Olympus Europe GmbH, Hamburg
As one of the leading global manufacturers of digital imaging products, Olympus pioneers key technologies in the fields of imaging and voice products, endoscopy, microscopy, bioanalytics and diagnostics. The parent company was formed in Japan in 1919 and at the outset mainly focused on the development and manufacturing of microscopes. In 1936, Olympus launched its first camera, and in 1950 it presented its first gastrocamera for medical examinations. Since that time, Olympus has gained a foothold in the medical technology market. Today, this area of operations is a cornerstone for the company.
The Olympus Group currently owns more than 10,000 patents. For the fiscal year 2007/2008, the Olympus Corporation in Japan had 33,000 employees and sales of ¥ 1,128,875 million. With sales of 1,733.1 million and 4,650 employees, Olympus Europe is the second largest company within this multi-corporate enterprise.
Olympus is no stranger to video conferencing. Globally, the company has used video communications regularly over the years, firmly realizing the incentives of video as an effective business tool that increases productivity and reduces travel costs between headquarters and subsidiaries.
The requirement for a new line of video conferencing products arose as the technology began to expand throughout the company. The European offices need to implement systems that were compatible with those used globally, which were becoming increasingly more state-of-the-art with higher resolutions and IP compatibility. Particularly important were uniform end systems as well as general project support for the technology.
The project manager responsible for the Olympus Information Systems business unit in Germany sought out MVC, a local technology integrator and authorized LifeSize reseller, and carried out the planning and implementation. At the various sites, resident IT specialists participated in the local planning. They also worked on integrating everything into the existing IP network.
Over 30 LifeSize® Room™ and LifeSize® Team™ high definition video communications systems were implemented throughout Europe. With LifeSize, Olympus found a product line that focused on superior quality, ease of use and flexibility and unmatched price performance.
Today, the Olympus offices throughout Europe are using LifeSize on a daily basis to communicate between offices in rich high definition. With both stationary conference room configurations and mobile cart solutions, video communications is easy and accessible to all employees.
"Now more than ever, companies like Olympus are realizing that video communications not only reduces travel," said Craig Malloy, CEO of LifeSize Communications, "it becomes a vital business tool because it allows organizations to increase productivity and reduce expenses. Our products help people work smarter and we are proud to know that Olympus has made that realization."
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