X2O Media, a Barco company
Transforming into a Digital Workplace using Visual Communications

When David Wilkins, President of X2O Media, started the company, he saw a need for change in Enterprise Architecture practices. Based on numerous years of experience in broadcast television technology, he designed a new EA platform that created a visual, interactive experience for employees in rapidly evolving workplaces. This innovation has prompted a new market trend in the EA landscape. “X2O Media, a real-time visual communication solution provider, significantly improves enterprise-wide communications and offers business environments new, more effective ways to relay vital corporate information to employees,” begins Wilkins.

Located in Montreal, Canada, the company’s chief offering—the X2O visual communication platform—enables employees to create and share data-driven “channels” of information. The amount of data available to companies has exploded, including in sales and manufacturing operations processes, with data stored in a number of different systems. “The X2O platform bridges these islands of information in the form of channels—the building blocks of X2O—and makes it available for all users,” explains Wilkins. Employees can access these highly visual, dynamic channels that are linked to numerous real-time data sources through the X2O platform across the globe.

Connecting the right information to the right employee, on the right device

Based on the X2O platform, the company offers four application areas—Connected Desktop, Workspace, Workplace, and Workforce. “The Connected Desktop links desktop PCs together so that every employee has access to X2O channels. We offer real-time company information in the form of easy-to-absorb, visual channels, as well as notification and alert pop-ups right on their desktops,” briefs Wilkins. These channels can be customized with information that is relevant to a specific team, an entire department or the whole company, and then sent to the relevant employee desktops.

The Connected Workspace application lets employees use X2O screens to present and share information in the conference room through any device. “Using the X2O platform, users can also push information from meeting rooms to desktops,” adds Wilkins.

X2O’s Connected Workplace application provides a smart environment where users communicate key company messages in real time through X2O channels displayed on video walls of any configuration, networked digital display screens and even mobile devices. The company’s Connected Workforce application lets teams across the world access the X2O platform from any location. This encourages and improves communication between employees throughout the global workforce.

To stay ahead in the competition, X2O designed its platform as a visual-focused enterprise architecture. Being an open platform, it is developed on HTML5 which enhances efficiency and performance, while allowing users to build customized applications on top of the platform.

X2O Media addresses clients’ requirements by—“Connecting the right information to the right employees, on the right device,” adds Wilkins. For instance, a pharmaceutical client faced challenges in communicating with more than 1000 employees at different company locations. The client’s requirement was to connect all employees together through their desktops and link the desktops to projectors or video walls, and share their operations data with specific users. Not only did X2O meet these requirements, but they also offered an intuitive, visual way to present the data using graphs and charts in X2O channels. With the X2O platform, the client could also instantly send real-time messages to anyone within the organization. “Our cross-device, cross-platform solution adapts to the client’s environment and enhances communication,” says Wilkins.

Since the beginning of 2014, X2O joined Barco, a global technology company that designs and develops visualization products. With Barco’s resources, X2O plans to expand its user base and reach the next level in the EA market. Currently, X2O is combining its technology with Barco’s products and this collaboration will help X2O enter new global markets with interesting developments in the near future.