Calgary Energy Producer

A Calgary-based energy producer moved into a new head office with one governing requirement: meeting room technology simple enough that a small IT team would never be called to make it work. Tekena delivered the full stack — modular structured cabling across three floors and roughly 75,000 sq ft, plus a video wall, meeting room and bistro AV integration, designed to work with the network infrastructure the client had already built. The result is a workplace visitors comment on, and one the company intends to replicate across its field offices.

This client has asked to remain anonymous. The project detail and the quotes below are published with their permission.

The company’s previous premises had reached the point where the technology was actively costing the business time. With a small IT team, every meeting that failed became a support call:

• Meeting room technology that staff could operate without assistance.
• A support model that didn’t require hiring people purely to keep meeting rooms running.
• Infrastructure that worked with the network design the client had already implemented, rather than replacing it.
• A cabling system that would make future reconfiguration straightforward, in a building the company intends to occupy long term.

My previous tech setup was archaic. Every time someone had a meeting, they had to call someone from my team to come and assist them to get things to work.

— Manager of IT, Calgary energy producer

Tekena delivered the project from design through procurement, installation and support, covering both the cabling backbone and the AV layer above it:

• Modular structured cabling — 636 Cat6 outlets and 12 fibre strands across three floors, engineered so future changes stay local to the area being changed.
• Meeting room AV — consistent, simple-to-operate technology across every room, with no per-room learning curve.
• Video wall and bistro installations — extending the same standard into the shared and social spaces.
• Integration with existing infrastructure — the solution worked with the network the client had already designed, so nothing had to be rebuilt.

The cabling solution is far and away the superior system. To me it’s a no-brainer — why anyone would do a traditional cabling system today is beyond me, knowing this is out there.

— Manager of IT, Calgary energy producer

The client had been leaning toward a competitor’s AV platform before seeing Tekena’s approach. The competing technology was comparable but more proprietary, and the installers proposed alongside it did not inspire confidence — a single accountable team covering design, integration and installation settled the decision.

The completed installation removed the support burden entirely and became something the company shows off:

• Meeting rooms staff can operate unaided — no training programme, no support calls.
• Reconfiguration handled in localised work rather than building-wide disruption.
• Lower ongoing maintenance and support cost.
• A visible standard that visiting third parties, including technology companies, comment on.

We have visitors come into our office from third-party companies and they are blown away. Even technology companies come in here and can’t believe the technology we have. They’re amazed at how well it works and how easy it is to use.

— Manager of IT, Calgary energy producer

The cabling decision has already proved itself. A renovation on the opposite side of the building from the riser room — the scenario that forces a traditional system into after-hours work and ceiling panels down every corridor — can now be done mid-afternoon.

We’ll be able to do it in the middle of the day with little impact. In fact, one or two people will be impacted.

— Manager of IT, Calgary energy producer

The company has signed a lease of more than a decade on the building and has a five-year growth plan that roughly doubles production — without needing more space or a proportionate increase in headcount. That makes the long-term behaviour of the infrastructure more important than its installed cost.

I don’t think I’m going to have to upgrade this system for many, many years. People think of it as state of the art — futuristic, practically. My impression is that I should be able to work with this equipment for many years in this space without having to put any further investment into it.

— Manager of IT, Calgary energy producer

The model is already being lined up for reuse. Subject to budget approval, the company plans to replicate the same approach across its field offices.