RoomReady and Cumberland Group tag team to provide healthcare organization with simple, usable Cisco-enabled rooms
When a large, Atlanta-based healthcare organization needed to upgrade and refresh 40 of its existing meeting rooms, it knew it needed expert advice to get the job done right. Employees wanted meeting rooms that provided simplicity, ease of use and consistency. The problem? They were frustrated by the lack of current room functionalities and the sub-par experiences they encountered during each meeting.
The company was saddled with inconsistent room types, antiquated equipment, complicated user interfaces and various hardware and software to support. It needed to update each room’s video equipment and add video capabilities into spaces that lacked them. And, most importantly, it wanted to ensure it was using its Cisco-enabled meeting rooms to the best of the technology’s capabilities.
The healthcare organization hired Cumberland Group because it was pleased with the work the company had done on a previous project. Cumberland Group is an Atlanta-based advisory group that provides cloud service enablement and converged infrastructure solutions – and partners exclusively with RoomReady for all its AV needs. In fact, Cumberland Group Director of Collaboration Jonathan Schulenberg describes RoomReady as “an extension of our team.”
“Unlike other AV partners we’ve used, with RoomReady we are always on the same sheet of music for what the end meeting room result will look like” Schulenberg said. “In that sense, RoomReady is unique.”
Relying on RoomReady expertise
Together, Cumberland Group and RoomReady conducted a thorough meeting room assessment that included documenting equipment, identifying consistent standards and pinpointing reusable hardware. The site survey also examined existing installations and found that many had been improperly installed. With these factors effectively removing efficiencies of scale across meeting rooms, the team deduced that each room had to be individually designed with simplicity in mind.
Optimizing meeting room functionality
With the assessment complete, Cumberland Group and RoomReady began the process of developing a new set of room standards to create a consistent experience across the organization’s meeting rooms. RoomReady was especially crucial in this progress given its tech-agnostic approach, which allowed it to effectively integrate existing non-Cisco hardware with the newly purchased Cisco solutions.
“We are good at the Cisco gear” said Schulenberg. “And while RoomReady is too, we rely on their expertise for the non-Cisco gear. This knowledge ensured that we not only met client expectations, but also helped optimize the previously under-utilized equipment.”
While the project initially called for updating 40 rooms, the hospital elected to break the project into two phases, with an initial emphasis on 20 of the organization’s more occupied rooms. And because work was to commence during the COVID-19 pandemic, RoomReady needed to rework its standard installation protocols to accommodate healthcare facility precautions. Even with these pivots, much to the praise of the hospital’s management team, Cumberland Group and RoomReady were able to safely complete the 20- room refresh project in just three months – and the results have been telling.
Since completion, employees have noted a more consistent, pleasant experience – one that is free from complexities and frustration. This has led to an increase in employee morale and even began changing perceptions of meetings across the organization.
“It took a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get equipment functioning the right way and to replace a subpar user experience with an exceptional one,” Schulenberg said. “RoomReady was with us from the start and will be with us until the end of the second phase of this project, too.”