For the past few years, many AV/IT industry manufacturers and solution providers had already been developing and delivering products to enable the Bring Your Own Device, and Meeting trend. And the timing could not have been more fortuitous. As companies retrofit and design additional meeting room spaces to accommodate the needs of a hybrid workforce, more than ever before AV/IT managers are seeking solutions that are easy to deploy, manage, monitor, and perhaps most important—easy to use.
From presentation and videoconferencing systems, to compact room control, to displays with advanced features built-in, today’s “all-in-one” solutions are replacing multiple black boxes. Meeting room systems that used to require several cables on the table now have one, or none. Workers are able to walk into a meeting space with their device of choice and easily connect and begin work.
Ease-of-use, scalability and flexibility are the mantras for this growing segment of AV/IT solutions.
Family Business with a Taste for Collaboration
Rich Products is a family-owned food company dedicated to bringing creative solutions to industry professionals around the globe—from food service and retail, to in-store bakeries and prepared foods. Thomas Geblein, solution architect for digital enablement at Rich Products, and his team set out to standardize on a scalable technology platform that would support and enhance collaboration and productivity across all their global locations.
Thomas and his team worked with Veraview LLC to outfit their facility with leading-edge Crestron UC, room scheduling, and room control technology solutions that would foster a more productive and collaborative working environment. As a company standardized on Microsoft Teams software, Crestron Flex UC solutions provided Rich’s with a full suite of products designed to facilitate collaboration in every meeting room, along with a consistent, simple user experience. Geblein said, “Crestron Flex for Microsoft Teams provides us with a core ecosystem of products that delivers a single, unified experience for all of our associates and which accommodates their evolving needs.”
[ Crestron Adds Wireless Conferencing to AirMedia ]
Rich’s also uses Crestron technology to host culinary events from their production studio. Their Innovation Space, which includes a production studio, town hall conference spaces, an atrium, and specialized kitchen, is equipped with numerous Crestron Flex C-Series UC Video Conference Systems for hosting virtual demonstrations to better serve their customers. Geblein explained, “The way we work has radically changed due COVID-19. Our associates are dispersed globally, and we have to equip them with the ability to work from anywhere. The world has become our workplace and Crestron provides us with technology solutions that are essential to keep moving forward.”
Luxury Automotive Brand Gets a Communications Upgrade
Consumers love BMW for its world-class driving experience, reliable safety, and cutting-edge technology. To provide more valuable services for customers, there is a need for collaboration and communication efficiency, but problems in equipment connection, configuration, and maintenance in traditional conference rooms were causing a bottleneck.
"The efficient and smooth conference experience has helped us improve communication and sharing efficiency both internally and externally and has ensured that our company remains competitive." — IT Infrastructure at BMW Group
To solve this issue, BMW Group partnered with Intel to build a new unified wireless conference system based on the Intel Unite solution. The system frees meeting participants from worrying about cable connections, complicated applications, and driver installations—reducing the need for IT support, and lowering the system’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). With Intel Unite, conferences start faster—taking just a few seconds instead of 10-20 minutes—and during a conference, participants can join, share, and switch presenters with just a single click. It also provides greater security, with shared content fully encrypted through a TLS protocol, as well as a rotating PIN code.
IT Infrastructure at BMW Group weighed in on the collaboration with Intel, saying, “The efficient and smooth conference experience has helped us improve communication and sharing efficiency both internally and externally and has ensured that our company remains competitive. The Intel Unite solution offers a consistent, smooth, and secure conference experience, and provides extensive support for more intelligent services. It helps us to enhance conference efficiency and enrich the user experience. Our employees have welcomed it happily.”
[ Intel Unite Addresses Hybrid Work Realities ]
In the future, BMW Group will work with Intel to introduce more capabilities to meeting rooms equipped with the Unite solution—future projects including integrating Unite and the meeting room booking function, as well as integrating to other information systems such as internal messaging to broadcast audio files, videos, images, and other promotional content to displays.
Display Shines in the Yellowhammer State
PeopleTec is a leading defense contractor based in Huntsville, Alabama—specializing in emerging technologies, engineering solutions, modeling and simulation, cybersecurity, and mission operations support. The company’s continued success relies equally on effective communication, utilization of the latest technologies, and responsiveness to customers’ needs. As part of its commitment to innovative technology, PeopleTec recently became the first business in the state to purchase and install the new 130-inch all-in-one DVLED display from LG Business Solutions USA.
PeopleTec’s new LG display provides everything needed in a single package that’s easy to install and operate. Compatible with control system integration, the TAA-compliant display also includes the versatile webOS for Signage smart platform. The stunning picture quality is enabled by the display’s 1.5mm pixel pitch, 500 nits of brightness, HDR 10 Pro capability and up to a 160-degree viewing angle.
[ LG & Userful Offer Software-Defined AVoIP Solution for Enterprise ]
According to M3 Technology Group, which recommended and installed the new LG LAAF series DVLED display and other conference room technologies, the upgrade has transformed PeopleTec’s conference experience for their employees and guests by increasing the ease and impact of delivering content on a giant, wall-sized screen. “We want visitors to walk away knowing that our technological capabilities are leading edge in the defense contractor space, and a big, bright, crisp video display is an effective way to make that statement,” Terry Jennings, CEO of PeopleTec said. In fact, the results from the install were so immediately compelling and effective that PeopleTec is already considering more LG display solutions to replace other conference room projection systems.
