Turnkey Cisco Video Conferencing Integration at IPC Systems

IPC Systems is a leading provider of secure, compliant communications and multi-cloud connectivity solutions for the global financial markets. With an already strong US presence and increasing growth in the UK, the company recently expanded its operations in London, moving from offices in Canary Wharf to a new headquarters in Devonshire Square.

London-based IT and AV integrator and solutions provider Tateside, a certified Cisco AV integrator, became involved in the new office fit-out through a recommendation from US-based AV consultant, Samuel Conklin, of Complex IT Solutions. “We were brought in quite late to the project,” recalls Alejandro Roura Labiaga, Project Manager at Tateside. “We were working around tight deadlines and adapting quickly to evolving needs during the final stages of the project.”

Cisco Video Conferencing with BYOD Flexibility for Modern Workspaces

As part of the project, Tateside collaborated closely with multiple stakeholders, including IPC Systems’ own in-house IT team, the workspace design consultants and even furniture specialists, ensuring the smooth integration of both AV and IT systems across the new site.

One of the all-too-familiar problems faced, given the short project timeline, was the procurement of the necessary equipment for the installation. For the project managers, this meant going above and beyond to source the right tech in time. “Being brought into the project at a later phase meant we had to be flexible, highly organised and proactive, especially in our approach to sourcing the required equipment,” says Roura Labiaga. “There were lots of moving parts, and we had to make it all come together in around only four weeks.”

IPC Systems required a complete IT infrastructure and AV integration across several key spaces, including four standard meeting rooms and one large boardroom, a communal ‘Tea Point’ area and an area known as the Innovation Space. Full Cisco Rooms and Cisco video conferencing systems were required, which posed challenges given the quick project turnaround. Tateside’s broad skillset meant they were able to bridge that gap between IT and AV integration and provide a turnkey solution for the new workspace.

“The client wanted professional meeting room video conferencing systems with BYOD flexibility, clean aesthetics and easy-to-use interfaces,” continues Roura Labiaga. “Our goal was to create an intuitive experience for all employees, based on the clients’ preferred Cisco technology standard.”

Meeting Room Video Conferencing Standardised Across Cisco Rooms

To accelerate deployment and reduce complexity, Tateside selected a consistent technology standard that could be scaled across all five of the regular-sized meeting rooms. This was centred around Cisco Room Bar Pro kits. Comprised of an on-table or wall-mounted Cisco Room Navigator touch controller and a dual-camera video bar, mounted beneath the 55” main screen, each room offers a familiar and easy-to-use Cisco Rooms conferencing set-up, with the flexibility to connect up to three displays or other meeting room peripherals as required. Each room is equipped with a Sound Control Technologies Table Kit, which handles signal extension, allowing for complete connectivity between the meeting room table and the peripherals, ensuring BYOD users enjoy full functionality.

“We specified a standard system across these rooms to ensure consistency, ease of use and futureproofing, whilst leaving room for potential automation and upgrades,” explains Roura Labiaga. “For example, the Future Automation brackets make full serviceability easy, helping to streamline any maintenance in the future.”

The boardroom, which accommodates up to 14 people, required a more complex solution. Here, Tateside focused on integrating advanced Cisco video conferencing, camera tracking and immersive audio integration. This room is built around two 65″ Samsung 4K commercial displays fed by long-reach Blustream HDBaseT extenders, allowing for a centralised approach. A quad-camera Cisco Room Kit Pro serves as the brains of the system, paired with a dedicated 4K PTZ camera for high-quality, realistic meeting room video conferencing with camera tracking. Again, Sound Control Technologies extenders were used to transport signals cleanly between the table, AV rack, screens and cameras. A table-mounted Cisco Room Navigator provides one-touch controls for calls, source selection and room functions.

On the audio side, six QSC ceiling loudspeakers provide discreet, even audio coverage along the length and breadth of the room, along with Cisco ceiling microphone units, facilitating clear voice pickup. Together, the result is a quality enterprise-grade AV and conferencing solution, designed for polished meetings but promising simple operation.

“The boardrooms were a real technical challenge but a great accomplishment in terms of the end result,” continues Roura Labiaga. “During the project, we actually relocated much of the AV tech from the room into a dedicated comms room, which added an extra challenge in terms of signal management and extension. In the end, the boardrooms are really high-performance, fully compatible with any video conferencing platform and provide users with an immersive meeting experience that is equally as engaging for remote participants.”

Hybrid Collaboration with Cisco Video Conferencing in All-Hands Spaces

An all-hands area, nicknamed the Tea Point, accommodates up to 30 employees for company-wide events, announcements and socials. Here, an 85″ Samsung 4K display serves as the primary focal point and is mounted on a heavy-duty Future Automation bracket so it can be positioned for optimal visibility during events. An HDMI wall-plate input and Blustream extenders let presenters plug in laptops and share presentations without fuss.

For audio connectivity, there’s an Audac Dante wallplate, perfect for guest presenters, panel mics or playing background music. A Cisco Webex Room Kit EQ system, complete with a built-in quad camera, a separate 4K PTZ camera and a wall-mounted Navigator touchscreen, grants the space with high-quality streaming and meeting room video conferencing capabilities for hybrid all-hands sessions.

On the audio side, eight QSC pendant loudspeakers deliver even sound coverage for the crowd, powered by an 800W QSC amplifier. For presentations, Tateside also supplied a Shure Microflex wireless microphone setup, including handheld mics, lavaliers, bodypacks and a charging station. Two Cisco ceiling mics handle audience participation, such as Q&A sessions, whilst Sound Control Technologies, once again, manages signal extension across the space.

IT Infrastructure and Support by a Leading Cisco AV Integrator

On the IT side, Tateside implemented a resilient backend infrastructure to support the new AV and IT systems. The project included the installation of Cisco switches, structured patching of all devices throughout the office, and the deployment of high-performance wireless access points to ensure reliable connectivity across the workspace. They also supplied, installed and fully tested UPS systems to both communications racks, providing essential power protection and business continuity. Commenting on the delivery, Project Manager Richard Day confirms: “Clear and accurate patching information is key to a successful project. It underpins efficient installation, effective testing, and long-term reliability once the space is in use.”

As employees enjoy their new Devonshire Square offices, the AV systems provide them with flexible and intuitive meeting spaces that promise easy and quick BYOD connectivity, professional audio and video quality and full, frictionless control across all devices and systems. Furthermore, through collaboration with furniture suppliers and an understanding of the client’s aesthetic demands, Tateside ensured all tech integrated remained as visually discreet as possible, resulting in a clean and modern finish to the workspaces.

“What’s special about this project is that it showcases our ability to deliver complex, turnkey AV solutions under tight timelines, from our agility in the face of product procurement challenges to our focus on client satisfaction and our technical expertise in bringing together many different technologies and licenses,” confirms Jack Cornish, Technical Director at Tateside. “We’re proud to have been recommended a major international consultant for this project and recognised as expert Cisco meeting room system video conferencing installers.”

Looking to install Cisco meeting room systems across your enterprise? Contact us today to schedule a consultation!