Shure provides reliable conferencing solutions for biopharmaceutical business in Japan

Japan, February 2017 – With operations in over 100 countries worldwide and more than 70 sales offices in Japan, the research-based biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca requires superior audio and video conferencing solutions to conduct its business efficiently and cost-effectively. The company has relied on Shure solutions for many years, and once again turned to their trusted partner – Japan-based integrator AstroServe Co. Ltd. – to install the DCS 6000 Digital Conference System and ULX-D Digital Wireless Systems at their Osaka head office and Tokyo branch office.

AstraZeneca first installed the DCS 6000 system at a conference room in their Osaka head office in 2011. Additional meeting rooms followed, including the boardroom at the Tokyo branch in 2012. Highly satisfied with the continuously reliable performance, AstraZeneca again turned to this solution in 2014 when relocating its head office, and most recently following the relocation of its Tokyo branch in 2016.

Mrs. Keio Yamagishi, who first introduced the DCS 6000 Digital Conference System at AstraZeneca Japan recalls, "We often have meetings with our UK head office, and our branch and sales offices across the country, so we have been using audio and video conferencing systems for some time to reduce cost. For the relocation of our Osaka head office, we worked with AstroServe, an integrator who had already taken care of our system design on several occasions. As always, they were a reliable choice for us and flexibly responded to our needs. AstroServe recommended the DCS 6000 conference system which perfectly fit into the dark-toned interior design of our boardroom and was a good replacement for the silver-tone conference units we had used in the past and no longer met our design requirements.”

Mr. Okutani, CEO of Astroserve Co. Ltd., comments, “The DCS 6000 system is highly reliable and durable. With its superior performance, we felt confident to recommend this solution to AstraZeneca’s boardroom in Osaka.” The company installed 17 flush-mount conference units into the boardroom in Osaka, integrated with an AMX control panel installed at each seat. The panels allow participants to control projection system and sharing screens with remote meeting participants via videoconference. In addition, an AMX touch panel was also installed at the moderator podium, which enables the user to switch cameras during video conferences, showing either individual participants or the entire room.

Mr. Okutani explained, “Even without any add-on software, the DCS 6000 system already provides a set of very helpful control functions which can be integrated with third party systems. Important meetings usually require a technical team, but for regular day-to-day meetings such support is not needed, so we utilized these functions and simplified the setup to allow any meeting participant to easily control the system.”

A special feature of Osaka and Tokyo's boardrooms is the emergency mode which can be activated in the event of disasters. When activated on either side, the system automatically starts a videoconference with the other party. To enable this function, AstroServe set up a system linking DCS 6000, the conferencing processor and AMX central control system.

As a large organization with offices around the world, AstraZeneca often requires simultaneous interpretation to overcome language barriers and facilitate discussion. An interpretation booth has therefore been built adjacent to boardroom, equipped with two IS 6132 P Interpreter Units.
Mrs. Yamagishi says, “When the president and executives from our UK head office visit Japan, we can locally interpret the audio and distribute it not only to our boardroom, but also nationwide to our branch offices.”

Interpretation needs have also been addressed at the seminar and training room at the Tokyo office. While utilizing a ULX-D Digital Wireless System for presentation purposes, the venue has also been equipped with interpreter units as well as a DIR Digital Infrared Audio Distribution System.
Mr. Okutani comments, “The venue is central and easy to access, so we thought it could be used as a lecture hall in the future. To support our training needs, we added a ULX-D System for presentations and 100 units of the Digital Infrared Receivers so that training participants can listen to interpreted audio.”