Like many companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zeigler Auto Group – headquartered in Michigan, with dealerships throughout Illinois and Indiana – needed to revamp its meeting rooms to keep employees connected across the Midwest. And like many companies, Zeigler selected Zoom as its new meeting platform of choice.

Zeigler chose Zoom Room for the platform’s all-in-one video conferencing system designed for meeting rooms of any size. Soon after installation was completed, Zeigler identified an issue with the audio and after a quick inspection, found the solution wasn’t configured correctly. As a result, the room’s audio performance left much to be desired. Zeigler needed to improve the audio without a significant additional investment.

CDW, Zeigler’s technology service provider, turned to RoomReady for an answer.

“RoomReady was uniquely qualified to fix the audio issue,” said Vijay Radhakrishnan, corporate account manager at CDW. “Their integration team is 100% Zoom-certified, so I knew they could quickly find a solution that both maximized the benefits of the Zoom Room solution and required as little extra spend as possible.”

RoomReady’s team was convinced the problem didn’t require a large of budget to fix. Instead, it simply needed the right hardware choices to ensure the room was configured specifically for Zoom. Also, it needed to confirm the new hardware integrated properly with Zeigler’s existing room technology – an Intel NUC mini-computer, an iPad controller and an AVer camera.

RoomReady’s Zoom-certified techs determined microphones supported by a Biamp digital signal processor (DSP) would be a good fit, both with the room’s current equipment and the Zoom Rooms solution. The first step was to install the new microphones and DSP. Next, RoomReady re-integrated the existing amplifier and ceiling speakers with the newly installed equipment. This solved the problem, and the new microphones picked up voices clearly throughout the room.

Once installation was complete, RoomReady put the room through its rigorous certification process, checking and re-checking each piece of technology to ensure a consistent experience. It also conducted tests with participants in the room and remote, to ensure users had a high-quality experience no matter where they participated from.

While the improved microphones and DSP were critical for maximizing the Zoom Rooms technology, Zeigler was also pleased with RoomReady’s superior support throughout the installation process. Not only did the integrator quickly respond to Zeiger’s questions and requests, but RoomReady also provided Zeiger with a 90-day warranty for all hardware in the event that part of the solution needed to be fixed after it went live.

“Investing in a new meeting platform, only to find your new AV equipment doesn’t function effectively with it, is frustrating. And frankly, we didn’t have the time or the budget to gut the solution and start over…That’s why we were pleased that CDW brought RoomReady onto the project. RoomReady’s Zoom-certified techs knew the platform forwards and backwards, and they took the time to ensure all components were working flawlessly before closing out the project. Between RoomReady’s responsiveness and their 90-day warranty, I feel comfortable that our room technology is in good hands.
– Dustin Cook, IT Manager at Zeigler Automotive Group

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