ISE 2025 Barcelona: Live AMA – Behind the Scenes with Ilya Bukshteyn
Although I did not have a chance to travel to ISE 2025 in Barcelona, I would like to share a summary of AMA (Ask me Anything) with Ilya Bukshteyn, VP Microsoft Teams Device, Calling and Premium Experiences
In this live Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, Ilya Bukshteyn, a key leader in Microsoft Teams and collaboration technologies, provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at #ISE2025 (Integrated Systems Europe 2025) and the future of enterprise communication tools. The discussion revolves around Microsoft Teams’ evolving ecosystem, hardware integrations, AI advancements, and strategies for hybrid work. This summary distills the key insights from the conversation, focusing on technical innovations, industry trends, and Microsoft’s vision for workplace collaboration.
Microsoft Teams AI Evolution
The discussion underscores Teams’ transformation from a meeting app to a comprehensive collaboration hub:
- AI-Driven Features:
- Copilot Integration: Real-time meeting summaries, automated action items, and context-aware suggestions.
- Noise Suppression & Background Blur: Enhanced via machine learning for hybrid meetings.
- Agents like Meeting Facilitator offer also extra value without joining meetings, they can capture what happens in the Microsoft Team Room. Many more Agents are coming soon. Interpreter Agent will be next one which will translate and dub your voice to the language your meeting participants understand.
- Room Systems:
- Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR): Updates to support immersive “front-row” experiences and touchless controls.
- Certified Devices: Expansion of the hardware partner ecosystem, including BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) compatibility.
Audience Q&A Highlights
- Q: How does Microsoft plan to compete with Zoom and Webex?
- Ilya: “Our focus isn’t on displacing competitors but enabling choice. Teams is designed to work with other platforms through open APIs and cross-platform interoperability.”
- Q: What’s the role of AI in reducing meeting fatigue?
- Ilya: “AI will automate repetitive tasks—note-taking, scheduling follow-ups—so users can focus on meaningful interactions. Think of Copilot as a ‘productivity co-pilot.’”
- Q: Will Teams support legacy AV systems?
- Ilya: “Yes. Our Certified for Teams program includes adapters and software bridges to modernize older hardware without costly replacements.”
- Q: What’s the single most recommended feature to start with in Microsoft Copilot?
- Ilya: “ I can tell you the most used capabilities today in V1 of Copilot have to do with meetings. Intelligent Recap, Meeting Copilot, that is the most used. I would say that is therefore the capability that we think most users can get value out of. I certainly use it a ton. If a user is focused on using AI kind of where they are like in Teams Meeting, everything having to do with making meetings easier to consume is going to be a great place to start. Meeting Copilot, Intelligent Recap, Meeting Facilitator after that. However, there are many users, and this is a vast generalization, but maybe younger users, who are used to consuming, or who are rapidly getting used to consuming AI from a dedicated experience. I would say: Start using what we call Microsoft 365 Business Chat, that is now available to every Microsoft 365 user. For free. I think that is going to become the next big starting point for work. There’s going to be a generation of workers who will start from their productivity assistant and go from there to other places . And they can start using that today and building that habit.
- Prioritize flexible, scalable solutions that adapt to hybrid work demands.
- Leverage AI to enhance—not replace—human collaboration.
- Embrace open ecosystems to future-proof technology investments.
Conclusion
The AMA with Ilya Bukshteyn paints a future where collaboration is intuitive, inclusive, and intelligent. Microsoft’s investments in AI, interoperability, and sustainability aim to redefine enterprise communication by 2025. For IT leaders, the takeaways are clear:
This session reinforces Microsoft’s commitment to driving innovation while addressing real-world challenges in the evolving workplace.
