• Improves internal perception of skills and service delivery of IT team

• Gains ability to collaborate in real time across multiple countries

• Helps enable workplace flexibility across the organization

As Xero grew, the team knew they needed to find a new video conferencing system. The business had 10 or 12 units operating globally—one or two per office—that required significant investment to keep running.

Xero staff who booked rooms for video meetings had to work with third-party managed conference bridges on which it was difficult to share content and collaborate. “We were experiencing inefficiencies such as paying to keep third-party support team members on hand during global meetings involving multiple participants—to ensure they could fix issues that arose during these calls,” says Bowden.

Other issues included a lack of integration between the calendar product being used at the business and the meeting software—forcing staff to locate links to video calls provided in messages separate to meeting calendar invitations.

Following a comprehensive review, Xero decided on Google Meet hardware for a range of reasons, including seamless integration with apps such as Calendar. “We conducted a proof of concept and installed Google Meet hardware in one or two in each of our offices around the world,” says Bowden.

“Based on the hugely successful outcome of the trial, we went all in and installed Google Meet hardware in every single meeting room we had—close to 200 rooms globally.”

Google Meet hardware is now one of the most frequently used products within the business and the number of meetings compromised by technical incidents has fallen. “Use of Google Meet hardware is through the roof,” says Bowden. “Our people are embracing the ability to walk into a room, connect quickly and easily to a meeting, and enjoy responsive, professional support. We spend less time supporting these 200 meeting rooms than the 10 or 12 we had with our previous video conferencing equipment.”

Utilization levels have climbed to a level that the business is now looking to extend the deployment of Google Meet hardware to about 50 small phone rooms and potentially freestanding booths within its offices worldwide.

Bowden, who manages a team distributed across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, describes the experience of using Google Workspace as “incredible.”

“Seeing updates instantly while I’m on video calls, using Sheets and Docs and generally collaborating with people in different countries is a brilliant experience,” he says.

Xero has also integrated Calendar with its internal communication tool, so meetings appear in both apps.

Bowden and Cox say Google Workspace plays a fundamental role in enabling teams to perform in their roles, collaborate, and communicate effectively. “Thanks to Google Workspace, including Google Meet hardware, we can now record and livestream video meetings—as well as provide the support ourselves,” says Cox. “There is very little we have to do.”

Bowden says “What’s impactful with Google Workspace is its ability to record a version of a meeting that can be shared with people who can’t attend or want to revisit it later,” he says. “People can join halfway through the meeting if they want and either watch it from that point or from the start. We also can invite someone remotely to share slides and present. Just recently, we’ve also started allowing people to share prerecorded, high-definition video content.”