Steve Nielson used to find his role as Williams Sporting Manager frustrating. He needed workable ways of collaborating with both the race team and their Oxfordshire headquarters, but vital conversations were hampered by the noise that’s part of the Formula 1 experience. Fighting to be heard, reaching decisions could take too long and jeopardise results.

Not any more. Using BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice, Steve can meet effortlessly and simultaneously with people trackside and in the UK. The sound quality’s superb, no matter how deafening the background decibels. Conference calls like the crucial post-race debrief now run as smoothly as a well-tuned engine.

Case study - Williams Racing.

“Wherever we are in the world, the sound quality is crystal clear and that enables us to make quick decisions, often about very important issues.”

Steve NielsonSporting ManagerWilliams Racing

BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice transforms Formula 1 team’s collaborative capabilities.

Williams Racing chooses BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice to enhance collaboration and efficiency.

Case Study - Williams Racing.

Clarity with convenience.Williams has adopted BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice throughout its operations. Meeting rooms at the Oxfordshire headquarters all have Dolby Conference Phones, and there’s a desktop client for making calls on PCs or Macs, easily accessed via a USB headset. Engineers at the track can join discussions using an app on their mobile phones, whether iOS or Android.

Set-up is deliberately no-nonsense, with one-touch dialling to join an audio conference. Andrew Small, Vice President for Unified Communications at BT, explains: “One of the things we’ve learnt is the importance of ease of use, making things simple and convenient.”

Better decision-making at lower cost.As well as HD audio, BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice is rich in features that further enhance the audio quality. Crucially for Williams, it excels at suppressing background sounds.

“BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice helps us communicate reliably in a very harsh environment. It’s brought the whole team together in a way that wasn’t possible before.”

Steve NielsonSporting ManagerWilliams Racing

Trackside in Formula 1, noise levels reach an ear-splitting 80 to 100 decibels. So, effective communications used to be a struggle. Audio conferences often had to be abandoned, wasting time and delaying decisions.

Graeme Hackland, CIO at Williams, explains: “We were looking for a solution that would allow us to do very high-quality conferencing, without the background noise getting in the way.”

As one of the team’s Technology Partners, BT was already helping transmit performance data from track to headquarters for analysis. When Williams asked for advice on audio collaboration, the obvious solution was BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice. It’s tailor-made for demanding environments.

“The noise cancelling on BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice is just fantastic,” says Graeme Hackland. “You can’t hear the cars going round the track. It’s incredible.”

Sound levels between speakers on a call are automatically levelled out. Taking part in an audio conference feels almost as natural as meeting face-to-face, as spatial separation means each voice appears to come from a different direction, making it easier to work out who’s speaking. So calls take less time and people are more productive.

Williams’ executives were so impressed they asked for Dolby Conference Phones to be installed in their offices.

Since the service is IP-based, the team is saving money on all calls as they’re routed over the internet or via the Williams wide area network. That’s especially valuable in countries on the F1 circuit where charges are highest. “In addition to the quality, which is consistently excellent, we’re also seeing real cost savings,” Graeme Hackland confirms.

March 2017

How audio conferencing works for Williams.With spatial separation creating the effect of everyone being in the same room, audio conferences feel like face-to-face meetings. Graeme Hackland says it’s true to life: “You almost turn your head in the direction that you’re hearing the sound coming from. It’s easy to follow the conversation, no matter where people are.”

Trackside, engineers are typically surrounded by extreme noise levels. Even managers at headquarters can’t escape the sound of engines. Now they don’t have to.

“We’re saving time and making faster decisions because meetings can take place at any hour and from any location,” concludes Sporting Manager, Steve Nielsen. “You no longer need to find somewhere quiet to make a conference call.”

Core services.• BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice

About Williams Racing.Williams is one of the world’s leading Formula 1 motor racing and constructor teams. It exists purely to race in the top echelon of the sport, where it has been winning grands prix for more than three decades. Since being founded in 1966 by Frank Williams, it has won sixteen FIA Formula One World Championship titles – nine for constructors and seven for drivers – and is the third most successful team on the grid.

Offices worldwideThe telecommunications services described in this publication are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment are provided subject to British Telecommunications plc’s respective standard conditions of contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. © British Telecommunications plc 2017. Registered office: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ. Registered in England No: 1800000

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“Williams partnered with BT to help us get back to the front of the grid. BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice has taken our conferencing facilities to a whole new level and enables our engineers, no matter where they are in the world, to talk to each other.”

Graeme HacklandCIOWilliams Racing

Work anytime, anywhere even amid 100 decibels of noise Easier to make decisions

Enhanced team collaboration

International bridging charges greatly reduced

Case Study - Williams Racing.