When Icelandair set out to design their new headquarters, they weren’t just upgrading desks and décor. They were rethinking the way 550 employees connect, collaborate, and communicate – both in person and remotely. To bring that vision to life, they turned to Neat. 

Founded in 1937, Icelandair has long been a key player in transatlantic aviation, offering travellers a unique opportunity to stop over in Iceland on their way between Europe and North America. With its hub at Keflavík International Airport, the airline connects over 40 destinations across both continents. Known for its commitment to service, innovation, and sustainability, Icelandair continues to modernize both in the air and on the ground. 

The opening of their new headquarters marked a major milestone in that journey. It was designed to reflect not only their Icelandic heritage and brand values but also to support a dynamic, hybrid workforce. With 72% of employees assigned desks, the rest are empowered to work in ways that best suit their roles and projects – be that hotdesking, making use of common spaces, or joining meetings from home. 

Gone are the days of rigid seating plans and closed-off offices. At Icelandair’s new HQ, teams enjoy flexibility in where and how they work. The building is open, light-filled, and configured to encourage spontaneous collaboration. 

Birgitta Guðmundsdóttir Bender, Solutions Manager in the Digital Operations team, shared how Neat devices – paired with Microsoft Teams – have become a cornerstone of Icelandair’s new, flexible workplace strategy. 

Our new space promotes openness and collaboration. We need tools that keep up with the reality of how we work now.

Birgitta Guðmundsdóttir Bender, Solutions Manager – Digital Operations

Searching for the right tech to fly with 

With a range of meeting rooms – from huddle spaces to large boardrooms – Icelandair knew they needed hardware that could deliver reliable, high-quality experiences no matter the setting. After testing several brands, Neat stood out. “The difference was immediate,” said Birgitta. 

Neat’s devices were just more intuitive, easier to install and use. We didn’t want to train people on how to use the room, and with Neat, people just walk in and start their meeting.

Here’s what Icelandair deployed across their HQ: 

• Neat Pulse: A centralized device management platform that keeps IT workloads light. 

• Neat Bar and Neat Bar Gen 2: Compact yet powerful videobars that bring clear audio and smart video to small and mid-sized rooms. 

• Neat Bar Pro: Built for larger spaces, it supports up to three screens and dual 50MP cameras for total room coverage. 

• Neat Board: A touch-enabled all-in-one collaboration screen, perfect for whiteboarding. 

• Neat Center: A 360-degree meeting companion that gives remote participants a front-row seat. 

The use of Neat Center in large meeting rooms, with its Neat Symmetry functionality, a smart video framing feature that ensures everyone in the room is seen equally and clearly. It individually frames participants, adjusting in real time so remote attendees feel like they’re face-to-face with each speaker. 

Before, remote colleagues would see the backs of heads. Now, with Neat Center in the middle of the room, they see faces. It’s made remote participation so much more natural.

Neat Symmetry uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and keep the focus on participants, ensuring a more inclusive and engaging remote experience. This not only improves presence and clarity but also improves hybrid meeting equity, giving everybody the same visual priority, regardless of their physical location.

Zero turbulence with Neat Pulse 

Neat Pulse has been a true game-changer for Icelandair’s Digital Operations team. This powerful cloud-based device management platform allows IT administrators to remotely monitor, configure, and troubleshoot all Neat devices across multiple meeting spaces and locations – without ever needing to set foot in the room. 

With Neat Pulse, the team can instantly check device health statuses such as connectivity, firmware versions, camera and microphone performance, and usage metrics through a simple, intuitive dashboard. This real-time visibility empowers IT to identify and resolve issues before they escalate, minimizing downtime and ensuring meetings run smoothly. 

Provisioning new rooms is also seamless. Neat Pulse supports automated pre-configuration and policy enforcement, so devices are ready to use right out of the box. This eliminates manual setup headaches and accelerates rollouts, helping Icelandair scale their hybrid workspace strategy efficiently. 

Policy enforcement in this context means IT administrators can apply consistent settings and security configurations across all devices, such as enabling Neat Symmetry or locking system access. This ensures a uniform, secure user experience across the company. 

Security is another key benefit. Neat Pulse ensures devices are always running the latest firmware with up-to-date security patches, reducing vulnerabilities across the network. Plus, with customizable alerts and notifications, the IT team can prioritize their focus where it matters most. 

For organizations like Icelandair managing a growing number of locations and hybrid meeting spaces, Neat Pulse offers a smarter, centralized way to keep everything running smoothly – turning IT from a reactive firefighting role into a proactive partner in collaboration success. 

It’s allowed us to be proactive, not reactive. Issues get solved before people even notice them.

Crystal-clear communication, every time 

Crystal-clear audio and razor-sharp video are standard with Neat, something Icelandair employees quickly came to appreciate. Even during a period of construction happening right in the office, meetings continued to run smoothly because background noise was expertly filtered out.

With the old video gear Icelandair used before Neat “audio complaints used to be common,” Birgitta shared. “Now with Neat? None.” This is largely thanks to Neat Boundary, a smart audio technology built into all Neat devices. Neat Boundary uses advanced microphone arrays and intelligent sound processing to create a virtual “audio boundary” around the meeting participants. It captures voices clearly within the designated area while blocking out ambient sounds like typing, heating ventilation and air conditioning noise, or construction work! This ensures that remote attendees hear only the relevant conversation, without distractions. Neat Boundary does the same for the visual parameters of a meeting too, showing only the area you select as your meeting space, and nothing beyond that view.

Whiteboards that wow 

Two Neat Boards are stationed in non-bookable spaces at Icelandair’s HQ, designed to support spontaneous, walk-up collaboration. Their sleek, all-in-one design combines a large touchscreen, powerful audio and video components, and intuitive software into a single, portable device. Whether it’s an impromptu brainstorming session or a quick check-in with remote colleagues, Neat Board is always ready – no setup, no delays. 

They’re great for sharing screens with remote colleagues or running quick huddles. The touch interface makes it feel really natural – like using a giant tablet.

Neat’s all-in-one board, Neat Board 50, features Neat Active Marker. This marker pen-like feature allows people to annotate in real time with no lag, making it easy to sketch ideas, highlight details, or interact with content during meetings. There’s no pairing required. Neat Active Marker just works, creating a smooth, frictionless experience for users at any tech comfort level.

Neat Board 50 also supports Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) through USB-C, so teams can plug in their laptop and use Neat Board 50 with the platform or software of their choice. Combined with native support for Microsoft Teams, it delivers true platform flexibility, perfect for a hybrid environment with varying workflows. 

Neat Board has become an essential tool for agile, in-the-moment collaboration – turning casual spaces into high-performance meeting zones at a moment’s notice. 

Building a more sustainable, future-ready workspace

Neat devices don’t just perform well, they’re beautifully designed and sustainably built. For example, Neat Board Pro uses acoustic felt made from 50% recycled PET bottles. It’s form meeting function in the most responsible way. 

Sustainability and design matters to us, and Neat’s devices fit right in with our aesthetic and values.

Neat also prioritizes minimal packaging and energy-efficient hardware design, aligning with Icelandair’s broader commitment to environmental stewardship. These sustainability initiatives support Icelandair’s internal goals for greener operations. 

When you put it all together, Icelandair’s new HQ isn’t just a workspace – it’s a prototype – and they’re already planning to model future office setups based on what they’ve learned from this experience. 

We’ve set a new bar. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s exciting to think about expanding these solutions to other sites.

Neat is a part of Icelandair’s redefined successful hybrid workspace. Their meetings are smoother, their employees more engaged, and their IT team can breathe a little easier.

And they’re just getting started. 

For a one-on-one experience, book a demo with a Neat product specialist and see how Neat can elevate your team’s hybrid collaboration.