ISE 2026: The year Workplace Experience took over (and why that’s great news for Zoom customers)

ISE in Barcelona has always been a very big deal for AV and workplace tech. And this year's numbers suggest the show's momentum continues to grow: ISE 2026 closed with 92,170 visitors, ~212,000 visits, and 1,751 exhibitors, including hundreds of first-timers, making it the largest show floor in the event’s history.

As one of those first-timers, I was interested to understand what the main topics of conversation are in 2026, and how the latest hardware innovations can translate into meaningful outcomes for our clients. My recent experience suggests that buyers are no longer just procuring cool kit for its own sake. They want repeatable, manageable, scalable workplace experiences, with AI baked in, and with platform alignment (Zoom/Teams) treated as non-negotiable. So what were people actually talking about, and what should Zoom-first organisations take from it?

1) The pretty hardware era is ending

Across the show floor, a consistent message came through: Enterprises don’t want more variety, they want standardisation without compromise. A lot of the innovation this year focused on:

• Modular room kits that scale from small to large spaces,

• Controllers and scheduling panels that reduce friction and support hybrid habits,

• Management models that cut support overhead.

This aligns with what the show organisers themselves are spotlighting (AV over IP, smart buildings, AI, and immersive environments). Basically, less gadgetry and more systems thinking.

2. AI showed up in a more grown-up way: Less wow, more workflow

The most interesting AI conversation at ISE wasn’t “look what the model can do”. It was: How does this reduce effort? That included AI improvements to:

• Room utilisation and workplace operations,

• Meeting friction (join, control, framing, audio),

• The admin tax that stifles productivity.

Zoom’s own direction here was well covered: an “intelligent office” approach via Zoom Spaces and Zoom Rooms improvements (hands-free operations, workspace/room booking, deeper ecosystem integration).

Acceleraate's take: the winners in 2026 won’t be those who just add AI. They’ll be the ones who use AI to eliminate effort across meeting rooms, contact centres, and the layers in-between.

3. Jabra: Large-room momentum, and modular thinking (exactly what IT wants)

Jabra’s stand was one of the best examples of the “deployable at scale” mindset. They announced new expandable room solutions, including PanaCast 55 VBS, PanaCast SpeakerMic, and room kits, built to support consistent experiences across different room sizes without reinventing the wheel each time. They also presented their very smart and discreet Perform range, which I was informed is the first headset to be Zoom-certified for Frontline Worker - an interesting concept to take back to some of our Public Sector clients.

Jabra’s pitch at ISE was essentially: Standardise the room experience, simplify deployment, scale without complexity. And each time I passed, the stand was jam-packed with innovation seekers.

4. Neat: Control, BYOD flexibility, and open experiences

Neat continues to do what they do best: making the meeting room feel effortless while staying enterprise-ready. Their ISE 2026 announcements included Neat Pad Pro (a new 10-inch controller/scheduling display, expected Q2 2026) and new AI-powered BYOD/open experiences, exactly the kind of capability enterprises want when they have mixed spaces, mixed users, and mixed requirements.

What stood out from wider attendee chatter is how Neat are leaning into a simple idea: The room should adapt to the organisation and not the other way around. For Zoom-first estates, Neat remains one of the cleanest routes to a consistent Zoom Rooms experience, without turning every space into a bespoke AV project.

5. Yealink: One-stop collaboration and integrated meeting environments

Yealink’s message at ISE was clear: simplify the meeting room stack with more integrated, one-stop solutions, spanning meeting bars, room systems, and whiteboard-first experiences. Their ISE pitch specifically highlighted a portfolio approach (e.g., MeetingBoard Pro, MeetingBar, MVC systems), designed to give organisations a standard path across different space types.

For IT teams supporting Zoom Rooms deployments, this matters because the real cost isn’t hardware, it’s inconsistency. The one-stop direction is really about removing those variables.

6. The trend: Workplace tech is being designed to disappear

A surprising theme coming out of ISE: the shift towards tech that blends into environments, more design-led, more invisible, more integrated. In the Smart Home hall, the likes of JBL, Sonance, Amina were all pushing their "invisible" domestic AV solutions. But this is not just a smart home story, it maps directly to enterprise meeting spaces too. The best rooms feel intuitive, and the best systems don’t require instructions.

Sometimes, the best experience is the one that no one notices. And that’s exactly where Zoom Rooms, Zoom Spaces, and strong hardware ecosystems seem to be heading: Less friction, fewer clicks, fewer failures.

My Summary

This was my first time attending ISE in Barcelona, and the show is indescribably huge - in fact, it's a little overwhelming at times! Acceleraate's main business focus is in the Customer Experience (Zoom CX) space, but I came away from the event with a clear thought process that workplace and customer experience are becoming inseparable.

• When meeting rooms work, teams collaborate better.

• When collaboration improves, customer outcomes improve.

• When AI reduces effort, both employees and customers feel it.

It's a rich tapestry, but for Zoom-first organisations, my impression is that the hardware ecosystem is getting stronger fast, especially with vendors like Jabra, Neat, and Yealink pushing innovation that’s clearly built for scalable, consistent, high-quality experiences.