CASE STUDY: HD VIDEO CONFERENCING

See MarkLogics video conferencing setup in action in our video: cdw.com/MarkLogic

COMPANY: MarkLogic

HEADQUARTERS: San Carlos, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 275

I.T. STAFF: 4

BUSINESS: A leader in the big data applications market, the companys flagship product, MarkLogic, is the enterprise NoSQL database that manages all types of data, at scale, in real time. It combines the schema-less, scalable flexibility of a NoSQL database with built-in search and analytics capabilities.

At a Glance

BIG DATA, BIG TEAMWORK

To link its far-flung employees and customers, a global technology company creates a robust high-definition video conferencing ecosystem.

Video conferencing offers a way to knock down both real costs and resource expenses

related to employee time, says MarkLogics Jeff Thomas.

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2 CASE STUDY: HD VIDEO CONFERENCING

When your company powers one of the hottest

technologies being used by the worlds largest enterprises,

it can drive some major travel and collaboration needs.

Thats the case for big data market leader MarkLogic.

The Silicon Valley company provides massive operational

NoSQL databases that manage all types of data, at scale

and in real time. As such, MarkLogic is used by a veritable

whos who of global companies.

From its inception in 2001, MarkLogic has grown to

include field offices in Austin, Texas; New York; Washington,

D.C.; Frankfurt, Germany; London; and Tokyo plus

another dozen satellite locations scattered worldwide. With

so many physical offices and numerous telecommuters,

the 275-employee company needed a more effective and

efficient way to collaborate than e-mail, telephone and, of

course, in person via long-distance airplane travel.

Despite our companys ongoing efficiency efforts,

travel continued to be an enormous expense, says Senior

Director of IT Jeff Thomas. We wanted to knock down both

real costs and resource expenses related to employee time.

Each was a drain on business-critical functions.

For a technology company like MarkLogic, the answer

seemed somewhat obvious: Tap into leading-edge

technology. It turned to high-definition (HD) video

conferencing to bridge the geographic divide separating

employees from more regular face-to-face encounters.

Thinking TechBased on a long-term association with CDW, MarkLogic

sought out its technology partners expertise to help

select and build the right system, says Justin Hester, a

unified communications solutions architect for CDW (see

Charting a Course Together).

We discussed the business needs as expressed by

MarkLogic, Hester says. We also uncovered a few needs

that were previously unidentified.

In short, MarkLogic not only intended to bring employees

together; it also wanted to improve customer access to

subject-matter experts within the company.

For example, if a prospective customer had a question,

our sales team could bring a customer into a field office, like

New York, Thomas says. Then, we could link them up with

an engineer at our headquarters here in San Carlos to get

an answer that might make the sale.

MarkLogic also wanted the capability to download

conferencing software to notebook and desktop systems,

so that employees could join a conferencing session from

wherever they were. This instant access would permit ad

hoc collaboration anywhere, anytime. Plus, the companys

executives wanted to provide similar guest access to

customers and partners.

After evaluating several options, MarkLogic decided to

install an HD Polycom video conferencing environment. It

included fixed-room systems at MarkLogic headquarters, as

well as at its Austin; London; New York; and McLean, Virginia,

locations. Additionally, MarkLogic invested in a desktop/

notebook client application and a guest-access module.

For the conferencing rooms at its headquarters, New

York and McLean locations, MarkLogic selected Polycoms

HDX 8000 Executive Collection conferencing system,

outfitted with dual 50-inch monitors. The headquarters

deployment also included a setup in a 110-person capacity

training room. For that setup, the HDX 8000 utilizes the

rooms existing ceiling-mount projectors for display.

In the Austin and London offices, MarkLogic chose a

Polycom HDX 4500 system, paired with a 24-inch display.

Regardless of location, the company outfitted the fixed-

room systems with a Polycom Touch Control touchpad for

easy, user-friendly access by conferencing participants.

For the desktop and notebook client, MarkLogic

deployed the Polycom CMA Desktop application, which

can be used with both Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X

operating systems. And, for tablets, it adopted the Polycom

RealPresence Mobile module.

Behind the ScenesOn the back end, MarkLogic implemented several Polycom

technologies to maximize the new video conferencing

capabilities. These include an RMX 2000 video/audio

multipoint bridge, a VBP 5300 Video Border Proxy, an RSS

4000 recording and streaming server and a CMA 4000

Converged Management Application.

The bridge permits multiple endpoint conferences

$25,000MarkLogics savings on travel-related costs from holding a single cross-country marketing and field operations meeting via its video conferencing system

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3

Charting a Course TogetherLong and prosperous is how Jeff Thomas describes his relationship with CDW.

Thomas, senior director for IT for MarkLogic, first began buying technology wares from CDW in the mid-1990s. Back then, I ran a consulting

business, and I introduced many of my customers to CDW, he says.

Flash forward to 2001: MarkLogic was founded in San Carlos, Calif., and Thomas became one of the inaugural employees. I brought CDW into

MarkLogic on its first day of operations, he says. CDWs been virtually the sole provider of all our hardware and software since then.

Not surprisingly, Thomas has formed relationships with several CDW representatives over the years. I work closely with Jeff on a daily basis,

says CDW Senior Account Manager Brad Dickow. We assist him with everything from accessory orders to infrastructure needs.

Function Drives Form

For MarkLogics video conferencing project, Thomas contacted CDW with a basic outline of the functions that his executive team wanted from a

video conferencing system.

I engaged one of our best solution architects, Justin Hester, to put his expertise to work for MarkLogic, Dickow says.

Together, Thomas, Dickow and Hester, a unified communications solutions architect for CDW, fleshed out MarkLogics business needs. It became

clear they needed an end-to-end solution to accommodate multiple locations and mobile employees, Dickow says. They quickly saw the value

of expanding the solution to include a complete environment.

With the roadmap established, CDW researched options and suggested evaluating two manufacturers. The evaluations included allowing

MarkLogic representatives to visit local demonstration sites to test the options.

Our company founder, several key executives and I went to both manufacturers for a hands-on demonstration of their systems, Thomas says.

In addition to test-driving the equipment, we spoke to the Polycom engineers. Their solution, which is standards-based and nonproprietary, was

the right fit.

With a technology provider selected, CDW researched the required components and designed a potential solution.

From the design, Thomas leveraged his own years of expertise installing network and technology components. I architected the network

platform to install the solution on, he says.

During implementation, CDW was there every step of the way. We helped MarkLogic manage the project, Hester says.

By choosing a complete solution, MarkLogic not only received a stable, versatile system but also can anticipate a lower total cost of ownership

over time, Dickow points out. This gives them a quality solution that is rock solid.

800.800.4239 | CDW.com

for up to a couple dozen participants, Thomas says.

Similarly, the VBP 5300 border proxy handles guest

access. This allows for external video endpoints, such

as a customer or partner, to call into our video systems

across the Internet, he says. And the RSS 4000 allows us

to record a conference and later publish it as an electronic

media file. The RSS 4000 also allows MarkLogic to live

stream a conference or meeting to many dozens of viewers.

Controlling the entire system from an intuitive interface

is the CMA 4000 management application. It provides

management functionality for all of the other Polycom

components, Thomas says, and it integrates the desktop

and notebook clients to allow individuals to use their

notebook or workstation as a video endpoint.

The comprehensive solution demonstrates a

commitment to providing world-class capabilities that

will ultimately drive down total cost of ownership while

simultaneously boosting value to the company, Hester says.

Many customers understand the foundational

importance of simple point-to-point video conferencing,

he says. But MarkLogic took that to the next step by

deploying both endpoint