OTP Group is one of the fastest-growing, leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe. It uses Neat devices with Zoom for more security-tight, close-knit hybrid meetings between its Budapest HQ, OTP Bank, and more than 300 branches in Hungary.

OTP Bank has deployed Neat Bars and Neat Bar Pros with Neat Pads to control and schedule meetings. It also uses Neat Boards and manages its entire Neat deployment through Neat Pulse on a Pro Plan.

On an inspiring afternoon at Neat HQ in Oslo, Neat enjoyed chatting on video with Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, about how he discovered Neat and what experiences we provide for his organization. Peter, a key figure in OTP Bank’s telecommunications sector, leads a team responsible for managing the bank’s IP telephony, video conferencing devices, and technology infrastructure. 

One of Central and Eastern Europe’s fastest-growing banking groups

As one of the fastest-growing, leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe, OTP Group has over 41,000 employees in 12 countries of the CEE and Central Asian region and provides universal financial services to 17 million customers. Its headquarters are in Budapest, Hungary, and it has branches of various sizes in over 300 locations throughout the country. Typically, people work from home two days a week and three days at the office. OTP Bank has deployed Neat devices at its Budapest HQ and several larger flagship branches in Hungary with more than two meeting rooms. Building on the good practices, other members of the OTP Group may consider following.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and employees could no longer use OTP Bank’s previous on-premises video conferencing system, Peter and his team sought a better, more modern alternative. That alternative was switching to a new cloud-based Zoom video platform. After extensive research, numerous tech articles, blogs, word of mouth, etc., soon convinced Peter and his team that Neat devices were the best hardware solution with their chosen video platform, Zoom.

As in developing financial services for our customers, we also strive to provide innovative digital solutions for our colleagues. My first impression of Neat was that It’s easy to set up, and the audio and video quality is excellent. You can set up a Zoom Room on the device with just a few simple clicks. It works with Zoom like a charm!

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

From old legacy systems to Neat and Zoom in the cloud

Compared to OTP Bank’s old, complex legacy system, where Peter and his team had to configure its video tech on a centralized management and web interface, having everything in the cloud with Neat and Zoom is a breeze. Peter and his team only have to configure the device via the Zoom Portal, enter an activation code, and follow the simple setup steps. Then, in an instant, people can jump straight into a meeting. 

Connecting with colleagues using Neat has made our employees very happy. Everything’s so much easier than it used to be. Every meeting you schedule is displayed on the screen in the room or the pad, so all they have to do when they enter a meeting room is tap ‘Join.’

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

Devices that are safe, secure and readily available on the bank’s local networks

Peter and his team can send a device to a new location, and the employees there can plug it in and rest assured that “it just works.” Most importantly, because of the bank’s infrastructure, security, firewalls, etc., they get to ensure everything’s safe, secure and readily available on one of its bank’s branch’s local networks. 

Neat’s secure data encryption was a significant factor in us choosing Neat over other hardware providers.

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

Enjoying complete meeting equity between hybrid teams

OTP Bank’s employees love Neat Symmetry for complete meeting equity between its hybrid teams. They also love the manual camera control, and our camera presets to change the room’s perspective. “It keeps things interesting for everyone,” Peter enthused. Another plus is using the Zoom Rooms controller app with Neat Pad to control the lights in the room or switch a screen on and off. “Simple things like that are brilliant.”

Neat Symmetry is superb, especially for people working from home, who can see their teammates at the office up close. It helps them more easily identify everyone, and goes a long way in preserving a certain amount of company culture.

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

Hearing everyone crystal-clear in larger meeting rooms

Peter’s favorite device is Neat Bar Pro because of its 50-megapixel camera and ability to provide “amazing audio and video quality,” as he put it. Regardless of room size, everyone present and on the far end can easily hear. For the bank’s larger rooms, which accommodate 25-30 people, Peter relishes the opportunity to connect external audio devices via USB-C if needed so those sitting right at the back can hear just as well as anyone sitting nearer the front of the room device.

Managing OTP Bank’s Neat Bar Pros and other Neat devices via our Neat Pulse service offering has been a game-changer for Peter and his team. For example, as the bank has more than 300 Neat devices throughout its HQ building in Budapest, installed in various small, medium and large rooms, downloading 800 MB of firmware to update all its devices understandably makes the bank’s security team very nervous. Not anymore!

We love how Neat Pulse enables us to create profiles to automatically or manually update whatever singular or grouped devices we choose with just two clicks. It makes our jobs easier and less stressful for security.

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

Controlling devices to swiftly fix any issues or provide support

From a support perspective, Peter and his team love Neat Pulse’s remote-control capabilities. These enable them to see what people in a meeting are seeing on their screens. They can also see the Neat Pad in the room’s touch panel, helping Peter and his team swiftly fix any issues or answer questions.

We ended our chat with Peter by asking him, “If Neat were a traded commodity, what would we be and why?”

If Neat were a traded commodity, you would be gold because it’s the most valuable and also because Neat was our golden choice!

Peter Galos, Lead Unified Communication Expert 3, OTP Bank

Read more about OTP Group and OTP Bank. 

Discover Neat’s pioneering devices or see them in action in our live Virtual Demo – Neat Devices and Experiences. Better yet, book a demo and experience them for yourself.