ICCREA Banca: A Tailored Technological Renovation

ICCREA Banca: A Tailored Technological Renovation

The headquarters of the ICCREA cooperative banking group has carried out a high-level technological transformation in its offices in Rome and Milan. The new systems, customized for each environment, now serve as a point of pride for the institution. System integrator: VRM Italia, technology: Exertis AV.

ICCREA Banca is the central office of the ICCREA cooperative banking group, which includes 113 different BCCs. As the parent company, it must manage numerous interactions with the individual banks – and also with international institutions such as the ECB. As in many other areas, the Covid era gave rise to, and in many cases left behind, the practice of meeting online rather than in person.

The technological equipment in conference and meeting rooms therefore assumed strategic importance for the institution, which decided to carry out an intervention to modernize its integrated systems. We talk about it with Andrea Bichi, Director of the Special Purchasing and Projects Office of ICCREA Banca, and with Marco D’Amico and Marco Di Menico, respectively Commercial Director and Solution Engineer of VRM Italia, the company that handled the installation.

The challenge: renewing the technology of meeting rooms with varied characteristics

In addition to leading the purchasing office at ICCREA Banca and being the reference for all restructuring and modernization interventions, Andrea Bichi is a great technology enthusiast. We asked him to tell us how this intervention came about:

“During and even after the pandemic period, remote meetings multiplied, and often they involve topics and interlocutors of the utmost importance. As the leader of our banking group, we must interface with the European Central Bank on various occasions, in different languages. We therefore needed to modernize our rooms, whose equipment was somewhat outdated. In this first phase, we chose to focus on certain environments in our Rome office and the Milan offices."

“In the first case, it was also necessary to intervene on what we call the 'Parlamentino', a large room – capable of hosting about 200 people – that we use for meetings with the general managers and presidents of the other BCCs."

Other interventions concerned three smaller meeting rooms.

“In a certain sense, these are even more important for us. Here the meetings of the bank’s top management are held – between the various offices – to discuss topics such as the three-year strategic plan, annual expenses, budget, and of course individual projects. These rooms are characterized by high usage frequency, even five days a week for several meetings a day. In short, not representative environments, but places intended for daily work."

From this description, one clearly understands the need to carry out a qualitative intervention on the existing technology.

The solution: technology tailored to purposes and contexts

Once the needs were established, ICCREA Banca turned to the market. Bichi explains:

“We got an idea of the available technological offer and, once we identified the best solution for our needs, we organized a closed tender, inviting several companies, including VRM Italia, which turned out to be the most competitive in the market at the same product level."

The new VRM Italia interventions focused on six rooms, divided between the Group’s facilities in Rome and Milan.

Specifically:

• In Rome, they worked on three meeting rooms and the Parlamentino;

• In Milan, specifically at the via Revere office, the Board of Directors’ meeting room was modernized;

• At the administrative headquarters in Peschiera Borromeo, the work involved a meeting room.

Microphones and audio clarity

Due to the predominance of remote meetings, microphones and speech intelligibility were crucial. Marco Di Menico, Solution Engineer at VRM, elaborates:

“The client’s expectations were clear from the start; the primary goal was to hear the speakers' voices very well, adjust the acoustics of the room as needed, and clearly see the content displayed on the monitors."

Processing, display, recording, and streaming

“In Milan, in the Board room on via Revere, we had to manage a configuration with two 85” monitors side by side. We installed a mini matrix and a multi-window processor, which allow flexible visualization of remote site images, local site content, and the presenter’s presentation."

“In Rome and Milan Peschiera, we used the DEXON DMX/DVP 32x32 4K60 matrix/processor/scaler – for two main reasons: reliability (a must, since a matrix failure means the whole system fails) and seamless transitions, thanks to built-in scalers for input and output. It manages more than 12 sources and about 60 different video presets."

The DEXON switcher handles true 4K60 (4:4:4) signal processing and offers advanced features such as seamless switching, fade effects, picture-in-picture (PiP), on-screen display (OSD), and built-in audio matrix management, eliminating the need for separate devices. DMX302x plays a central role in signal routing and content delivery, ensuring that camera feeds, local presentations, remote conferencing content, and multilingual audio tracks can be dynamically managed and displayed across various rooms.

PTZ Cameras

In Milan and Rome, camera placement was optimized for best coverage and field/reverse-field shots. In some rooms, a camera was dedicated to the President’s seat.

Displays

In the Parlamentino, two side projectors and additional monitors were installed to ensure everyone has clear visibility.

Content sharing and network

• All LAN infrastructure was built with Cisco equipment. VRM also manages the IP infrastructure at ICCREA Banca.

“The combination of technology and acoustics, both handled by VRM, ensures perfect speech intelligibility and great acoustic comfort. We really enjoy working with this company; they truly embody the role of a system integrator: custom work, best product selection, and attention to future expansion."

This tailored renovation at ICCREA Banca successfully modernized mission-critical meeting environments, enhancing daily operations and strategic communications across locations. At the core, the DEXON matrix ensures reliable signal management, meeting the high standards required by a major financial institution.

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