Client Case: Ciklum

How Ciklum enhanced its virtual meetings with ASUS Hardware - Google Meet hardware kit

About the client: Ciklum is a leading global digital product development and digital services company that partners with Fortune 500 companies and rapidly growing organizations. With a global team of over 4,000 highly skilled developers, designers, analysts, and product owners, Ciklum develops technologies that reimagine industries and shape the way people live.

Project start date: December 2022

Project completion date: February 2023

Challenge: The Ciklum team are active users of Google Workspace (from now GWS) solutions for building efficient work in the office and remotely for a long period. Employees constantly use GWS tools such as Gmail, Sheets, Documents, Presentations, Drive, Calendar, and others.

However, the company’s online meetings are mostly held in Zoom. While the Zoom app makes meeting integration with Google Calendar possible, it does not provide the advanced features available in the highly integrated apps of the GWS family.

Thus, the Ciklum team had the goal of equipping meeting rooms in one of their offices in the Czech Republic with devices that allowed high-quality video conferencing and were compatible with Google Meet.

Solution: To solve the problem of equipping meeting rooms in the company’s office in Prague, the Cloudfresh team joined Ciklum to help. It all started with consultations and selecting the optimal solution: the Ciklum team told in detail about the solutions they use and provided technical information about existing cameras and the necessary integrations for more efficient work. First, Cloudfresh employees tested existing Ciklum cameras with Google Meet equipment for compatibility, and after detailed technical due diligence, the teams began to select the right equipment.

Consulting from Cloudfresh, during which an analysis of the existing type of meeting room equipment and the various hardware options available for the Google Meet suite, helped to choose the most optimal solution for the company’s needs. Ciklum settled on the ASUS Google Meet Hardware Large Room kit, designed for large meeting rooms of up to 20 people.

The selected kit includes all the necessary peripherals, namely:

1. Speakermic for Google Meet: A dedicated dynamic designed for Google Meet with 360° audio output, effective background noise control, and all necessary mounting hardware.
2. Multi-login touchscreen control panel for better compatibility with different employee devices.
3. The computing system, optimized for automatic Google Meet updates, provides a high level of security and has been tested against all relevant industry requirements.

Now employees and partners can easily and quickly join a meeting with one click and share the speaker’s screen in high quality. The company can provide the best virtual experience even for those who connect from any location and device.

The installation of ASUS Google Meet hardware kit equipment in the company’s meeting rooms contributed to more productive meetings in Google Meet due to the compatibility and integration of the tool with other GWS solutions. It allowed Ciklum to optimize and improve most of the routine work, such as:

• Scheduling and creating appointments in Google Calendar just got easier and faster, with the ability to check colleagues’ availability in one place without additional integrations and extra steps.
• Collaborate on Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations in online meetings.
• Slideshow in Google Slides – immediately in Google Meet, without going to other browser tabs.
• Meetings conduction: Instant Reactions (emojis), Polls, Breakout Rooms, Whiteboarding, and Attendance Tracking have significantly increased the interactivity of team meetings.
• Further analysis and provision of access to meetings: its recording and automatic storage on Google Drive have become helpful for employees who actively use this tool in their work.

After some months of using the Google Meet Hardware from ASUS, the Ciklum team decided to try the Lenovo meeting solutions together with Cloudfresh, which provided the company with a cost-efficient offer. So, the team installed the Lenovo Google Meet Series One Medium Room kits in their meeting room in the Prague and Bratislava offices.

Lenovo offers a range of innovative and user-friendly solutions specifically designed for Google Meet. The Medium kit, suitable for 6 to 10 seats, provided Ciklum with all the tools and features to effectively manage your video conferences, ensuring a productive and engaging virtual meeting experience. The team immediately got all the components for a better meeting in one box: a powerful computing system, smart audio bar, 4k-capable AI camera, mic pod, and touch controller.

Google Meet Series One from Lenovo elevates Ciklum’s collaboration and meeting experience by empowering teams with the following:

1. Simplified Installation: Effortless setup with user-friendly features.

2. Exceptional Audio Quality: Crystal-clear sound through noise-cancellation technology.

3. Dependable Durability: Robust and long-lasting hardware for sustained performance.

4. Personalized Aesthetics: Various stylish options, including chalk and charcoal colors.

5. Cutting-Edge Workplace Collaboration: Innovative hardware components.

Results: The installation of ASUS and Lenovo hardware improved the productivity of Ciklum virtual meetings and contributed to integrating all processes into a unique functional GWS workspace.

The Ciklum team received the following:

1. Convenience and ease of use of devices with an intuitive connection of equipment without unnecessary cables, the ability to participate in video meetings in one click, and high-quality screen sharing of speakers immediately in Google Meet.
2. Productive employee collaboration through Google Meet integrations with other GWS tools, as well as the ability to use advanced Google Meet functionality during meetings.
3. Ongoing technical support from Cloudfresh.

Cloudfresh Role: Cloudfresh’s Google Meet experts analyzed the type of meeting room devices and existing Ciklum video meeting solutions and consulted on the optimal equipment at the company’s request. Before installing the equipment, Cloudfresh employees tested it for compatibility with Google Meet, consulted on installing and activating the necessary Google Meet licenses, and integrated them with the company’s Calendar and meeting rooms.

In addition, the Cloudfresh team has developed text-based instructions for administrators and users to create meetings and add them to meeting rooms, start a video conference, and effectively synchronize with the installed equipment. Team collaboration continues, and Cloudfresh provides Ciklum with support and advice on selected solutions.