{"id":24868,"date":"2022-08-11T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=24868"},"modified":"2022-08-10T14:10:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T21:10:14","slug":"grant-thornton-deploys-poly-solutions-to-upgrade-rooms-for-microsoft-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/grant-thornton-deploys-poly-solutions-to-upgrade-rooms-for-microsoft-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Grant Thornton Deploys Poly Solutions to Upgrade Rooms For Microsoft Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

They wanted their employees to collaborate as equals – whether they were working from home, on the go or in the office.\u00a0 Their search was for a solution that would simply and easily replace their existing room systems without having to reinvent the wheel.<\/p>\n

After researching the space in detail, Grant Thornton selected a suite of Poly systems to meet their needs.\u00a0 The Poly Studio X30s<\/a><\/span> 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 \u2013 which also resulted in significant cost savings for the project.<\/p>\n

Supplementing those, Poly Studio X50s<\/a><\/span> and G7500s<\/a><\/span> handled the larger and more complex rooms in the project.\u00a0 Because all of these systems had the same user interface and firmware, Grant Thornton could standardize their user experience across all locations.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe complexity of our larger rooms with significant automation\u201d provided an additional challenge, according to Carlo De-Fazio, Technology Officer at Grant Thornton.\u00a0 \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that their research and comparisons quickly showed the Poly solutions to be the best option on the market.\u00a0 \u201cNot 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,\u201d said Carlo. \u201cThis meant we could do the installation ourselves, which not only saved money on the devices but the installation cost as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Over a series of months Grant Thornton started retrofitting the rooms themselves (with light touch support from their local vendors NQAV and Generation-e.) \u00a0\u201cIt 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\u201d Carlo explained.\u00a0 \u201cThe new rooms performed brilliantly. They look so professional, and our people have picked up the new interface very swiftly,\u201d he highlighted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saved millions of dollars and still had a premium finish\u201d he explained.\u00a0 However, he pointed out that in reality, \u201cthe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n