January is a good time to plan for the year ahead. At Public-i, we’re always looking for ways to improve what we do, helping councils and organisations across the UK run meetings that are more accessible, efficient, and transparent. In this post, we’ll take a look back at some key moments from 2024 and give you a preview of what’s coming in 2025.
What We Achieved in 2024
HybridLink for Teams
HybridLink for Teams has continued to grow. It is the trusted solution for councils seeking a secure, reliable, and user-friendly solution for formal and fully-compliant hybrid statutory meetings. Purpose-built for local government, HybridLink integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, ensuring Councils are ready for upcoming hybrid meeting regulations.
Its advanced features—such as an integrated participant list, unified voting with aggregated results, and an intuitive design—ensure equal participation for all attendees while allowing a single operator to manage the entire meeting effortlessly.
In 2024, we introduced key enhancements to make HybridLink even better:
- Simplified Joining: We’ve made logging in and joining Teams meetings easier through HybridLink.
- Automatic Teams Capture: HybridLink now automatically captures the Teams meeting window in the background, simplifying the operator’s workflow.
- Link User Improvements: The “Link User”—the account that bridges HybridLink and Teams—is now hidden during meetings, providing a cleaner participant list.
If your council is ready to introduce hybrid meetings or improve your current processes, request a demo today and experience how effortless, inclusive, and efficient hybrid meetings can be.
Improved Live Subtitles
In November, we introduced an upgraded subtitling AI model for on-demand webcasts. Building on its success, we’ve now rolled out these improvements to live subtitles as well. Clients can expect higher accuracy and better quality for live webcasts, making meetings more accessible for all. We’re gradually enabling this feature for clients who want to adopt it. Let us know if you’d like to be included!
Teams Rooms integration
We now offer full integration with Teams Rooms, allowing organisations of all sizes to leverage existing Teams hardware in their offices. This update simplifies hybrid meeting setups and enhances the overall meeting experience.
Social Media Alerts on Twitter (X) and Facebook
As our last blog post mentioned, we’ve resolved previous issues with Twitter (X) alerts following the reintroduction of Facebook alerts. Now, organisations can automatically share live webcast updates directly to their social media pages, improving transparency and audience engagement. We’re keen to hear your thoughts on which platforms to integrate next.
The Development Roadmap for 2025
As we look ahead, 2025 promises to be another exciting year. Here’s a preview of what we’re working on:
Transcript Correction Improvements
Automatic transcripts/subtitles accuracy has greatly improved with our new AI models, but some minor errors in place names can still slip through. We’re making it easier than ever to correct transcripts directly from the admin area. This new functionality will save time and ensure your meeting records are accurate and professional.
AI-Powered Meeting Summaries
Long meetings can be challenging to summarise. Soon, our tools will use AI to generate concise summaries from transcripts, highlighting key outcomes and topics for easier understanding.
HybridLink for Teams: New Features
- Televic Microphone Integration: HybridLink will support Televic microphones, whether or not you use Cocon software, offering greater flexibility for chamber setups.
- Remote Vote Reporting: Voting results will soon be visible to remote attendees, ensuring transparency for everyone participating in the meeting.
Streambox: Expanding Compatibility
- New Camera and Soundbar Integrations: Streambox will soon work with a wider range of cameras and soundbars, offering more options for councils to customise their setups.
- Smaller Form Factor: We’re developing a more compact version of Streambox, making it easier to deploy in any meeting room or chamber.
Collaborative Forward Planning
At Public-i, we’re always looking for ways to improve and better serve our clients. Whether it’s through hybrid meeting solutions or webcasting, our goal remains the same: to make your meetings more accessible, efficient, and secure. 2024 has been a year of significant growth, and as we head into 2025, we’re excited to build on this progress with even more innovations and new features.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our latest updates and what you’d like to see from us in the future.
