News
Archive
2008
07.07.08
Rapid Technologies wins in GROUNDWORK ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS
At Rapid Technologies we place a strong emphasis on our commitment to the environment and upholding our position as a pillar of the local community. This is no truer than in our commitment to our environmental policies and our endeavours to work towards reducing our carbon footprint and becoming a carbon neutral organisation.
As such we are pleased to announce our successful achievement in the Groundwork Environmental Awards 2008 which took place at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool. Entering into the competition we achieved runner up position in the “Environmental Innovation & Technology” category in recognition of our use of videoconference technologies.
28.04.08
THE BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: THE BUSINESS CONVENTION
Liverpool Echo Arena / BT Convention Centre
The annual business convention is a must-attend event for all high level professional from all areas of business including support, chambers of commerce, learning and skills sectors and local, regional and national government. Bearing this in mind, it is without a doubt that Rapid Technologies would be present to offer the forefront of business technology solutions for the modern business. With a larger than life presence, Rapid Technologies attended with two stands, each representing two separate but mutually exclusive divisions of the business – digital interactive communications and networking solutions merging together to offer the complete office solution with pre and post sale support demonstrated.
Billed as “...the ultimate gathering of business, government and skills leaders” (Neil Stewart Associates, 2008), the event attracted a number of business leaders and policy makers from across the UK.
IS IT BOTTOMS UP OR BOTTOM UP?
Partnering exclusively with a select number of partners, Rapid Technologies provided an overall office solution which would match the requirements of the contemporary business. Based loosely on the traditional motivational practices of Maslow and Hertzeberg, Rapid Technologies followed the bottom up approach to their office solution for the event founded on the belief that an ICT solution for the office should be based upon the motivational requirements of the user and the office environment to which it will be implemented.
With a combined solution offering, the market leaders, Toshiba, presented their latest range of laptop technologies with features ranging from their guaranteed easy-guard protection to their innovative style and design, guaranteed for both practicability and style no matter where your office is based and what you require from it. Continuing the high end solution, the TX120 server technology offering from Fujitsu Siemens demonstrated small, light and practical storage in a format which is environmentally friendly, compact and quiet enough it can fit under your office desk without disturbing your working environment with unnecessary noise pollution.
Bridging the gap between the desk and server was a network solution offered by 3Com, which illustrated the high quality standards which are maintained by the brand enabling office workers to experience the highest quality levels of networking access. Moving from the desktop to the meeting room, Polycom provided a solution which demonstrated the latest developments in video conferencing technologies enabling meetings to take place over numerous locations and distances with all the advantages of never having to leave the office. With the ultimate office solution, there was something for every attendee at the event designed to solve the requirements of all office users from the bottom up.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
The annual business convention takes place at a different location each year and this year, with the city’s crowning status as European Capital of Culture, it came to Liverpool’s newly constructed Liverpool Echo Arena and was hosted in The BT Convention Centre. Featuring a range of distinguished business speakers including John Fleming (President and CEO of Ford); Sir Michael Rake (Chairman of BT); Sir Terry Leahy (Chief Executive of Tesco Plc); Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, KT (Minister of state for Trade and investment); David Frost (Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce) and Steven Pateman (Chief Executive Officer of UK Business Banking at the Royal Bank of Scotland) as well as range of exhibitors from across all business areas and the opportunity to sit in on business presentations, visitors were offered a unique insight into future market trends from the most successful budding entrepreneurs and learn how to support the next generation of British business leaders.
26.04.08
NATIONAL CBA CONFERENCE: NORTH EASTERN CIRCUIT, YORK
In an exclusive collaboration with partners at Polycom and IMAGO, Rapid Technologies were granted elite video conference presence at the annual national Criminal Bar Association Conference, this year taking place at The Royal York Hotel in York. Featuring the latest videoconferencing technologies for use within the legal environment, the event witnessed a collection of legal participants from throughout the UK at this event.
Commenting on the use of video conferencing at the event, Colin Birchall, Director of Digital Interactive Solutions noted “...videoconferencing technologies is quickly presenting itself as the contemporary hygiene requirement for business operations, and this is particularly true within the legal market. A barrister’s time, for example, is both costly and important and any time spent out of the office travelling to and from site is expensive and unproductive. A video conference solution, for example, enables numerous interviews to take place in any one day without leaving the office, thus reducing the requirement for unnecessary downtime while reducing costs associated with suspected criminal travel and associated high security costs. Developments in the technology enable interviews to take place between witnesses and across sites in a comfortable environment and at a reduced cost, prospects which allude to the successful implementation of a timely and cost effective operating solution within the legal environment.”
ALL RISE FOR THE JUDGE
With an increasing number of judges requiring costs of legal proceedings to be justified, the advent of video conferencing technologies to reduce costs and increase efficiency proved an attractive model for the event. Bearing in mind the market, Rapid Technologies and Polycom provided two video conferencing solutions which are deemed suitable for the legal environment, the Polycom HDX 8000 and HDX 4000.
With a sleek rack-mount design, professional grade connectivity and versatile interoperability, the HDX 8000 is the perfect choice for integrated and custom environments while offering the highest quality audio and video outputs. Designed to meet the requirements of even the most demanding customers, the HDX 8000 utilises the industry’s most advanced video technologies to offer the patent pending Polycom StereoSurround audio to enable participants in the courtroom to hear remote participants’ voices in project stereo through left and right speakers for a truly life-like experience. Developing the solution further, the HDX 4000 series from Polycom was also demonstrated at the event offering attendees the opportunity to experience video conferencing technologies within the courtroom by enabling multiple, simultaneous conversations to take place at any one time without disruption of one speaker over another. Suiting confidentiality and privacy, the use of a headset and microphone enabled one-to-one communications while the LPR (lost packet recovery) technology enabled video conferences to take place in private, without any worries associated of sharing confidential information over public and private networks alike.
Demonstrating the versatility and quality of the videoconferencing technologies available, the solution offering provided by Rapid Technologies and Polycom demonstrated the next steps for the traditional courtroom to step into tomorrow’s legal environment secure in the knowledge that it can uphold the traditional values of the legal system in a contemporary technological environment. With technologies enabling face-to-face meetings with the quality associated with a HD finish, the security of a private location on a secure network and the comfort of an onsite visit without leaving the office and reducing witness stress, the solution proved advantageous to all attendees seeking to invest in the legal environment.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
The National Criminal Bar Association Conference takes place annually, this year aiming to provide all participants with a better understanding of the role of science and technology in the criminal justice system. Featuring presentations on a range of subject areas including the law governing reliability and admissibility in criminal trials; controversies in forensic pathology; the latest developments in forensic toxicology, the benefits of trace DNA testing and how to best present expert evidence, the event proved an interesting and informative conference for all attendees and not to be missed by any legal beagle of any calibre. With a select number of six partners, including Rapid Technologies, the event was as exclusive as the guest list and presented the ideal combination of networking, seminars and exhibitions to meet the requirements of the audience.
02.01.08
Happy New Year from The Directors and Staff of Rapid Technologies.