Forward thinking London Council turns to Poly video conference solutions to accomplish meeting equality
objectives for local government workers
LONDON, UK, November 18, 2021 – Poly (NYSE: POLY) today
announced that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, an inner London
borough with royal status, has successfully met its hybrid working goals for meeting equality. The Council aimed for
a significant uplift in video collaboration technology adoption and achieved it by outfitting 41 of its rooms and
meeting spaces with the Poly
Studio premium USB video bar. Poly’s video conferencing solution now provides a consistent experience
for workers, whether based in council offices or working from home.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had already embarked on its digital transformation, investing heavily in
Microsoft Teams but staff were hesitant to use outdated equipment in the Council’s meeting rooms. The Poly
Studio premium USB video bar brought everyone together in one meeting room, no matter where they joined the
conversation from. An additional challenge was finding a solution that was software agnostic to allow the use of
multiple video conferencing platforms.
Poly’s high-quality video bar’s performance surpassed its official specifications in all tested
configurations while any security concerns were automatically allayed thanks to the video bar’s connectivity
to the already secured employees’ laptops. This simplified the Poly Studio implementation and much-needed
technological updates to meeting spaces. In just 9 days, 30 of the Council’s rooms were equipped with the Poly
Studio intuitive and easy-to-use video bar that ensured meeting rooms could now be used to their maximum potential.
This plug-and-play simplicity was immediately adopted by workers and is now a core component of the Council’s
future hybrid strategies.
“People had given up on AV technology before, disappointed by the hard-to-use, outdated devices the meeting
rooms were equipped with. A mind-shift only took a split second when their needs were realised with Poly
Studio.” Matthew Ford-Enfield, head of workplace technology at the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea, Westminster City Council, commented. “The only thing they now need to do is plug in their laptop
and the rest is business as usual. Thrilled with the combination of price and usability the solution offers,
plus the hassle-free nature for the IT support team, we anticipate that the number of meeting and executive
rooms equipped with this video bar will continue to grow.”
Poly recognises that local government organisations across the globe are already looking to ensure public services
are available and intuitively accessible online, influenced by the uncertainty of the recent pandemic or other major
challenges. Many have already transitioned to a combination of remote and office work, and security continues to be
everyone’s main priority as their teams use the systems to collaborate with each other but also to engage
securely with members of the public from any location.
Paul Clark, senior vice president, EMEA Managing director at Poly, added: “From virtual team meetings to
taking online payments, public sector leaders must ensure the devices and software they’re using for both
internal and external collaboration and engagement are safe and secure, protecting both employee and citizen
data. Service delivery will have to be re-evaluated in a post-Covid light for the revised needs of service users
and employees. Councils that have already invested in their digital transformation, like the Royal Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea, will see considerable returns from this.”
Poly Studio’s high adoption rate, combined with its value proposition, delivers on a very important aspect for
local government bodies that bear the obligation to invest resources wisely for the benefit of local citizens and
makes the video bar the device of choice for the next round of office refurbishments.
Read the full case study on Poly and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea here.
About Poly
Poly (NYSE: POLY) creates premium audio and video products so you can have your best meeting -- anywhere, anytime,
every time. Our headsets, video and audio-conferencing products, desk phones, analytics software and services are
beautifully designed and engineered to connect people with incredible clarity. They're pro-grade, easy to use and
work seamlessly with all the best video and audio-conferencing services. Poly MeetingAI delivers a broadcast quality
video conferencing experience with Poly DirectorAI technology which uses artificial intelligence and machine
learning to deliver real-time automatic transitions, framing and tracking, while NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence
technologies block-out unwanted background noise. With Poly (Plantronics, Inc. – formerly Plantronics and
Polycom), you'll do more than just show up, you'll stand out. For more information visit www.Poly.com.
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About the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council
Kensington and Chelsea is one of London’s most vibrant and recognisable boroughs. It has many unique buildings,
famous museums and beautiful parks. Although the borough is geographically one of the smallest in London, at just
over 4.7 square miles, it is one of the most densely populated and diverse areas in Europe. It is home to the
world-famous Notting Hill Carnival. Kensington and Chelsea Council (also known as RBKC) aims to provide high quality
services to improve the lives of its residents and to make the borough a better place in which to live, work, and
visit. The Council has five directorates, sharing Children’s Services and Adult Social Care and Public Health
with Westminster Council. Other directorates include Environment and Communities, Housing (including Grenfell
recovery), and Assets and Resources.
Media Contact:
Sonal Bisht
Head of corporate communications, EMEA
sonal.bisht@poly.com
+44 1753 723 726