Accountancy firm equips offices with DisplayNote Launcher

Bishop Fleming Chartered Accountants has invested in DisplayNote Launcher to ensure seamless communication between clients and staff.

The firm employs more than 400 staff in seven offices across the UK, and the accelerated adoption of hybrid working meant it was vital that workers could fully participate in meetings with clients and each other, whether at home or in the office.

Chief technology officer, Andrew Yearsley, says the accountancy firm’s experience of remote meetings had been far from ideal in terms of usability and security. To start a video conferencing call, staff needed to sign into their own account to access links, with unapproved software often installed on to the room PC. At the end of the call, they didn’t always remember to sign out and wipe their credentials, creating the risk of sensitive or personal information being left exposed.

For Yearsley, finding a solution that offered an intuitive experience whatever video conferencing platform clients chose to use was key. “The main problem with alternatives was being tied to a single video conferencing solution,” he says. “I was looking for a solution that would allow us to use any tool, whether Teams, Zoom or something else. I also wanted it to be wrapped into a nice interface, so users don’t get confused.”

There was also a desire for a uniform video conferencing experience in meeting rooms across all sites – to support staff moving between offices and to ensure that everyone could fully participate in meetings, regardless of whether they were joining from home or in the meeting room. “Because we have staff moving between offices, we need to know they can transition seamlessly between them,” says Yearsley.

When Bishop Fleming moved to a new office in Bristol in 2020, it fitted out six meeting rooms to support hybrid and remote meetings. DisplayNote Launcher software was installed on six Clevertouch touchscreens. With Launcher installed, users can easily access the full range of video conferencing platforms used by the organisation’s clients, and start or join calls with a single touch. At the end of a call, Automatic Cleanup clears the user’s footprint, removing sign-in information and clearing any browsing history. This keeps all data secure, meeting Bishop Fleming’s need for simplicity and security.

“Launcher allows us to have an always-on kiosk,” adds Yearsley. “We have it locked down, so users can access only the pre-approved range of video conferencing solutions, along with a browser that we use for training purposes.”

As a result of the success of installing Launcher in the six new rooms, Yearsley and his team have since rolled it out to all the organisation’s meeting rooms – 21 screens in total, including legacy non-touchscreens.

With Launcher used in Kiosk Mode set up across all sites, users benefit from a uniform meeting experience, no matter their location, helping staff to move between offices with ease. They can also fully participate in meetings, and can join calls regardless of the solution chosen by their clients.

“Launcher has simplified our meeting spaces, helping us make use of the hardware in the space,” says Yearsley. “Hybrid meetings work much better than we’d anticipated.”