About
Marchesini Group spa design and produce a wide range of packaging machines and lines for the pharmaceutical industry, designed to promptly respond to any kind of request, from standard to extraordinary. Established in Pianoro (Bologna, Italy) in 1974 by virtue of the shrewd intuition of Massimo Marchesini, over the years the company has grown from a small, local business into a major industrial enterprise, thanks to a continuous process of mergers and acquisitions of complementary companies. Despite its present-day multinational dimension, the group has never betrayed the human spirit and artisan production that characterised its early days, and these traits still exist today alongside the latest innovations in robotics and digitalization.
The challenge
Over the years, we’ve tried many collaborative tools but weren’t impressed with what we found. One worked well for internal communications, for example, but we couldn’t use it to communicate with customers. Another was great for screen sharing but had poor call quality. And most of them had issues getting hardware and software to work together.
To accommodate our needs, to interface with remote customer sites, and to address the technical limitations of various collaborative platforms, we ended up using several tools at once. Internal and external users were not only confused but uncomfortable using competing solutions.
You didn’t know for sure whether or not the party at the other end could receive your call using the same platform you were using. You booked a conference room, but the camera and the speakerphone were disconnected, or you didn’t have a screen-sharing app on your computer.
As a result, many of our meetings were not on time and some didn’t happen at all.
Solutions
One Solution, fit to everyone
Rather than continue to use products from several vendors, we needed to find a comprehensive solution that did everything we needed it to do. I wanted everyone at Marchesini Group Spa on the same page and I wanted to standardize our communication—but I needed more than consistency. I was looking for a product that was as easy to use as walking into a conference room and sitting down for a face-to-face meeting. The problem with most meeting room’s technologies and remote collaboration tools is that they get in the way of what they’re trying to do. They are hard to set up and use, multiple tools and software not seamlessly integrated, and lack sufficient screen- and file-sharing features. Under these circumstances, the medium itself—not the meeting—becomes the message.
We looked at solutions from various vendors, but only one offered the right combination of hardware, software, and ease of use. Valarea Room stood out because it actually got out of the way and allowed us to meet and collaborate with any online VC platform hassle-free.
Like everyone else, we have adapted to these difficult times. Valarea gave us the tools to innovate, to thrive, and to prepare for the opportunities of our post-COVID world. I am eager to share this tool—and our expertise—with our customers and partners, so that they can do the same.
Fabio Accorsi, IT Smart Collaboration Lead at Marchesini Group Spa
Rollout
Although I was confident we’d found the right solution, I decided to go slowly when it came to deployment. Re Mago offers a range of features under the Valarea umbrella, and I wanted to find the right mix of settings to match our collaborative & better meetings needs. It’s no secret that the best solution is worthless if it doesn’t match your workflow or your company culture, and I needed to see what worked best for us.
Re Mago made it easy to explore our options. Their Try & Buy approach through certified partners allowed us to sample a range of products and to right size a solution that satisfied our business needs offering simplicy approach for every users and not only to power users.
Right away, I understood that Valarea worked. I quickly stopped evaluating the solution itself and started to focus on how we could use it. Could we hold different VC providers meetings with a unique platform and unique experience? Did everyone feel like we were all in the same room? Fortunately, Valarea met and exceeded all expectations. It didn’t take long for our employees—who had found previous technologies cumbersome—embraced the idea of virtual meetings.
Valarea Is Easier for Our Employees
Valarea combines intuitive software UI/UX with Multi-VC support in a single vendor solution that streamlines our internal meetings. But it also allows us to meet our clients on their terms.
Within a few seconds, they can connect to Valarea on whatever device they’re using. There's no need to download drivers or connect dongle, just download Valarea app and they don’t have to set up a Valarea account. It’s all done on a secure connection over the web, supporting multi-factor authentication.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was sometimes faster to get in a car and drive to another city than to get a video conference configured and working. With Valarea, those days are over, and we are saving thousands of euros each year in vehicle maintenance and fuel expenses.
Unique Feature
One of my favorite Valarea feature is the desktop and mobile app QR code proximity join. It allows people to easily book a room by scanning QR code and proximity transfer their own personal agenda including VC meeting links for one-tap to join experience and cloud drive file access, in a secure, immediate and reliable way. Bringing Customers & Partners into the Picture Valarea sells itself. We use it in customer and partner meetings, and the quality is evident. When potential buyers experience Multi-VC conference support, wireless and wired presenting, collaborative workspace, hassle-free and dongle free experience, and see Valarea’s experience in action, they want to know more.
The Future of Collaboration
Marchesini Group Spa deployed Valarea last month, but that already feels like a lifetime ago. It put us ahead of the curve and enabled us to keep our staff employed, while maintaining our normal service levels.
People will be working remotely for the duration of this crisis, and the trend will continue after we go back to normal. This pandemic has forced companies around the world to rethink the way they do business, and we are witnessing a workplace revolution. I expect extended, augmented, and virtual reality products to emerge as vital collaborative tools. I also see a promising future for Valarea as companies shift to hybrid employment models that combine videoconference and onsite work.