Global energy firm EDP uses Huawei and

Tecnocom’s Video Conferencing-as-a-Service

Background

EDP, a global energy company based in Portugal, has

expanded quickly over the past ten years through organic

growth as well as through acquiring other companies,

each with different legacy video conferencing equipment.

However, EDP considers it essential that its worldwide

force of 12,000 employees be connected by video as well

as voice. Although English, Spanish, and Portuguese are

spoken widely within the company, not everybody is fluent

in all these languages.

EDP realized that non-verbal communication is key for any

organization, especially one that uses multiple languages.

And it wanted all its employees to be able to communicate

more easily; whether they used tablets in remote locations

or board room video conferencing equipment in main

offices.

Challenges

EDP’s Corporate Services wanted industry-standard Video

Conferencing-as-a-Service (VCaaS), where staff could

communicate without any restrictions regarding location

and devices being used.

Video Conferencing-as-a-Service Simplifies Communications

for EDP

Executive Summary

Industry Oil & Energy

Challenges • EDP wanted a unified video conferencing solution to help

its employees communicate better

• The VC system needed to integrate with Skype for Business

and Microsoft Office 365

• EDP also required a shift from CAPEX to OPEX financing

Solution• Old and new video conferencing solutions were replaced

by Huawei equipment, from screens and peripherals to

smart software for improved imaging

• First introduction of OPEX model on a large scale

Benefits• By outsourcing implementation and managed services, EDP

invests less over a 4-year contract period with OPEX

than when it used to buy and manage equipment

• EDP employees experience higher image quality and

a unified user interface via Skype for Business

• Employees with no access to video conference rooms can

join a video meeting via smart terminals anytime, anywhere

“We have video conferencing as a

service, anywhere, anytime, independent

from any location and any device.” — Luís Clemente, Director of Corporate

Services, EDP

The company demanded VCaaS to be fully integrated with

Microsoft Skype for Business and Microsoft Office 365.

Since EDP’s core business is generating and distributing energy,

its management wanted their IT department to be able to

focus more on tasks related to their business and less on

setting up communications equipment.

Requirements included:

• All tools for communications and cooperation must

integrate with Microsoft software

• Replace EDP subsidiaries’ legacy technologies with newer,

standard technologies, especially when legacy conference

screens, end-points, terminals, and essential systems

cannot be written off financially

The project also required:

• 255 conference and telepresence rooms worldwide, from

large auditoriums with immersive screens and a capacity of

300 seats, to smaller meeting rooms with 6 seats

• Android and iOS tablets that could be connected to

the video communications service. In this way, a video

conference could be started by an account manager from

a desktop, continued during her coffee break, transferred

to a tablet terminal, and ended via smartphone.

VCaaS is a new customer-driven concept. EDP used to buy,

connect, and maintain video conferencing systems; often with

solutions from different vendors in a single country. In addition,

some legacy solutions were bought before industry standards

were recognized. Moving from Capital Expenditure (CAPEX)

to Operational Expenditure (OPEX), required a comprehensive,

financial understanding of the full implications of owning

equipment versus hiring services.

Solution

EDP chose Huawei and its integration partner, Tecnocom, over

13 other competitors. Tecnocom is based in Spain and has

projects throughout the world. The two companies showed

EDP how their version of Video Conferencing-as-a-Service

would not only enable EDP to replace its entire system at much

lower costs than purchasing new equipment, but also could be

integrated with Microsoft ‘s Skype and Office 365 solutions.

Tecnocom is an all-round system integrator active in data

centers and cloud services. They also have experience with

video conferencing systems from major manufacturers.

Rogério Do Canto, Unit Director of the Technology Business

at Tecnocom knew from the start that this project was an

extraordinary one.

“This is a game changer for the enterprise industry. We used to

sell and install according to a CAPEX model. But now we have

a contract for an OPEX model”, explained Rogério Do Canto.

The proposal included:

• 1. Replacing all video conferencing systems, including

screens and peripherals. Tecnocom and Huawei showed

EDP how the company could reduce costs, even if it got rid

of recently bought standalone systems from other vendors.

• 2. Huawei peripherals such as cameras, microphones, and

end-points that support industry standards. This ensured

that telepresence rooms or portable devices can make

video calls to other vendors’ systems outside the EDP

network. Advantages included:

• a. Transcoding solutions for managing, recording, and

streaming. Codecs from H.261 up to high-definition

H.264 encode real-time, dual-stream 1080p at 60 fps.

b. Smart proprietary algorithms like Video Motion

Enhancement (VME) ensure that even with packet loss of

20 percent, video and audio quality remains good.

• 3. A system that would interoperate with the latest iOS

and easy-to-use remote control system GUIs.

• 4. Tecnocom installed Huawei’s telepresence system in 255 rooms around the world.

At a key point in the project, Huawei flew in a team of R&D

specialists to better understand EDP’s technological ecosystem

and the gray areas between different systems.

“I value the effort of Huawei R&D specialists so much, that I

have invited them to come for two weeks a year to work with

our local teams so that we all can learn from each other.”

— Luís Clemente, Director of Corporate Services, EDP

Benefits

Since VCaaS is based on an OPEX subscription model, EDP now

enjoys lower costs compared to the previous situation where

they bought and maintained solutions from different vendors.

What’s more, Tecnocom’s experience is a valuable asset to EDP:

• Tecnocom provides a four-year contract to service video

communications and enables full integration with Skype for

Business and Microsoft Office 365.

• Tecnocom has over 30 years’ experience with network

management. The company’s Network Operations Center

(NOC) monitors the EDP-owned network 24/7. The NOC

provides insights on a regular basis when bandwidth

capabilities need to be upgraded or downgraded.

Video-calling a person is now as easy as sending an email.

Sharing content, video, and voice in real time are integrated and

connected with a few swipes or keyboard strokes. And, more

importantly, non-verbal communication has finally moved from

personal to long-distance meetings.

Employees can attend a meeting from home and reduce

spending valuable time traveling to another location; improving

the balance between work and personal life ensures better

productivity.

Besides video meetings, EDP now easily conducts webinars and

records video for playback afterwards. In addition, staff based

in remote locations like hydroelectric and renewable power

plants with few terminals and low bandwidth can participate in

meetings with EDP executives as easily as employees in urban areas.

About Huawei Enterprise Business Group

Huawei Enterprise Business Group (“Huawei Enterprise”) is one

of the three business groups of Huawei, a leading global

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions

provider. Leveraging Huawei’s strong R&D capabilities and

comprehensive technical expertise, Huawei Enterprise provides

a wide range of highly efficient customer-centric ICT solutions

and services to global vertical industry and enterprise customers

across government and public sector, finance, transportation,

electric power, energy, commercial businesses, and ISPs.

Huawei Enterprise’s innovative and leading solutions cover

network infrastructure, Unified Communications and

Collaboration (UC&C), cloud computing and data centre,

enterprise information security, and industry application

solutions.

For more information, please visit: e.huawei.com.

About EDP

EDP’s vision is to be an integrated energy company and a

leader in value creation. Today, EDP operates one of the most-

balanced power generation portfolios in the Iberian Peninsula:

substantial hydroelectric generation, the operating efficiency of

its coal power stations, and the importance of its natural gas

combined cycle power plants.

EDP’s presence in Spain through HC Energía makes it the first

company to own significant electricity generation assets in

both Portugal and Spain.

The company is among the major European operators in the

energy sector. The energy giant is one of the largest energy

operators of the Iberian Peninsula, the largest Portuguese

industrial group, and the third largest producer of wind energy

in the world. Besides the electricity sector — generation,

distribution, and trading — the company has a significant

presence in the gas sector of the Iberian Peninsula.

EDP is part of the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index for

the eighth consecutive year, a reflection of the company’s

efforts to integrate sustainability in all priority areas of its value

chain across all business units and in all countries in which it is

present.

For more information, please visit: edp.pt

(Photo courtesy of EDP - Energias de Portugal).

About Tecnocom

Tecnocom is one of Spain’s top three companies in information

technology (approximately 400 million euros in revenue) with

extensive experience in high-tech operations in the Finance

sector.

The company provides a wide variety of services (AMS,

IMS, business consulting, BPO, outsourcing, managed

services, network and systems integration) covering all

sectors of public and private life (banking, insurance,

manufacturing, telecommunications, media, utilities, and public

administration).

Its clients include 23 of the Ibex 35 companies and 60 of the

top 100 companies in Spain. Tecnocom signed a strategic

alliance with Getronics International B.V., an industrial partner

and shareholder. This alliance allows Tecnocom to offer a

reliable alternative to other outsourcing services.

For more information, please visit: tecnocom.pt

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