Giving NetApp’s New State-of-the-Art Headquarters the Tech to Match

Background

NetApp has a portfolio of leading data, application, and storage solutions that help organizations manage applications and data everywhere across hybrid environments. They have over 30 years of innovation under their belts, helping them to be the proven leader in all-flash storage. As a technology innovator, it would only make sense for NetApp’s inhouse technology to be top-of-the line, especially as they prepared to relocate its global headquarters to new offices on Santana Row in San Jose, California. This move to state-of-the-art offices is part of the company’s ongoing transformation and future of work strategy, where NetApp and its employees will adopt a hybrid model of working to thrive in the new normal post-pandemic.

Bart Saunders, Multimedia Specialist for NetApp, turned to Sharp to ensure the new facility was built with leading, innovative displays in mind. With this vision, Bart worked with the Sharp team to install four direct view indoor 137” LED video walls in four separate conference rooms of the new headquarters’ conference center. Bart and the Sharp team worked hand-inhand with Creation Networks, Inc., which was key to the success of this installation. Creation
Networks is a leading audio visual solutions integrator company headquartered in Concord, California. “It has been great to work with NetApp on their collaboration projects,” said Eric Benson, Director of Engineering for Creation Networks, Inc. “The NEC dvLED videowalls and display devices have been an integral part of the current room refresh.”

Updating Outdated Conferencing Tech

In previous office locations, the NetApp team had experienced unstable, noisy projectors, creating a need for ongoing maintenance requests. Even worse, these were distracting and a nuisance during company gatherings as the projectors were placed directly above conference tables and were impacting the microphones used during conference calls, webinars and other executive gatherings.

Bart and his team were tasked with ensuring the displays at NetApp’s new headquarters were stable and reliable, and allowed the team to hold meetings without technological disruptions. Bart needed to work with a partner who would be able to help them swap out the tech they had used in previous offices that were to be placed in major conference rooms. With this in mind, Bart immediately turned to Sharp to get the job done. Ultimately, NetApp selected Sharp due to the reliability and overall appearance of the products, which is, according to Bart, what sets Sharp apart from competitors.

After learning of the tech troubles NetApp had struggled with in the past, the Sharp team worked with Bart to have four NEC LED video walls installed across the new headquarter’s conference rooms, specifically the NEC LED-FE015I2-137IN.

“The final fit and finish of these LED walls were a great addition to our new headquarters, both aesthetically and operationally,” said Saunders. “The screens have a clean look and feel, even when the products aren’t on.”

An Immediate Conference Room Improvement

Bart and his team saw an immediate difference in the caliber of their newly installed conference center display technology. “The most notable improvement is that the image quality has greatly improved since we installed these NEC products,” said Saunders. “The image quality is nice and crisp and is sure to provide a better overall meeting experience for our executives and their guests.”

With these new video walls from NEC’s LED FE Series, the NetApp conference center was upgraded with modern display technology that delivered excellent imaging at a low cost. The video walls provide vibrant LED imaging built with NEC’s 1.58mm LED-FE015i2 module designed to deliver impressive content visualization. The 1.58mm pixel pitch is ideal for viewing from 3 to 8 feet away - perfect for NetApp’s conferencing needs. The modules provide better contrast, viewing angles, brightness uniformity and color uniformity than previous models and other providers on the market.

Bart and his team were also thrilled about the easy access that enabled quick maintenance to the modules when needed. “The way the tiles go on and off make maintenance easy and quickly accessible,” he said.

With these new LED video walls the NetApp team now has state-of-the-art technology to match their tech-forward vision for its new headquarters location. The team now has stunning displays to visualize crucial information, while also allowing them to carry out organizational meetings without disruption.