Why Pay for a Huge Boardroom When Half Your Meetings Are Online?

If most of your meetings are online, a huge boardroom is often the most expensive room you use the least. People on video calls need a quiet space, a good microphone and a camera at eye level, and for groups of two to six that is a huddle room, not a 20-seat table. Keep one large room only if your booking data shows large meetings happen regularly.

This opinion piece shows how to read your meeting mix, compares huddle kits with boardroom systems using real store prices, and gives SourceIT's verdict. Products include the Yealink SP96 speakerphone, Logitech MeetUp, Barco ClickShare Bar Pro, Samsung QM55C and QM85C displays, and the Logitech Rally Plus system.

What does each type of meeting room cost to equip?

Prices exclude installation, cabling, mounts and software licences. Large-room systems on the store are mostly quoted per room configuration, which is why the boardroom row shows only the display figure.

How do you work out your real meeting mix?

Start with data, not instinct. Room calendars in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace record which room was booked, for how long and how many people were invited. Group a month of meetings into four types: fully online calls joined from desks, small hybrid meetings of two to four people in a room, medium meetings of five to eight, and large meetings of 12 or more.

Booking data overstates use, because people book rooms and do not turn up. Microsoft notes that check-in on Teams panels helps ensure that "when a room is reserved, it's being used", and rooms nobody checks in to are released for others. A few weeks of check-in data tells you how often the boardroom is really occupied. Singapore Office Rent Isn't Getting Any Easier. Can Smarter Meeting Rooms Help? covers booking panels and converting space in more detail.

A worked example with labelled assumptions

The figures below are illustrative assumptions, not survey data. Replace them with your own calendar numbers.

• Assumption: the office holds 40 meetings a week.
• Assumption: 20 are fully online and joined from desks, 12 have two to four people in a room, 6 have five to eight, and 2 have 12 or more.

Under these assumptions, the boardroom is needed for 2 meetings a week, while 18 meetings need a small or medium room, and 20 need nothing more than a good headset and a quiet desk. Using the prices in the table, the boardroom display alone (S$6,387.50) costs more than two complete huddle kits (2 x S$2,546.38 = S$5,092.76), before the large-room system is added. If your own numbers look similar, more small rooms will usually serve people better than one big one.

The case for keeping a boardroom

A boardroom still earns its place in some offices. Board meetings, investor and client presentations, and all-hands sessions need one room that seats everyone, with audio that reaches the far end of the table. Logitech positions the Logitech Rally Plus Video Conferencing System for Large Room for "large and extra large rooms" and says you can add up to seven mic pods for larger groups; each Rally Mic Pod has a pickup range of 4.5 m. The Rally Plus is price on request, quoted per room configuration. A large display such as the Samsung QM85C 85" 4K UHD Smart Signage Display (S$6,387.50, in stock) lets the back row read shared content. Our post on the Logitech Rally Plus for large meeting rooms goes further, and boardroom solutions lists other options.

There is also a confidentiality argument: some discussions belong behind a closed door with a room large enough for the people entitled to attend.

The case for more huddle rooms

For everyday hybrid work, small rooms win on use and simplicity. The Logitech MeetUp 4K ConferenceCam (S$921.38, in stock) is Logitech's all-in-one camera for small conference and huddle rooms, with microphones optimised for up to 4 m and 5 m with the optional Expansion Mic. Paired with a Samsung QM55C 55" 4K UHD Smart Signage Display (S$1,625.00, in stock), people plug in a laptop and join from whichever platform the meeting uses.

Where guests present often, the Barco ClickShare Bar Pro (S$4,843.80, in stock) adds wireless conferencing by app or button. Barco describes it as made for small meeting rooms and huddle spaces, with a 4K camera and 120° field of view, six beamforming microphones with a maximum 4 m pickup, two 10 W speakers and two ClickShare Buttons. For rooms with no camera at all, the Yealink SP96 USB & Bluetooth Speakerphone (S$206.55, in stock) has six beamforming microphones, picks up voices up to 5 m away and, per Yealink, two linked units cover up to 20 people.

Room sizing by headcount is covered in the best Yealink system by room size, and the price-tier debate in The S$500 vs S$5,000 Video Conferencing Setup.

What about the meetings joined from desks?

If half your meetings are online, many need no room at all. A good headset and a tidy desk setup matter more there; see Can a S$300 Headset Save Your Company Thousands in Lost Productivity?, One Desk, Three Devices, Too Many Cables and Hot Desking Sounds Great Until Nobody Can Connect Their Laptop.

SourceIT's verdict

Keep a large room if your data shows regular large meetings, and design it to divide or double as a training room. Otherwise, spend the boardroom budget on standard huddle kits, a few wireless-sharing rooms and personal headsets. Whatever the room size, be realistic: good AV makes remote meetings feel more natural, but it cannot guarantee the same experience as meeting in person.

Size your rooms for the meetings you actually hold, not the ones you hold twice a year.

Buying huddle room and boardroom equipment in Singapore

SourceIT supplies Logitech, Barco, Samsung and Yealink with local warranty; confirm the term for your SKU when requesting a quote. Prices are as listed on 24 Oct 2026 and the priced items were in stock at the time of writing. Browse the small room video conferencing collection, try the meeting room configurator, and use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502, email Sales@sourceit.com.sg or use our contact page. Room design and installation are available, and we are GeBIZ / Vendors@Gov registered for government buyers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a huddle room and a boardroom? A huddle room is a small space for about two to six people, usually with one video bar and a display. A boardroom seats a large group and needs wider camera coverage, more microphones and a bigger display.

How do I know if my boardroom is under-used? Review a month of room bookings and attendee counts, then compare them with check-in data from booking panels. If most bookings are small groups, the room is oversized for its use.

How much does a huddle room video kit cost? As listed on 24 Oct 2026, a Logitech MeetUp is S$921.38 and a Samsung QM55C display is S$1,625.00, a total of S$2,546.38 before installation and mounting.

Is the Barco ClickShare Bar Pro a boardroom system? No. Barco describes it as made for small meeting rooms and huddle spaces, with a maximum microphone pickup of 4 m.

Can a huddle room replace meeting in person? It can make hybrid meetings feel more natural, but no meeting room technology guarantees the same experience as being in the same room.

Should we remove our boardroom entirely? Not necessarily. If large meetings happen regularly, keep one large room and make it divisible or multipurpose, and put the rest of the budget into small rooms.