CASE STUDY: U.S. Naval Institute
Executive Boardroom Design and Deployment
Situation
The U.S. Naval Institute has been a fixture at the U.S. Naval Academy since 1873. As the independent platform for the sea services, they are the go to source for current technology within the Navy and its supporting industries. The Naval Institute felt it was critical to upgrade their outdated boardroom which featured very basic audio conferencing and presentation capabilities in order to promote a more collaborative environment. The project stakeholders understood it was critical to find a partner that understood their conferencing needs and could design systems that were flexible, scalable and very easy to use.
Solution
The Naval Institute interviewed several potential technology partners who could help determine the correct solution for their needs. Cenero was selected as the right partner based on their understanding of the business drivers, level of expertise and managed services available to the marketplace.
“The original boardroom at the U.S. Naval Institute was a large space with a very classic naval aesthetic but was missing the right technology elements needed to fit the client’s vision for collaboration, ” said Ernie Beck, Sales Engineer at Cenero. “When we first started the discovery process, USNI was very clear about a few things. First, the system had to be extremely simple to use, it had to preserve the historic aesthetic of the space and it had to sound great.”
The final solution consisted of professional audio and web conferencing, presentation and control elements all with minimal structural modifications to the space. Users could now connect and share from a dedicated PC, laptop or mobile device, both wired and wirelessly. The use of a wireless touch panel and table microphones meant no modifications needed to be made to the custom conference table. To maintain the aesthetics of the room, most of the AV components were discretely located in a small room outside of the boardroom or in a nearby equipment rack.
“Cenero’s comprehensive interface design and training program ensured our staff could easily operate these systems,” said Rick Woodcock, Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Naval Institute. “The follow through and attention to detail was very impressive. When I wanted to add items to the rack, a technician came right out and rewired the connectors for me. I was not expecting that level of support. From implementation to roll out, the process went very smoothly and stayed on schedule. Most importantly, the donors and board of directors were impressed with the results, which means we can continue to keep up with the latest technology for years to come.”
