Sennheiser come to Softcat's aid to create a sound solution

Ever since its founding in 1945, Sennheiser has been continuously setting trends in the audio industry. Right up to the present, their innovative inspiration, curiousity and passion have made their products and services immensely successful.

The Challenge

Softcat were experiencing sub-standard sound quality during online sales managers meetings, hosted from the boardroom in Marlow. Important information was regularly being lost and participants were required to repeat themselves more and more. The result was lost productivity and increased costs.

A consequence of poor sound quality in the boardroom led more frequently to greater frustration, eventually leading to increased travel time as staff chose instead to travel to the Marlow office to meet face-to-face.

The Solution

Softcat chose to work with a trusted partner, Sennheiser, to develop a solution. Softcat had previously provided Sennheiser products to customers including headsets and conferencing solutions. The Softcat IT Management and Collaboration Specialist were responsible for carefully selecting the solution.

Softcat heard about Sennheiser’s TeamConnect Ceiling Microphones from their Sennheiser account manager, Jane Wheeler. Jane provided consultation and set up an in-depth demonstration at Sennheiser’s UK office to show the stakeholders how the right solution could solve the business dilemma by dramatically improving the audio quality in their meeting environment.

Sennheiser worked with Carillon in partnership for the installation and professional services, who in combination had delivered many successful projects previously, ensuring a successful fit with the best possible results.

This resulted in Softcat securing two Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling Microphones for their boardroom in Marlow. 

The TeamConnect Ceiling Microphone uses the latest beamforming technology to automatically focus on the participant speaker - whether sitting, standing, or moving around within the space.

TeamConnect Ceiling has provided Softcat with increased flexibility and removed the need for continued maintenance. The audio communication connection to their video conferencing system has been made quick and simple, compatible with any audio DSP, working seamlessly with Softcat’s Cisco DX 80.

The Benefits

Sennheiser is known for outstanding audio quality. Important meetings are often hosted in boardrooms, making it business critical for each and every participant to be heard loud and clear at all times. The Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling Microphone helped to ensure everyone is heard when speaking, eliminating communication “dead spots”. Participants can move around freely while they are presenting with the microphone automatically adapting to remove unwanted noises and always focus on important speech. An additional benefit experienced is that tables and chairs can be configured in any format to suit the style of meeting given the placement of the microphone in the ceiling.

The solution provided is simple and easy to use. The new audio system works with any device including PC, mobile and tablets.

The solution means that the meeting set up time is reduced and the teams at Softcat were able to use the system almost immediately. The new audio system has hugely improved sound quality, meaning every person in meetings, now and in the future, will be clearly heard, resulting in more convenient and effective group communications, with less repetition of information.

The new reliable audio conferencing technology is helping to increase productivity by directly reducing travel time as more people realise the need to travel to Marlow for face-to-face meeting is no longer required, helping Softcat increase their green credentials and reduce environmental impact.

Solution highlights

• Reduced set up time
• Greater compatibility
• Reduction in travel time and associated costs
• Removed need for continued maintenance
• A reduction in ‘dead spots’
• Increased productivity
• Less environmental impact