Grant Thornton is a large accounting firm with over a hundred meeting rooms across Australia. Like many firms, they used the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic to upgrade and modernize their rooms.  They knew they needed to undertake a digital transformation journey to modernize, simplify and standardize their user experiences across many locations, while at the same time upgrading from Skype for Business to a native Microsoft Teams Solution.

They wanted their employees to collaborate as equals – whether they were working from home, on the go or in the office.  Their search was for a solution that would simply and easily replace their existing room systems without having to reinvent the wheel.

After researching the space in detail, Grant Thornton selected a suite of Poly systems to meet their needs.  The Poly Studio X30s they selected were more cost effective than the MTR options they reviewed, and they were so simple to install that they could manage the deployment internally – which also resulted in significant cost savings for the project.

Supplementing those, Poly Studio X50s and G7500s handled the larger and more complex rooms in the project.  Because all of these systems had the same user interface and firmware, Grant Thornton could standardize their user experience across all locations.  And, because they were all Android based appliances, they were able to easily slide into rooms to replace previously existing devices with only minor tweaks needed to existing automation and control systems.

“The complexity of our larger rooms with significant automation” provided an additional challenge, according to Carlo De-Fazio, Technology Officer at Grant Thornton.  “These rooms can sit between 20 and 250 people in any given video conference, and each individual room refit would have required significant investment to make it Microsoft Teams compatible.”

He explained that their research and comparisons quickly showed the Poly solutions to be the best option on the market.  “Not only was the cost of the [Poly] units less expensive than the Windows-based devices, but the installation was far simpler. Cabling locations, including various parts to the unit, were fewer, and the overall footprint was lighter,” said Carlo. “This meant we could do the installation ourselves, which not only saved money on the devices but the installation cost as well,” he added.

Over a series of months Grant Thornton started retrofitting the rooms themselves (with light touch support from their local vendors NQAV and Generation-e.)  “It became obvious how easy the device setup was, and the user experience was solid. Each month new features were added to the devices, and they quickly surpassed the Windows devices for feature parity” Carlo explained.  “The new rooms performed brilliantly. They look so professional, and our people have picked up the new interface very swiftly,” he highlighted.

“We saved millions of dollars and still had a premium finish” he explained.  However, he pointed out that in reality, “the saving was not as significant [to us] compared to how nice the new equipment is. The rooms look brilliant, and the devices were easy to setup. Overall, we could not be happier with our approach and outcome.”

Click above to hear Carlo explain in his own words.

When Grant Thornton looked for a solution that would allow their over fourteen-thousand employees to make hybrid working a seamless experience – no matter where they were working from – Poly systems were clearly the right answer.  To find out more about how Poly solutions can be the right answer for your organizations, and to learn about Poly’s unique, next-generation innovations like Poly Director AI and NoiseBlock AI, reach out to your local Poly representative.

SECURE A ONE-TIME DISCOUNT ON YOUR FIRST POLY MICROSOFT TEAMS ROOM

Poly is delighted to offer a unique, one-time discount on your first Microsoft Teams Room. This offer applies to both the Poly Studio Focus and Small/Medium Room Kits for Microsoft Teams Rooms.

For more information about Poly’s solutions for Microsoft Teams, contact a Poly representative or head to Poly.com!

Financial services will always be an in-person business. This isn’t surprising, after all, the industry is built on relationships, traditionally face-to-face. High-stakes mergers and acquisitions often hinge on subtle emotional cues and body language as much as they do numbers. However, something subtle yet remarkable is beginning to occur regarding what constitutes in-person. As more dealmaking, portfolio reviews and client nurturing take place over video, finance professionals are finding that the magic of in-person connection can take place virtually too, if the right conditions are met.

Achieving the effect of an in-person connection isn’t strictly about where you meet; it’s about feeling like you’re in the same room together. Financial institutions can elevate the virtual meeting experience with professional-grade audio and video solutions to capture more non-verbal communication and maximize impact during pitches and meetings. This means bank employees, even those sitting at the back of the room, will look and sound their best as they navigate the subtleties of dealmaking.

Just as some firms look to technology to drive digital transformation and growth, banks and financial institutions should look to technology as a comprehensive solution to help them be more flexible and adaptable when making deeper connections with their employees and customers.

This kind of flexibility creates possibilities for wealth managers and financial advisors to stay connected to their client base anywhere, anytime. The virtual white-glove experience can also be applied to virtual meetings, conferences and roadshows, which help make these events accessible to a wider investor base. Pro-grade audio and video devices enable advisors to maintain rich virtual interactions and consistently high-quality meeting experiences, no matter where clients are located and when they want to meet.

On a more internal level, banks and financial institutions can look to communication and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom to help bring distributed teams and a hybrid workforce together more effectively. At the same time, pro-quality collaboration technology allows those working from the office conference room and those dialing in remotely to participate and collaborate on equal footing.

Poly is ready to help make personal connection real from anywhere. By providing a more consistent experience for all employees, regardless of where they work, financial institutions can boost employee engagement and teamwork, which in turn, benefits the customer experience wherever their customers prefer to be, and more importantly, the bottom line.

Download the infographic on Three Hybrid Work Challenges in Financial Services to help your employees start building relationships with their clients from anywhere by elevating the virtual meeting experience.