The Government Property Agency (the GPA) is responsible for leading the transformation of the UK Civil Service office estate, consolidating and modernising government buildings nationwide with a focus on reducing the office footprint, improving sustainability and workplace experience, and ultimately saving taxpayer money. Lightware’s signal management solutions are a key feature in the GPA’s toolkit as the agency rolls out new technology standards across government offices nationwide.
On a project of this scale, the GPA found standardisation of technology to be the most efficient route, compatible with its longer-term technology strategy and overall scalability. Following an 18-month research and development phase, the GPA procured Lightware’s Taurus products as part of its solution that enables hybrid-ready, multi-use meeting environments for a multi-tenant user base.
Designed with the GPA’s core principles of user experience, accessibility, security, supportability and sustainability in mind, a technology standard based around Lightware’s Taurus TPX transmitter and receiver bundle (TPX-2x1-TX20-RX107 Bundle), in conjunction with Sony Bravia displays, a Logitech Rally video conferencing solution and a presence sensor, was established. Smaller, non-video conference solutions use the Taurus Smart Dock (UCX-1x1-C40) for a simplified Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) experience.
Across any of the UK Government offices with the GPA’s audiovisual equipment installed, the user experience remains the same. Upon entering a standard meeting room, a presence sensor, integrated with the Lightware switchers, powers on the display to show a welcome screen, which includes handy instructions for starting a meeting, connecting to centralised Wifi (GovWifi), and IT support contact details. Users then connect their laptops via USB-C to the Taurus unit, giving them a true BYOD experience and full control of the meeting room equipment. As all rooms differ in size and device placement, the Taurus TPX bundles enable high-resolution signal transmission over longer distances of up to 100 metres.
With reduced conference table clutter and no more multi-cable solutions to navigate, users have a simplified yet functional experience, and through minimising hardware, the potential points of failure are also reduced.
