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CASE STUDY – WORKPLACE | GENERA

ABOUT THE PROJECT

With office locations in Santiago and Concepción, Chile, Genera has 35 years of experience developing advanced technologies for personnel management. This includes software solutions for human resources, recruitment and talent acquisition, performance and work-climate management, access control, and meeting-room management. It also offers hardware integration services for access control and time-clock solutions. With a team of specialists capable of developing tailored technical solutions supporting the varied aspects of employee enablement, Genera caters to the varied needs of its clients regardless of company size.

THE BOSE PROFESSIONAL SOLUTION

Genera Office Building

During the first half of 2020, Genera’s directors realized that the business world would be forever changed. Taking advantage of the down time most businesses experienced, Genera invested in a business consulting partner to help guide their strategic planning process in preparation for the “new normal” in business.

Among the different discoveries that emerged was the importance of maintaining permanent and close contact with customers, especially during the development and implementation stages of a Genera solution. As a technology company, Genera employs a variety of tools such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, as well as collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams. However, they did not have a robust videoconferencing solution that would suit their relaxed yet dynamic style of meetings, where some attendees remain seated, others would stand, and even others would move around. Additionally, as Carlos Ibañez, partner and CEO of Genera, explained, “It was clear that meetings and day-to-day work would move more towards a hybrid model, with some of our employees participating in-person at the office and others from different locations.”

Genera Meeting with Bose Professional VB1

Taking all of this into account, the Genera team focused on identifying a videoconferencing solution that would allow easy communication with customers, suppliers, and collaborators in an agile, reliable, and hassle-free way. So, they explored the different options available in the market.

After consulting with several AV integrators, Chilean integrator Opentec proposed an extended demo of the Videobar VB1. From the start, the all-in-one USB device provided natural sound and clear, 4k ultra-HD images. Over the two-week period of using the VB1, the Genera team quickly became familiar with the device features and functionality, experiencing the ease of intuitive hybrid meeting technology. After just a few meetings, the Genera team was amazed by the sound clarity, audio capture, and video quality delivered by the VB1, and there was no doubt about which device — and integrator — to choose.

Before the installation, Opentec analyzed both the CEO’s office where the VB1 would be installed and Genera’s casual and versatile meeting dynamics to ensure the best positioning within the space. The office is approximately 20 square meters (215 square feet) containing Ibañez’s desk and a small meeting area. The furniture is made of wood with large glass covers, and one side of the room has a large glass wall 5 meters (approximately 16 feet) wide by 3 meters (approximately 9 feet) high.

“The space Genera uses for meetings is acoustically complex, as it functions as both the CEO’s office and boardroom,” explained Rodrigo Prieto, commercial director of Opentec. “This means that some conferences may start with a single participant sitting behind a desk but can quickly transform into a meeting of three, four, or six people, some seated and others standing.”

Thanks to the VB1 capabilities, the acoustic challenges within the room were addressed, providing the versatility needed to support their meeting culture. Using the optional kit for mounting below the video screen, both the display and the VB1 devices are suspended from a pole enhancing the built-in tilt and zoom capabilities ensuring the meeting participants are all seen regardless of the seating arrangements. The laptop that runs the videoconference meetings is placed on a credenza located just below the VB1, taking advantage of the single USB cable connection.

Genera Meeting with Bose Professional VB1

The performance of the VB1 six beam-steering microphones within this office-meeting room is remarkable, not only because of how it supports having a varied seating arrangement, but it also adjusts to the large number of glass surfaces. Despite these acoustically adverse conditions, the microphone system technology achieves efficient voice pickup and ambient noise cancellation so remote participants can hear all Genera collaborators clearly.

Since Genera uses Microsoft Teams as their standard productivity UC platform, using the VB1 was easier than expected. Being certified for Microsoft Teams, integration and operation with the VB1 flows smoothly and helps meetings start immediately.

The VB1 provides intuitive, transparent technology, so scheduling hybrid meetings is quick, keeping the meeting focused on communicating with customers, finding solutions to their needs, and collaborating at a moment’s notice — all which is essential for Ibañez.

Genera Office Building

“We understand that work has evolved to hybrid collaboration,” Ibañez said. “That’s why we knew a tool like the VB1 would allow us to show ourselves as a united team when we meet with a client via videoconference. The image of our team collaborating in the same room is incredibly potent.”

During meetings, participants can easily hear the conversation in the room, which contributes to keeping everyone engaged. The impressive audio clarity allows attendees to fully comprehend the ideas and information presented by Genera’s collaborators, whether they are talking while walking around or moving to the whiteboard, or sitting in the far corner of the meeting room.

After several months of using the Videobar VB1, it has become a natural, integral part of how the Genera team operates. It is now an essential tool for their customer meetings providing the audio and visual clarity as if all participants were present in the same space.

“VB1 has proved to be useful for conducting meetings with clients. We can participate with all those involved in the project, the communication is direct and thanks to that we provide better solutions.”

— Carlos Ibañez
Partner and CEO of Generar

MMT Logo

MMT specializes in the distribution of audiovisual products for professional use. It has offices and a showroom in Santiago, Chile that is also home to their group of specialists who provide advice to professional-AV integrators. Since 2019, MMT is the wholesale distributor of Bose Professional products in Chile.

Opentec Logo

Opentec is a technology solutions integrator with operations in Chile, with more than 20 years of combined experience in the technology sector. The company focuses on providing audiovisual solutions for clients in retail, hospitals, transportation terminals, corporate offices, and educational institutions.

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