Google Beam expands with new regions, partners, and customers

Google announced an expansion of Google Beam, its face-to-face video communication technology, to six countries: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, and Japan. The rollout is supported by 18 channel partners, and Aaron Luber, Director of Business Development for Google Beam, announced the news on the company's blog.

The hardware is delivered by HP as HP Dimension with Google Beam. It integrates with both Google Meet and Zoom, which Google says gives organizations flexibility in how they deploy it for enterprise collaboration.

Google also shared results from an eight-week internal study of its own teams using Beam. Participants reported feeling 50% more connected to one another, found it 33% easier to make sure their feedback was clearly understood, and showed a 21% reduction in the need for follow-up meetings. Google says it is expanding its own internal deployment based on those results.

Beyond internal testing, Google pointed to field use. Earlier this year it worked with Bain & Company to test HP Dimension with Google Beam for campus recruiting and candidate interviews, allowing Bain to connect with candidates without extensive travel. Netflix and Capital Group are among the first customers using Beam to connect global workforces.

Google is also launching what it calls the first-ever Beam extended network through a partnership with Industrious, an operator of premium flexible workspaces. A pilot earlier this year covered use cases such as manager check-ins, interviews, and client consultations. Starting in October, organizations can book and test HP Dimension with Google Beam at select Industrious locations across the U.S., including Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Palo Alto.

Why it matters: Businesses of all sizes, including startups, gain a way to try Beam without buying hardware, since units can be booked at participating Industrious workspaces from October. The addition of Zoom support alongside Google Meet means organizations already standardized on either platform can use the same units.