‘This is where the magic happens.’ Account manager Christiaan Snoeij likes to stroll through the Experience Centre. This is no surprise, as it’s an important place for him and the educational institutes he serves. ‘For many businesses, it has long been normal to work digitally,’ he explains, ‘but many schools still have a lot of innovation-related catching-up to do. Example: switching over from analogue phones - which means having a big appliance on your desk - to a digital system in the cloud. But where do you get the knowledge and confidence you need to make such a decision? Well, that’s exactly what this place was designed for.’
Get ready for a special experience
A session in the Experience Centre is very different from an account manager dropping by with a stack of brochures under their arm. ‘We welcome you and your colleagues from other educational institutes. You will start with a tour of the different experiences: areas where you can briefly experience the technologies we use, the impact they have on society, and see what the future holds in store for us. Believe me, after this tour you’ll already be viewing the challenges facing your institute in a very different light.’
Inspiring, informing, problem-solving
‘After this we will dive into the Future Mapping Room, a room literally designed to map out your future. It starts with a brainstorming session in which we consider the experiences, problems and needs of all the attendees, where often you will find common ground with your colleagues. And when it comes to solutions too, often you will see that your colleagues have similar needs to you. Sometimes we also invite a customer who has already been on a journey of innovation, so they can share their experiences with us. It really is an enriching experience. Our Solution Specialists then start to make the session more specific. And sometimes we also invite partners who can provide part of the solution, such as a vendor of software licences. In this way, we move from informing and inspiring to applicable solutions.’
Christiaan always sees attendees leave the premises inspired. ‘You know a lot more about the possibilities for innovation, and - more importantly - are now confident that you will achieve great progress once you have taken that step. It makes a big difference here to realise that you’re not the only one facing these issues but that the schools around you are embarking on the same adventure.’
An experience for municipalities
All the above also applies to municipalities, explains Marlous Lenards, an account manager who focuses on local-government customers. She says, ‘Many municipalities still have plenty of scope to innovate, and they too don’t need to compete with one another. This makes it ideal to hold a similar type of session for them in the Experience Centre - one they attend jointly with other municipalities.’
What’s in your package?
Another major reason for municipalities to work together is the overarching nature of government contracts, says Marlous. ‘Many municipalities make use of this option. One of the things we can do here is to explore in-depth the centralised contract they have signed up to. What are all the aspects involved and what options does it give you? What is NOT provided by the contract and how can we provide it?’
At home in tech
Technology lies at the heart of the Experience Centre. And there are all kinds of things to see that offer municipalities great added value. ‘Take the IoT experience, to the right of the entranceway. Using 3D printed objects shows you the host of possibilities that the Internet of Things has to offer. Just think of Smart Building innovations, including digitally controlled lighting and heating in your buildings. And then there’s Smart City solutions, such as a system that ensures the traffic runs optimally throughout your municipality. VodafoneZiggo is a worldwide leader in IoT. So join us for a session in the Experience Centre, where we will be happy to make you feel at home with all the options.’