How is the advent of software-based videoconferencing impacting AV deployments for corporate spaces? Hurrairah bin Sohail finds out by examining the installation at ServiceNow’s office in India.
If you have been following our coverage, you will be aware that the corporate sector in India is changing. More specifically, software-based solutions are becoming more
prominent in corporate spaces
that were previously the domain
of AV systems.
The impact of this switch can
be seen at the Indian office of
ServiceNow, a leading, global,
digital workflow company.
Vega Project India was selected
as the integrator to equip the
office spaces with the requisite
AV systems. The project
commenced in May 2019 and
was completed in August 2019.
Jibin Mathew, business
development executive from
Vega Project India, talks about
the integrator’s involvement:
“The scope of the project was to
design, implement, test and
commission the AV systems. The
client wanted a user experience
that would require minimal
intervention and training for
operation, with the technology
being effectively plug and play.
And of course, the client
expected the project to be
completed and delivered
on time.”
ServiceNow’s global standard
and a floor plan with the
functionality requirements
were the starting point for Vega
Project India. Mathew details:
“The technology selected and
deployed was based on the latest
trends in the AV industry. The
most complicated spaces in
terms of designing, programming
and installation were the massive
training rooms. There are eight
training rooms in total which
can work in two different modes,
stand alone and combined mode.
Both modes offer various options
to the end user depending on
usage and the type of meeting
they want to conduct.”
Zoom was the cornerstone
of the technology for the
training rooms and all other
decisions branched out from
this central point. Mathew says:
“We have software-based VC
with ceiling speakers for
sound reinforcement, ceiling
microphones for speech pickup
and pop-up boxes to share the
content locally or in a VC call.”
A Shure MXA910 ceiling
microphone is connected via
Dante to a Cisco network switch.
From here the microphone feeds
into the Shure IntelliMix P300
audio conferencing processor.
The P300 line output is connected
to an Extron MPA 601 amplifier
which is then connected to
Extron SF26CT ceiling speakers
for audio.
Mathew says: “We chose Shure
MXA910 due to its top of the
range features. We have tried
and tested multiple other similar
products and from experience
came to the conclusion that the
MXA910 was best suited for
the job. The programming,
configuration and installation
is such an ease to master.”
Users can connect their laptops
to the video system in the training
room via HDMI to an Extron
switcher through the requisite
transmitters and receivers.
Output from the receivers is fed to
a HDMI capture card converting
the HDMI signal to USB and
thereby passing it on to the
Lenovo thin client PC.
Samsung QB series displays,
mounted with B-Tech BT8225
mounts, have been connected
to the PC via HDMI for visuals.
An Aver CAM520 camera is
connected via USB to the PC to
capture the video feed. An Extron
HC 404 with Zoom meeting
space system is also provided for
collaboration. The HC 404 system
incorporates video switching,
scaling, signal extension, and
system control into a pair of
compact, easily installed
transmitter and receiver modules.
This eliminated the need for
multiple equipment pieces for
scaling, switching and control.
In addition, all-in-one display
solutions were also deployed.
Mathew says: “D7 touch series
from DTEN was used for
interactive display as it has an
in-built camera, OPS, microphone
and speaker. This all-in-one
videoconferencing solution was a
‘cherry on top’ as it met the needs
and requirements of ServiceNow
to provide a complete wireless
and uncomplicated solution. This
enables users to get into a huddle
to have internal meetings quickly
and fulfil their tasks and
functions.”
Control is provided by an
Extron IPCP Pro processor with
TLP Pro 525M touch panels and
Apple iPads serving as input
devices. Zoom is hosted on the
PCs which can be accessed via
an application on the iPads.
Concerning the project, a
representative from ServiceNow
comments: “The quality and
consistency of the physical install
throughout the entire project
was outstanding and should be
recognised for how perfectly it
was executed. The performance
and execution that Vega Project
India displayed for this project
has secured our confidence and
reassured us that Vega is the not
only the right AV integrator for
ServiceNow in India but should
be the only integrator for our
ever-increasing presence and
demand in India.”
Shahbaz Patel, service
enhancement manager at Vega
Project India, added: “This
project is different and it is a
trendsetter in itself due to the
software-based videoconferencing
solution, Zoom, which is the
future of VC technology. Zoom
makes communication with
teams and customers easy and
effective. And the fact that it
can be integrated with other
AV systems makes it reliable
and futuristic. With the new
technology coming in market,
Vega is constantly proving that
we are ready and at pace with
market requirement.”
Regarding the overall AV
systems, Mathew details: “Our
focus was to provide the best
user experience without a large
footprint in room. The setup
was built around Zoom software
[VCaaS]. Extron systems were
preferred because of their
certification with Zoom which
makes installation, configuration
and programming easy. Having
said that, Extron has a small,
compact form switcher with
in-built control processor that
takes away the need of multiple
equipment required in a
conference room.”
Mathew concludes: “The
technology is so robust and
reliable that ServiceNow has
adopted it across its APAC
offices. ServiceNow is moving
to a dynamic work force, allowing
the employees to communicate
with each other effectively and
efficiently.”