The Hybrid Work Experiment is Over for IT, According to New Industry Research

A new white paper from Futuresource Consulting and Bubble finds that workplace collaboration is no longer defined by meeting rooms, but by meeting moments. And these moments are happening wherever work naturally unfolds.

Rooms Without Walls: The Future of Work explores how hybrid behaviours, informal spaces and IT ownership are reshaping expectations for Pro AV, UC and workplace technology.  

As employees move fluidly between desks, huddle spaces, home offices and virtual platforms, collaboration has become continuous, opportunistic and increasingly user-driven. Futuresource research shows that 70% of organisations now see employees connecting outside traditional meeting rooms, while IT teams have taken primary responsibility for AV budgets, device management and long-term scalability.

“Hybrid working changed how collaboration happens,” says Alistair Johnston, Principal Consultant Collaboration and Pro AV at Futuresource Consulting. “The cloud didn’t replace collaboration spaces, but it dissolved the walls, allowing collaboration to operate more freely. As a result, what we’re now seeing is a shift from scheduled, space-based meetings to spontaneous interactions that can start anywhere. That change puts real pressure on technology to be simpler, more flexible and far easier for IT teams to manage at scale.”

“This report reflects what our global clients have been seeing every day across the AV and workplace technology sector: collaboration is no longer about rooms, it’s about moments,” said Sadie Groom, CEO of Bubble Agency. “Working with Futuresource Consulting allowed us to create a report that helps vendors better align their technology, messaging and strategy with how people actually work today."

Nurturing the meeting moments

The white paper highlights a fundamental behavioural shift. Employees no longer wait for booked rooms or formal setups. Instead, collaboration happens in short bursts, across devices and locations, often blending together in-person and remote participants. Formal meeting rooms remain important, but they are no longer the default.

This evolution is driving organisations to rebalance their workplaces. They are investing more heavily in informal collaboration spaces, and portable, room-agnostic technology. Futuresource data shows that more than six in ten organisations have already financed technology for informal spaces, particularly larger enterprises with diverse collaboration needs

IT takes the lead

As collaboration estates grow more fragmented and complex, responsibility has shifted decisively towards IT. According to Futuresource, seven in ten organisations now report having dedicated AV budgets, with 63% placing those budgets under IT ownership. Standardisation, manageability and security have become non-negotiable requirements.

“For IT teams, AV used to be a collection of one-off installations,” says Johnston, “but now it’s an enterprise infrastructure. Devices need to be visible, secure, remotely manageable and predictable over their entire lifecycle. If something doesn’t scale cleanly, then it doesn’t belong in the modern workplace.”

The research also shows that 60% of organisations now maintain dedicated home-working budgets, reinforcing the idea that collaboration investment is no longer room-centric, but ecosystem-wide.

Why management and analytics now matter even more

With thousands of formal and informal collaboration points to support, the white paper points to management, monitoring and analytics as critical enablers. Real-time visibility, remote diagnostics, usage data and integration with IT service workflows are becoming central to how organisations measure success.

“Performance alone isn’t enough anymore,” says Johnston. “The real differentiator is how well vendors help organisations operate and optimise their collaboration estate over time. Insight, not just image and audio quality, is where long-term value is now being created.”

Rooms Without Walls: The Future of Work provides clear guidance for vendors navigating the next phase of workplace collaboration. Success will depend on designing for flexibility, reducing deployment friction, supporting multi-platform workflows and delivering tools that feel effortless for end users while remaining robust for IT.

Created in collaboration with Bubble, the white paper is available as a free download and draws on Futuresource’s latest decision-maker research and workplace collaboration insights.

Notes

Together, Futuresource Consulting and Bubble Agency help AV and technology brands bridge the gap from insight to impact.

Futuresource Consulting provides the data, analysis, and foresight needed to understand markets, buyers and emerging opportunities. www.futuresource-consulting.com

Bubble Agency turns that intelligence into focused messaging, integrated marketing and PR programmes that build credibility and drive demand. www.bubbleagency.com

To understand all the reports Futuresource has in the area of collaboration please look at our reports.

Press Contact: Nicola Finn, Marketing Manager, Futuresource Consulting, nicola.finn@futuresource-hq.com