Pikseli succeeds with IT automation

Country: Finland

Industry: Entertainment

 

The Problem

Entertainment company Pikseli operates in an industry with a high failure rate: huge technology investments are needed for an increasingly demanding and fickle customer base. Additionally, IT professionals are needed to constantly and closely monitor both the hardware and software needed for entertainment experiences.
Pikseli has 60 VR (virtual reality) machines which it was managing manually, needing on average one minute per device to change one picture per device. This proved to be a drain on resources.

The Solution – Secure, Control, Automate

Pikseli now uses Miradore Management Suite (MMS) to manage their own proprietary software that runs on Windows 10 VR gaming headsets and gaming platforms.
Pikseli credits its success with IT automation, which removes the company’s need to manually service its equipment, saving not only on time but also on IT personnel costs.
Not hiring additional IT staff frees up resources for the company to hire more customer-facing staff, who help customers with the games in the arcades. The current IT organization is comprised of one individual responsible for the entire technology, in addition to one software developer and two part-time support staff.

“One fewer IT person means a few additional customer support personnel. While IT is important, it’s also important for us to have customer service representatives on-site at the arcades,” explains Olavi Ronni, one of the two co-founders of Pikseli. “Such personnel help our customers with the VR goggles and equipment, as VR is often new to them. With a positive, first-time on-site experience, our customers return.”

With MMS, the management of 60 VR machines is now handled all at once, automatically and remotely.
The entertainment company is using MMS’s asset management features, which include the following modules:

• Software distribution: The company uses not only the Steam game distribution platform but also its own proprietary Launcher application (Virtual Game Platform), which launches games and tracks game times. MMS distributes and updates this software, in addition to any related applications.
• Patch management: Pikseli can centrally manage any operating system updates so that machines are not upgraded when a customer is playing.
• Remote control: The company can control hardware remotely if needed.
• Device registry: Inventory of VR machines can be kept.

Pikseli found Miradore because the co-founders of the company, Jan Hursti and Olavi Ronni, had experience using Miradore at previous companies.

“Miradore turned out to be a lifesaver. We were able to manage our IT assets at a fraction of the cost. Plus, they were just great to work with,” adds Olavi.

There were other options for IT asset management, but the company found Miradore the simplest and easiest to use. Additionally, the licensing model was the most flexible, because the Pikseli environment requires a lot of management even when there are no users or players, and Miradore can handle that setup. Finally, MMS helped Pikseli integrate with the IT device lifecycle company 3StepIT, which provides leases for some of the virtual reality devices.
Working with Miradore’s sales and technical support also went well. Pikseli held a few meetings with a Miradore technical support engineer through implementation and finally system completion. Overall, they were satisfied with the support.

“We see Miradore as a long-term partner,” explains Jan, the other co-founder of Pikseli. “We are planning on franchising our arcade model, which includes complete IT asset management. Potential franchisees will be attracted to the operational peace of mind we have put in place with the help of Miradore.”