Alma Media welcomes smoother video conferencing and a one-stop partner.
"While video conferencing is nothing new to us as a concept, the implementation of Elisa Videra services has made it all go so much smoother. And usability in daily life is what we are always looking for to make users' lives better." says Juha Punnonen, CIO at Alma Media.
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"We all have laptops and VPNs, and the vast majority of our services are cloud-based," says Juha Punnonen, CIO at Alma Media. "Anything we’re working on in the office can be taken home and continued there."
At Alma Media, video conferences have been actively held for a decade already, long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in the spring 2020. Despite years of experience working remotely, live meetings in conference rooms have also played an important role in Alma Media’s business negotiations. Collaboration agreements are all about trust, and trust is about how people feel towards each other.
"Seeing facial expressions in discussions is important," Punnonen emphasises. “For the past six months, I haven’t physically entered a conference room. We have rooms equipped with state-of-the-art video conferencing technology, but it remains idle as everyone is working remotely.”
The pandemic has raised the question of how
to establish trust with partners and potential customers if people can’t meet
face to face, not even for the first time.
As Alma Media had recently invested in the Pexip technology platform and Cisco equipment, the implementation of Elisa Videra’s services took place conveniently. Some of the existing configurations had to be altered, some new devices installed, but Juha Punnonen states that, all in all, the project was clear and the execution flawless.
In addition, there was increased reliability with continuity. That was largely thanks to the fact that the overall solution was set up on the Pexip platform instead of a single solution such as Teams. According to Juha Punnonen, a substantial investment such as this should not be chained into a certain service – or into a certain service provider.
All fields of technology, no matter how advanced, tested and proven they may be, are subject to unexpected breakages. These can lead to downtime as everyone has to wait for the support department to discover the problem and fix it the best possible way.
The same goes for video conferencing: at times, usually when you expect it the least, something just goes down. With several people in multiple locations waiting for things to get back to normal, these minutes or even hours can turn out to be expensive. Not only due to the accumulated salaries wasted on idle time but also, in some cases, a potential or even existing customer getting impatient and backing off from a lucrative deal.
When there are several potential sources, the risk accumulates.
"In video conferencing, the problem can be in a wide variety of places," Punnonen states. "It can be in the equipment, basic service, telecommunication connections or some other element. This makes troubleshooting even more challenging."
Alma Media has reduced this risk by turning
to one supplier in all related ICT issues. Especially in today's business
world, time is money, and experience has shown that a solid one-stop-shop
approach helps save both. With Elisa in charge of such an important part of
Alma Media's ICT infrastructure, getting better reliability, better quality and
better support becomes a lot easier.
COVID-19 appeared a couple of months after Elisa Videra’s services had been implemented at Alma Media and it changed the way both personnel and customers work. With nimble solutions, the capacity portfolio was smoothly adapted to evolving needs, and Elisa Videra’s discussions with Alma Media on how to develop the opportunities to meet current expectations are ongoing.
“The big question is how our customers will adapt to video conferencing,” Punnonen explains. “Increasing interest is evident, but it is not certain if that’s a temporary peak that will quiet down with the pandemic."
Every team has its own ways of working, so even when it comes to video conferencing, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Luckily, the chosen solution can be adjusted smoothly, and a one-stop-shop such as Elisa will provide timely support when it comes to solving problems and developing the overall solution to be the very best it can be.
As the development of digitalization continues and brings new and advanced solutions to the market, Alma Media can rely on staying at the forefront.
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Your business needs and requirements come first with our vendor and platform agnostic solutions. We make the most of your existing investment and compliment them with new solutions where it makes sense. Elisa Videra’s Advisory and Design Services ensure integration to your existing business tools and processes for swift implementation and successful user adoption.
Enjoy a stress-free solution delivery and deployment experience on a global scale. To make use of any existing investment, these assets can be onboarded and even upgraded. By following global delivery standards, we ensure the solutions are delivered and are appropriately installed for use at your locations – free of risks and first-time-right.
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Enjoy the benefits of stress-free communication solutions. We remove the complexity of communication tools maintenance; preventive services and continuous monitoring to fix issues before notable impact. When support is needed our team of solution specialists are available 24/7 to help you get back on track.
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Provide your people with freedom of choice, wherever they meet and work. Our experts are at your service from quick deployment to designing a solution that fits your needs, keeping the service running and assisting when you need help.