When Innovators Zendesk and Fearing’s Work Together
Zendesk, based in San Francisco, is a company that has been on the forefront of innovation and has valued workspaces that achieve a particular state of corporate zen, all while helping companies deliver exceptional customer service through their cloud-based customer service software. Fearing’s Audio Video Security will be designing and installing audio and video solutions fit for a company like Zendesk in their brand new Madison office overlooking the capital. A reputation and track record of providing excellent service set Fearing’s apart from the field when bidding on the project.
Here are a few of the innovative solutions Fearing’s will employ in the new Zendesk office — solutions which are becoming more and more common on new corporate projects.
Training Room Video Wall
With one quick look at the space designated for the training and presentation room, Fearing’s design team knew right away that a conventional projector and screen would not work. The ceiling was far too low to accommodate a projector and screen, a presenter could not stand in the front of the room without casting a shadow on the screen. Another challenge to a conventional projector and screen were the floor to ceiling windows lining the room, lining all the exterior walls of the entire office space, in fact. The image brightness from a traditional projector would be unable to compete with all the natural light.
So, the Fearing’s team was able to show Zendesk, quite literally, how effective and affordable a direct LED video wall could be. The picture will cut through natural light, there will be no shadow obstruction from people presenting, and it will have a versatility in any presentation or training situation.
Zoom Conferencing
Because of Zendesk’s nationwide and international reach, they do a lot of video conferencing. Zendesk is one of the biggest Zoom customers in the world. Fearing’s, control system of choice, Crestron, has partnered with Zoom so that the API interface can be accessed on a Crestron touch panel. In the past, a separate iPad was needed to control Zoom and another one was used to control the AV in the room. For Zendesk, the Zoom-room experience will be integrated into a simple, intuitive single iPad control source for the AV systems in the entire room.
Video over IP
In one space that required many video inputs and outputs, initially the design called for a standard HDBaseT system. Fearing’s suggested video over IP as a more flexible and cost-effective way of sending audio and video over the IT infrastructure. Video over IP systems are easily scalable because they use the current LAN infrastructure, making them simple to expand or reconfigure as the Zendesk’s needs change in the future.
Individual Zoom-rooms
To make communicating and providing great service to customers a snap, Zendesk will have about 40 small individual web conferencing rooms. Again, each of these individual web conferencing rooms will be considered Zoom-rooms.
Each room will have one iPad on the outside that will show the room schedule, and inside the room will feature one iPad on the wall to control the Zoom conference and an iMac computer for screen share or other service features.
How many iPads will we use for this project? The final number is yet to be determined, but we’re expecting triple digits!
