Building conference rooms for the future

Conference room technology sure has come a long way, baby.

It wasn’t all that long ago when preparing to run a meeting could strike fear into the minds and hearts of even the most confident professionals. Simply knowing you would have to operate multiple remotes, a maze of wires, projectors and/or input/outputs could make anyone break a sweat.

Take it from the legal team at Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel Law.

“In our last space, we were not IT savvy,” said Krista Hart, firm administrator. “It was especially stressful on our attorneys putting together last minute meetings. Working the projector, finding an open laptop to hook up — we don’t want clients to get the sense we’re working in outdated tech spaces.”

Recently, when Panitch made the move to a new office space, the team decided it was time to invest in state-of-the-art conferencing equipment. The only hurdle was that although they were experts in the legal field, they had limited expertise when it came to technology.

“We didn’t know where to start or what to do,” said Hart. “We reached out to Haverford Systems — they were local and recommended to us by another law firm. They brought ideas to the table that we wouldn’t have ever known about if we did this on our own.”

Haverford Systems is a diversified tech company based in Downingtown with a range of audio visual technologies. Since it opened its doors in 1987, the company of 50 has had a front row seat to the evolution of AV technology and curated relationships with high-end camera brands like PTZOptics and HuddleCamHD.

That diversification of companies and products has helped Haverford Systems differentiate itself in the field. From integration (designing AV systems) to distribution (selling its proprietary products globally) to consultancy services, Haverford has its hands in nearly every facet of the AV industry.

Today there is an incredible range of conference room technology that can put companies in touch with the other side of the world in a mere tap of the iPad. But sifting through the myriad options of office space tech is another feat in itself.

Having spent the last 30 years focused solely on this type of  technology, Haverford’s specialty is its “concierge level service.”

“We take the customer through the entire process of setting up conference room systems,” said Shane Riley, senior A/V designer and project manager. “We do a site visit, survey what they currently have, what the best interface and software will be for their needs, and how they want everything to work together.”

Once the system design is agreed upon, Haverford does all of the work to ensure building requirements are in place — network, power, display heights, etc. It then tests, tunes and hands off the system to the customer with a direct line for support anytime they need it.

In Panitch’s case, Haverford was able to take the new space and design a system from scratch. It equipped Panitch with Zoom rooms featuring flat panel displays, PTZOptics cameras and iPad controls. In the largest conference room, Haverford placed two cameras, one on the presenter and one on the audience so that everyone could have a full view of the entire meeting. An iPad lives on a wall dock and can be used at the table to easily control the conference, from starting and stopping to muting and sharing screens. And for the finishing touches, wireless table mics that can be moved around the room and ceiling speakers allow the entire conference room to clearly hear the meeting.

“It’s been the best solution for us. It’s so easy for anyone holding a meeting in our new space,” said Hart. “Simply picking up iPad and knowing what to do has taken away so much stress.”

Curious how Haverford Systems could help upgrade your conference rooms? Click the button below and respond by Feb. 1 for a special offer, and if you’re interested in perusing Haverford Systems’ ecommerce site, geared to the do-it-yourself crowd, click here.

Learn more about working with Haverford Systems