Looking to enhance communications and visitor experience, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is leveraging NEC (News - Alert) solutions and expertise to create a unified infrastructure that includes wireless LAN, voice and digital signage. As a result of this technology, the DMA’s Arts Network can provide broad public access to great works of art.

The DMA is utilizing UNIVERGE360, an enterprise communications model and approach developed by NEC and unveiled earlier in 2008 to place its employees and the visitor experience at the center of its communications strategy.

The unified infrastructure of the DMA, designed by NEC, includes wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure covering 85 percent of its public and back-office spaces. It also includes NEC digital signage for public way-finding and the UNIVERGE NEAX 2000 IPS for voice overIP . The network also provides WLAN architecture design and installation, which includes 148 access points with centralized controllers. The WLAN network is most often used by visiting classes from schools in Texas and surrounding states. While NEC provided turnkey installation for the museum’sCisco ( News - Alert) wireless infrastructure as of now, the company plans coverage of 100 percent of the museum’s four floors over a full city block in the Dallas Arts District in the future.

To provide an enhanced visitor experience, NEC has deployed five NEC digital signs and the NEC BlueFire VC400 Digital Signage Controller. The signs provide a means to preview upcoming exhibits and directional way-finding. About 150 staff members of the museum get voice over IP services with the UNIVERGE NEAX 2000 IPS communications server. To be leveraged in future technology decisions, such as fixed-mobile convergence, IP voice and data communications have become critical foundation elements in this partnership.

The Arts Network provides a digital arts experience, including public wireless access for educational purposes. The museum can accommodate major exhibitions, such as the Egyptian government’s upcoming Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, scheduled for October, with the help of the infrastructure behind Arts Network.

Don Fiorentino, vice president of western regional sales for NEC Unified, said, “The DMA’s Arts Network technology vision aligns perfectly with the UNIVERGE360 approach to placing people and their roles at the center of communications. We at NEC look forward to continuing our relationship with the museum as it enables visitors and the public at-large to enjoy great works of art in new and innovative ways.”