When that office is situated within the famous Northern and Shell Building on the Thames, presided over by publishing tycoon, Richard Desmond, that observation becomes particularly relevant.
ODL Securities Limited (ODLS) was founded in 1994 as Options Direct (Europe) Ltd in response to a movement away from the 'open outcry' system of trading on the LIFFE derivative products market. The company believed that the future for trading financial instruments would be screen based and the use of technology would be paramount in the development of the financial markets.
Boasting some of the widest ranging and most technologically advanced resources in the financial industry, ODL recently moved to the Northern and Shell building and set out to implement a progressive IT programme, supervised by chief technology officer Tom Higgins, not only on the trading floor but also at front-of-house.
To enhance the customer-facing dynamic, Higgins wanted to create high impact in ODL's reception area via a cutting-edge wall display, which would not only enable them to display their own corporate looped messaging but other source inputs in different screen configurations.
The company was struggling to find a cost-effective solution with the contractors that had been approached - until their design and fit-out company, Peldon Rose, recommended Ikure.
Tim Verran says: "The other companies weren't listening to the client and were coming up with ridiculous quotes. Although it's essential to provide growing-in room, there seems to be a growing tendency to overspecify projects."
Ikure proposed a 3 x 2 monitor wall, but knew they had to move fast. "Despite being pulled in at the eleventh hour we talked through ODL's requirements. I considered three companies in respect of the cost implication and what they wanted to achieve, and Christie fitted the bill." Their bid was supported by David Griffiths, who qualified the system to the client and Ikure were given the go-ahead inside 72 hours.
The recommended system was a scalable version of the company's FRC-5100 wall controller, designed primarily for video wall control room environments. Using MasterSuite 4.0 Wall Management software, this would send 'picture in picture' images in different matrix configurations to the six Christie ultra-thin 40in-wide, HDTV-compatible FP400 LCD monitors.
Peldon Rose constructed the surround in MDF, but Tim Verran recalls that the installation itself was far from easy. "All the power sources had to be contained, and because the walls were uneven we had to carefully apply battens so that the displays edge-butted perfectly."
Essentially the new system needed to be user-friendly, taking video and data into the FRC-5100, which in turn addresses the screens. Says Verran, "ODL personnel can select from one of two desktop computers which source goes to which monitor."
The FRC-5100 is fed from two VGA inputs and eight Sky boxes, situated in the trading floor, each Skybox having multiple outputs. The built-in timer allows the system to be powered on and off (at 7am and 7pm respectively).
Although Ikure is only two years old, the experienced Tim Verran and his partner Andy Macfarlane (who project managed the ODL contract) have vast experience of using Christie products in the corporate environment.
"One of the key factors in choosing Christie was because of the brand value, and the fact that it is not available to anyone on the web," says Tim Verran. "They have a recognised partner channel, which means we receive great technical support; that policy not only protects our business but also Christie's."
But the overriding reason was the speed with which Christie was able to respond. "This project had to be completed fo
