London Business School has overhauled its audiovisual infrastructure in a bid to keep pace with the demands of hybrid learning and global collaboration. At the heart of this change is Neat, the video technology specialist whose streamlined systems now underpin teaching, meetings and events across the institution’s central London campus. By replacing a patchwork of legacy AV solutions with an integrated, Zoom- and Teams-ready ecosystem, the school aims to deliver a more consistent, reliable experience for students, faculty and corporate partners alike. This article examines how Neat’s hardware and management tools are reshaping LBS’s approach to AV, the operational efficiencies gained, and what the project reveals about the future of technology in business education.
Transforming lecture spaces at London Business School with Neat’s streamlined AV ecosystem
In the heart of LBS’s teaching blocks, project teams have quietly replaced a patchwork of legacy hardware with a single, Neat-powered ecosystem that feels almost invisible to the user. Lecturers now walk into the room, tap once, and the space configures itself: cameras frame the speaker, beamforming microphones lock onto voices, and content is shared across campus and to remote learners in seconds. The old ritual of juggling remotes, switching inputs and calling IT support has been replaced by a clean, intuitive interface that mirrors the school’s ambition for frictionless, global learning. The focus has shifted from “Can everyone see and hear me?” to “How do we make this session more engaging?” – a subtle but profound cultural change.
- Single-vendor stack simplifying support and lifecycle planning
- Auto-framing video that keeps faculty naturally in shot
- Consistent UI across rooms, cutting training time to minutes
- Low-profile design that declutters lecterns and walls
| Before | After Neat |
|---|---|
| Four separate control panels | One unified touch interface |
| Frequent IT intervention | Self-service, walk-up use |
| Inconsistent audio and video | Standardised performance campus-wide |
| Complex upgrade paths | Modular, scalable AV platform |
Enhancing hybrid teaching quality through intelligent camera framing and audio optimisation
Inside each lecture theatre, intelligent framing technology now tracks the nuances of academic delivery, smoothly switching between wide shots, close-ups and content-focused angles without manual intervention. Lecturers are freed from worrying about where to stand or which camera is live, while students joining remotely experience a dynamic, TV-style production that keeps them visually engaged. This is supported by automated shot composition that recognises when a faculty member moves to a whiteboard, interacts with a panel, or addresses in-room questions, ensuring every key moment is captured with broadcast-like clarity.
Audio has been given equal priority, with beamforming microphones and smart noise suppression working together to highlight the lecturer’s voice and the contributions of participants, whether they are in the room or online. The system intelligently balances levels, reducing the impact of HVAC hums, laptop fans and shuffling papers, so that every question and response remains intelligible. This convergence of visuals and sound is further underpinned by simple, lecturer-amiable controls and pre-set profiles, allowing sessions to start quickly and run consistently, even across different teaching spaces.
- Auto-framing keeps presenters centred and clearly visible.
- Voice prioritisation enhances lectures and student discussions.
- Consistent presets deliver repeatable quality across rooms.
- Low-latency processing supports real-time interaction.
| Feature | On-campus experience | Remote experience |
|---|---|---|
| Smart framing | Natural lecturer movement | Clear, TV-like views |
| Optimised audio | Focused classroom sound | Crisp speech, fewer distractions |
| Unified presets | Faster room start-up | Predictable quality each session |
Reducing AV complexity for faculty with intuitive room controls and simplified workflows
Instead of juggling multiple remotes, touch panels and inconsistent interfaces, lecturers now walk into teaching spaces and see a single, clear control surface that mirrors the same logic in every room. A large, icon-led display guides them through start of class, content sharing and recording or streaming in just a few taps, with visual feedback confirming what’s live to in-room students and what’s being captured for remote participants.By reducing on-screen choices to the functions faculty actually use, London Business School has stripped away the technical friction that often derails the first few minutes of a session.
Behind the scenes, AV teams have collaborated with Neat and IT to hardwire those simple on-screen commands into more sophisticated, automated room behaviors.Walking in and tapping “Begin” can now trigger an aligned camera, optimised mic levels and the correct display configuration, without academic staff needing to think about inputs or audio routing.To reinforce confidence, rooms are supported by short, at-a-glance guides and consistent UI patterns:
- Clear visual hierarchy – primary teaching actions surfaced first, advanced options tucked away.
- Minimal training curve – one interface standard from seminar rooms to lecture theatres.
- Fail-safe presets – “Reset room” and “Share screen” buttons that work identically everywhere.
| Action | Faculty Experience |
|---|---|
| Start class | One tap launches camera,display and audio |
| Share content | Simple “Share now” button or instant cable detection |
| Switch mode | Presets for hybrid,in-room only or recording |
Future proofing campus technology with scalable cloud based management and data driven insights
By shifting core AV controls and analytics into the cloud,London Business School has gained an agile layer of management that evolves in step with its teaching model. Neat’s platform allows IT and AV teams to oversee every room from a single pane of glass, pushing configuration changes, firmware updates and new integrations without disrupting packed lecture schedules. This model wraps resilience and flexibility together: if a space needs to pivot from lecture theatre to hybrid collaboration hub, presets, layouts and device behavior can be redefined centrally in minutes rather than days. The school’s leadership also gains clearer budget visibility,turning long-term infrastructure planning into a data-backed exercise rather than a best guess.
Crucially, the system’s live and historical analytics help the institution understand how technology is actually used, not just how it was specified on paper.LBS now tracks metrics such as room utilisation, preferred layouts and call performance to shape future investment, enabling teams to redeploy underused spaces and standardise on configurations that demonstrably work best for faculty and students. This data-driven approach filters into everyday decisions, from AV support scheduling to which spaces are prioritised for next-phase upgrades:
- Centralised monitoring of all Neat devices and AV endpoints
- Usage trends that inform room design and capacity planning
- Performance insights to pre-empt issues before they impact teaching
- Scalable templates that let new rooms mirror proven setups instantly
| Insight Type | Campus Impact |
|---|---|
| Room occupancy data | Optimises timetable and space allocation |
| Device health alerts | Reduces downtime and emergency callouts |
| Call quality metrics | Improves hybrid learning experience |
| Feature adoption reports | Guides staff training and support focus |
Insights and Conclusions
As London Business School continues to evolve its campus and digital strategy, the partnership with Neat underscores how AV is no longer just an operational necessity but a strategic asset. By standardising on intuitive, flexible systems, the institution has not only streamlined day‑to‑day teaching and collaboration but also strengthened its resilience in a hybrid world.
For AV professionals, the project highlights a clear direction of travel: solutions that minimise friction for users, simplify support for IT and AV teams, and scale easily across complex estates. At LBS,Neat’s technology has become a quiet enabler of this shift-proof that when audio and visual experiences simply work,the focus can return to what matters most: learning,research and connection.
