Samsung and NEC
target hospitality
sector
As part of a technology upgrade,
Ambassadors Bloomsbury recently
installed new Samsung Hospitality TVs
and a Samsung Electronics unified voice
& data platform.
Specially designed for the hospitality
industry, the voice and data system replaces
the hotel’s ageing PABX telephone system,
separate DECT radio infrastructure andWi-Fi
network with a single fully integrated solution.
Instead of separate DECT and desk phones,
staff now use Samsung smartphones equipped
with Voice over WiFi.With users’ mobile and
internal extension credentials on one device,
staff can be contacted on a single number and
single device regardless of their location.
Francisco Ventura, general manager,
Ambassadors Bloomsbury, says that the
new solution has not only transformed staff
communications, but also the guest Wi-Fi
experience.
He said: “Upgrading our systems has
made me realise how poor our service was
previously. Our Wi-Fi service for customers
and staff is now accessible everywhere and
integration of mobiles into the system has
given us a much better and lower cost method
of communication with staff wherever they
are. This will result in better customer service.”
Smart hospitality
Like Samsung, NEC has developed fully
integrated solutions for the hospitality
industry. It has just launched the NEC
Smart Hospitality Solutions portfolio
comprising communications platforms,
Unified Communications (UC) applications,
Property Management Systems (PMS), facial
recognition systems, digital signage and
guest room management systems.
Individual modules can be tightly
integrated and information shared between
them, enabling hotel owners and operators
to provide value-add guest services and
improve the productivity of hotel staff.
As an example, NEC cites its facial
recognition solution, which makes it possible
to view footage from cameras at hotel
entrances and identify VIP guests in real-
time using facial data registered in a PMS.
Hotel staff can then greet guests personally.
Another example is the ability of guests
to check-in and check-out or order room
service using tablet terminals or their own
smartphones.
NEC plans to strengthen the NEC
Smart Hospitality Solutions portfolio while
promoting a ‘Hotel IT in a Box’ approach,
which consolidates different hotel solutions
on a single server platform. NEC launched
its vertically integrated solutions platform
for the hospitality industry, the Application
Platform for Hotels, to the Asian market in
April 2015.
Yasunori Sakamoto, group chief executive,
Global Hospitality Group, NEC Corporation,
said: “By providing integrated comprehensive
hotel solutions, NEC enables hotel owners
and operators to deliver value-added services
that exceed guest expectations, help gain
loyal customers, enhance the efficiency of
staff and their systems and contribute to
improved profitability.”
He added: “NEC has established a Global
Hospitality Group at our head office that is
responsible for global delivery and support
of the NEC Smart Hospitality Solutions.
Looking ahead, we are planning to launch
regional business support centres in major
international bases to accelerate the global
roll-out of these solutions.”
•
Communications
magazine
01732 759725
27
MeetingZone helps transform
patient care in Somerset
Yeovil District Hospital is using MeetingZone
UC technology to improve collaboration
between GPs, hospitals and community care.
One of a select group of NHS Foundation
Trusts to be granted Vanguard status by the
Government, the hospital is pioneering new ways
of using collaboration technology to improve staff
communication and deliver remote patient care.
A priority is to join up patient care for sufferers
of multiple long-term conditions, who often
need to see a number of specialists in a variety of
departments, resulting in multiple appointments
with GPs and consultants.
MeetingZone is deploying a Microsoft Skype
for Business solution that brings together video
and voice conferencing, instant messaging, file
sharing and ‘presence’ so that staff can engage
with one another and with patients, irrespective
of where they are or whether they are using a PC,
laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Yeovil chief technology officer Richard Hale
said: “The inability to share information can be
a big barrier to implementing change. So the
breaking down of silos which prevent individual
departments from collaborating effectively with
one another is key to this project.”
MeetingZone will also support the
development of south Somerset’s Symphony Care
Hubs, which help patients with multiple long-term
conditions take greater control over their health.
Skype for Business will enable a case worker
for a Symphony patient to see instantly whether
a particular consultant is available to talk and
contact them directly, rather than having to leave
phone or email messages.
The Trust also plans to use video-conferencing
on iPads to enable GPs, Symphony staff and
patients to conduct ‘virtual’ consultations that will
reduce the need for travel and enable it to deal
with more patients.
Andy Clark, General Manager of Lync/Skype
for Business at MeetingZone, said: “Better, simpler
collaboration and communication is vital when
it comes to making the urgent improvements to
patient care, productivity and cost efficiency that
will be necessary for the continued success of
our NHS.”
