here.

Video meeting invitations often present a challenge when it comes to figuring out how to join the meeting. This can lead to frustration and delays in starting the meetings or even people avoiding the use of video conferencing rooms altogether. 

This is how to take any meeting invitation and generate a green join button that will promptly connect video conference devices all meetings.

With Synergy SKY in-room booking, you can book both room and video meetings ad-hoc from your touch panel if the room is available. In addition, the 30.03 SW release has: Cisco Endpoint Phone Books, Room Issue Notifications.

Welcome to ‘Synergizers: The Experts Behind Video Interop”, the series where we talk and spotlight the developers and innovators behind the interoperability and video conferencing management tools simplifying the way organizations meet. The movers and shakers of our multi-vendor videoconferencing world. 

Meet Henrik Romnes, Developer at Synergy SKY. 

Henrik is one of R&D’s whizz kids (not that he would ever admit to this!). With a background in maths and an understanding beyond his years of all things video-related, he is responsible for making sure your video meetings work. You don’t get black screens when you connect to your meetings? That might very well be Henrik’s doing. We spoke with Henrik about his growth as a developer, as well as challenges and prospects in the videoconferencing industry. 

Welcome to 'Synergizers: The Experts Behind Video Interop', the series where we talk to and spotlight the developers and innovators of interoperability and video conferencing! These are the movers and shakers of our multi-vendor video conferencing world and are on a solid mission to simplify video meetings across the globe. 

Meet Egil Hasting, CTO at Synergy SKY. 

While it's not easy to say who the mother of our interop solution is, most people at Synergy SKY would agree that Egil is the undisputed father. He was responsible for conceptualizing, developing, and strategizing how to bring the product to the market. If there is anyone with a good understanding of our video interoperability, it's Egil.

It has become more important than ever to know what "hybrid work" is, how it will develop and what its impact on how we use meeting rooms actually is.

A lot of companies today are mandating their workforce to return to the office. Whether your preferred way of working is from the office, hybrid or remote, one thing is for certain - video conferencing endpoints and meeting rooms in offices need to be flexible enough to include all working models.  

Synergy SKY stepped in to support the NHS with continuation of critical MDT meetings that include remote clinicians joining the meetings on Microsoft Teams, by providing an alternative interoperability solution. 

Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) service continuation is essential in the NHS for the health and well-being of patients and the collective expertise of specialists involved in a patient’s pathway. This includes the discussion of the diagnosis, pain management, support, welfare or treatment, and recovery. 

In June 2020, the NHS announced an agreement with Microsoft that would lead to the rollout of Microsoft Teams to 1.2 million users, across 450 organisations supporting patients in the NHS.  It was highlighted in a study by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust* that this roll-out saved NHS users 2.9 million hours of NHS time.  According to NHS Digital, it replaced 14.5 million phone calls and hosted more than 32 million virtual meetings. Needless to say, it has been a huge success and became “the norm” for users across the NHS.  

Many organizations need a more inclusive and complete solution for interoperability right away. Synergy SKY CONNECT, which was launched earlier this year, can enable organizations to continue to use Cisco and Poly/Polycom devices in meeting rooms with Microsoft Teams.

At Microsoft Ignite, Cisco announced that in the first half of 2023, their latest generation Room OS devices will run Microsoft Teams natively. I applaud this development as users and administrators need simpler videoconferencing experiences when in the office. As significant as this announcement is, it, unfortunately, does not provide a solution for the millions older generation but high-quality Cisco / Poly SIP devices which do not have the onboard processing power to support either native MTR and Webex device interoperability.

The rise of multiple video platforms, their respective product versions and innumerable call protocols has made the video conferencing space more complex and harder to navigate. Interoperability is the only long-lasting solution that can solve this for organizations. 

One too many business meetings have been compromised due to the sheer availability of multiple video conferencing platforms in the industry, leaving users frustrated, output impacted, and potentially millions of dollars lost. Video users and meeting participants would like to walk into a meeting room and start their meeting on time, without thinking about the platform, interface, invite links, passwords, and other complex video conferencing challenges.  

Presentation sharing and application sharing, interaction and control features on the Cisco devices supporting macros (Touch 10 panel, DX-series, Desk Pro etc.) improved audio and video quality and a dedicated loading screen are new features that will enhance your video meeting experience and business collaboration.  

Cross-platform video meetings shouldn’t be complicated. Watch Sean Lessman discuss the multi-vendor video complexities and potential solutions for easy collaboration at this year’s Cisco Live.

Seeing is believing! One thing is to read information about the award-winning interop solution Synergy SKY CONNECT online. Another entirely different thing is to see it in action.

Communication on different video conferencing platforms and devices can create a number of pain points. Meeting data security and user experience are amongst the top ones. Synergy SKY CONNECT for Government fully addresses these concerns. Video meetings made easy for the public sector.

We're proud to announce that we won the Global New Product Innovation Award in the video conferencing interoperability market attributed to the prestigious consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.

The SIP to Teams interop and our Management Suite can now be found under one name.

How do you avoid painting yourself into a technology corner? Does the simple fact that everyone now has adopted video conferencing technology actually make business meetings easier?

How often have you found yourself diving into an empty meeting room that is shown as being pre-booked? You say - “let’s grab this meeting room quickly, if someone comes along we’ll find another”. It’s all too common in office spaces, and there's a very real reason for this.

Video meetings from a PC are easy and uncomplicated. Video meetings between typical meeting rooms and external participants are still very complicated. We decided to do something about it.

Even though you might have upgraded your VTC systems since the Tandberg days, it doesn’t mean your older generation systems can’t achieve interoperability with the newer ones, as well as with your mixed workflow.

Learn how to easily connect your Cisco IX Series immersive telepresence endpoints to a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting with one click, while scheduling natively in Outlook or Google Calendar.

With Synergy SKY Management Suite you can now get video dial-in details automatically inserted when you schedule a meeting, without having to click the Microsoft Teams plug-in or adding @webex in the location field. You will never forget to add the video option again. 

When deciding on software to streamline your set-up and eliminate your challenges, it is important that this software gives you the needed features today, tomorrow, and for the future. 

From Beijing to Boston and everywhere in between, events and meetings are being cancelled. Starbucks has cancelled the company’s annual shareholder meeting and is holding a virtual meeting instead. TED’s conference in Canada is not going ahead, postponed along with hundreds of other trade shows.

When deciding on software to streamline your setup and eliminate your challenges, it is important that this software gives you the needed features today, tomorrow, and in the future. 

Learn how to easily connect your Cisco or Poly video conferencing endpoints into a Microsoft Teams, Skype, or any other VMR meeting with one click, while scheduling natively in Outlook or Google Calendar.

The global pandemic has forced people to quickly establish and adapt to remote ways of collaborating and communicating. Many have been creative in finding new apps and systems to keep business running. So, when the pandemic subsides and we prepare for “the new normal”, IT and video administrators will be challenged by colleagues who have now settled into their own preferred tools for video conferencing.

Norway’s largest business newspaper, Dagens Næringsliv (DN), picks up Synergy SKY's hockey stick growth.

The Synergy SKY Management Suite solves the most common problem users face when walking into a meeting room with a video conferencing system: "How to join the meeting?"