Unified Communications comes of age with new anytime, anywhere cloud platform

Ideal for businesses migrating to the cloud, the virtualised environment means lower costs and added flexibility and removes the need for equipment. As it uses encryption technology, it guarantees network traffic is protected even when travelling across the Internet rather than a corporate network. With this solution, Easynet demonstrates its capacity to innovate and simplify complexity whilst addressing a major trend: virtual collaboration anytime, anywhere with any device.

As the largest plant breeder and seeds company in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, Limagrain has over 8000 employees with whom it needs to share information efficiently to ensure the successful running of its business. For the past five years, using its pioneering technology Easynet has worked with Limagrain to support its strategy to improve efficiencies. Easynet rolled out an application-aware network connecting Limagrain’s headquarters and principal data centre with its production sites, research and development centre and offices across the world.

As part of an initial pilot phase of a new project, Easynet is now integrating Limagrain’s Office 365 users with its room-based videoconferencing solution, providing effective collaboration by extending the use of video meetings and improving the take-up of videoconferencing across the company. This in turn delivers a maximum return on investment, as Easynet’s ‘concierge’ service ensures support and a user-friendly experience.

Denis Charré, CIO from Limagrain said,“We wanted to ensure better collaboration within our organization, even when our employees are using mobile devices while on the go. Working with Easynet has helped us complete our unified communications strategy that will benefit all and put the face-to-face relationship back at the heart of the way we work on a daily basis. This strategy relies on efficient real-time communications, which will accelerate the decision making process and ensure we can be more reactive and agile everyday”.

Easynet’s pilot for Limagrain is part of the strategic evolution of its mature Managed Video Conference solution. By combining Lync 2013 core applications into its global video network, Easynet can provide a zero infrastructure cloud videoconferencing and content sharing service.
Easynet’s vision for videoconferencing is to enable its customers to join a conference via any social media platform, whether Facebook, Skype or Facetime, and from an employee’s own device as well as from traditional conference rooms. As part of this evolution, Easynet is looking at integrating WebRTC, which enables plugin-free voice and video chat from within the browser.

Justin Fielder, CTO, Easynet Global Services said, “This is the kind of awe-inspiring technology we’d have read about years ago and wondered how and when it could ever become a reality. Now it has, mobile enterprises really can be mobile and Unified Communications has finally come of age in what’s another industry-first for Easynet Global Services. Limagrain is a perfect example of a global business which is using pioneering technology to improve not just its IT and its collaboration but its entire operation.” He continues, “We’ll continue to drive the tech revolution with more industry-firsts which help our customers make their business better”.